Panic in Detroit: 2007 Auto Sales to be Down

(Akron/Tire Review) Industry analysts say that 2007 may end up being the worse ever year for new car sales. September sales, analysts say, are expected to show weak results, due in part of high gas prices, credit troubles and other economic factors, and the final quarter of the year indicates things won’t get better.

Jesse Toprak, chief economist for the auto information site Edmunds.com, predicts Honda Motor Co. will be the only automaker to report an increase in sales, helped by the arrival of the new 2008 Honda Accord. Automakers are scheduled to report September sales Tuesday.

“No one is immune to this general weakness we have in the marketplace,” Jesse Toprak, chief economist for the auto information site Edmunds.com, told the AP. Sales for September are expected to be down as much as 4 per cent vs. September 2006, with Honda expected to be the only automaker to show n increase.

Ford, GM and Chrysler are expected to be down month-over-month. One analyst forecasts an annualised selling rate of 15.9 million vehicles for the year, down from 2006’s 16.6 million vehicles.