After a solid year in 2011, it appears the auto market will make even more progress next year.

Even with what could be 12.8 million new-vehicle sales this year, there is still a hearty stock of pent-up demand remaining, as well as a stronger selection and improved credit conditions, leading Edmunds.com to project that 2012 sales will reach an estimated 13.6 million.

“With annual sales still far below the level achieved prior to the last recession, there’s plenty of indication that pent-up demand is far from spent,” stated Lacey Plache, chief economist at Edmunds. “Improved selection and loosening credit conditions are helping to entice the millions of buyers that are waiting to jump back into the market.”

Edmunds then offered a timeline of how 2012 may shake out as far as new-car sales.

The firm expects that the first few months of the year — specifically January through April — will likely be the remnants of the ongoing “mini-bubble” in the car market. This bubble, of course, represents shoppers who put off purchases last summer in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake.

The peak of these months is expected to be March.

Then, seasonality will come into play, Edmunds predicts. This will likely lead to a more volatile market than what occurred from May through November of this year, when there was “flat line monthly sales.” For instance, Edmunds projects that graduation-related purchases should boost May sales, with summer sell-downs of current model-year rides lifting August sales.

November and December of 2012 are likely to be pushed by year-end sales events, which have led to robust sales for these two months in recent years.

Of course, there certainly will be challenges facing the market in 2012. Plache points to the sluggish economy recovery as being a potential hindrance to car sales, as well as uncertainty in the months around the U.S. Presidential election.

Other negative factors that could come into play are a possible recession in Europe and a slowing Chinese economy, plus any other unforeseen negative events.