Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Despite uncertainties over tariffs, the impending end of electric vehicle tax credits and various economic worries, U.S. auto sales are expected to churn ahead once again when August new-vehicle results begin to flow in tomorrow morning.
The U.S. results so far this year underscore consumer resilience that should fuel U.S. auto production for the coming months.
U.S. light-vehicle sales are expected to rise 1.3 to 4.4 percent in August, based on forecasts from J.D. Power-GlobalData, S&P Global Mobility and Cox Automotive.
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The Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands typically report first. Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Mazda and Subaru are expected to release September results later Wednesday, followed by Volvo on Thursday.
J.D. Power and GlobalData projected retail sales would rise 3.9 percent last month, helped by Labor Day holiday promotions, leases and surging demand for EVs, with fleet sales rising even more.
Federal credits of up to $7,500 on EVs are set to expire Sept. 30, prompting consumers to accelerate purchases. EVs are expected to account for a record 12 percent of all U.S. retail sales last month, compared with 9.5 percent in Aug. 2024, J.D. Power and GlobalData predicted.
A surge in new-vehicle pricing has yet to materialize in the wake of new U.S. tariffs on light-vehicle imports. Stable employment and healthy equity markets are offsetting weaker consumer sentiment in some households, analysts say.
"Vehicle price inflation has been relatively tame, and unemployment rates are low," said Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive. "Couple that good news with a strong stock market, and there are a lot of consumers who have stayed in a buying mood."
The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales is expected to tally 15.8 million to 16.1 million in August, forecasters say, down from July's 16.9 million rate but up sharply from August 2024, with the sales pace hit 15.3 million. The market has slowed considerably since the spring, when the SAAR topped 17 million in March and April.
Meanwhile, we generated a lot of future product news from Nissan Motor Co. today, with Urvaksh Karkaria reporting the Japanese automaker's $500 million plan to turn its Mississippi factory into a "center for EV manufacturing and technology" is in jeopardy. We also have this report on all of Nissan's future product plans.
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— David Phillips, news editor, and Philip Nussel, online editor
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