Dec. 28, 2018—A recent Forbes report suggests that U.S. auto sales for 2018 could, despite earlier predictions, beat last year’s totals slightly. The magazine based its report on recent forecasts of final December sales figures.
In forecasts for Dec. 2018 sales, LMC Automotive and J.D. Power predicted auto sales of about 1.6 million. U.S. automakers report December and full-year 2018 sales on Jan. 3.
Sales for the full year of 2018 could top 2017 sales by about 60,000 units, according to forecasts. Last year, the auto industry sold a total of 17.2 million units.
Meanwhile, forecasters also projected a slight downturn in auto sales for 2019. LMC Automotive, for example, said it expects auto sales for the coming year to be at 17 million or slightly lower, which would be down about 1.5 percent from 2018 final projections.
