Based on projections from industry analysts released Monday, expect used-car sales for April to finish north of 3 million units.

Edmunds.com is calling for approximately 3.2 million used-car sales for the month. Although this would be down from the 3.5 million used sales in March, the resulting used SAAR for April (36.7 million) would edge out March’s pace of 36.1 million.

Meanwhile, TrueCar is calling for used sales in the neighborhood of 3.07 million vehicles this month, which would be even with last April.

On the new-car side, Kelley Blue Book is calling for 1.46 million sales this month (including fleet sales), which would be the best April in a decade.  The resulting SAAR would be 16.5 million. KBB is calling for a full-year new-car sales total of 16.9 million, which would be the strongest year since 2005.

“While April won’t bring too many surprises, sales should continue to grow at a steady pace,” said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book.  “Retail sales continue to be strong which continues to keep the overall sales outlook healthy. There is restrained incentive spending and steadily rising transaction prices, which are both good signs for the industry.” 

Edmunds predicts 1.46 million new sales (also including fleet), for a 16.7 million SAAR. That total would be down 5.1 percent from March figures but up 5.5 percent from April 2014 numbers.

“It is very common for April sales to be slower than March, which typically gets a boost from certain automakers who offer great deals to motivate shoppers as the companies close their fiscal year,” says Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell. “In fact, we often think of April as ‘the calm before the summer storm.’ It won’t be long before the summer selldown of the outgoing model year vehicles, which always draws lots of foot traffic through dealerships.”

TrueCar has the number pegged at 1.475 million for the month (including fleet). Its SAAR projection of 16.8 million for April would be the strongest for April in 10 years.

“Underpinning this solid outlook is an incredible appetite for crossovers, sport utilities and pickup trucks,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights for TrueCar. “Automakers with strong light truck offerings continue to gain and will benefit from the likelihood gasoline prices will remain low this summer.”

The forecast from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive reflects a similar optimism as others.

It is projecting total new-car sales (including fleet) to reach 1.46 million and represent the best April in 10 years, with the month’s SAAR at 16.6 million.

LMC has kept its full-year forecast at 17.0 million units. However, it has trimmed its retail predictions from 14.0 million to 13.9 million, given modest gains in fleet sales.

“Overall, auto sales remain strong, a trend that is sustainable throughout 2015 due to  consumer demand that is being fueled by 50 new or redesigned models in showrooms this year,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive. “High year-over-year growth will become more challenging over the next few months, but a slip in the growth rates doesn't change the underlying positive trend.”