2.78 million used-car sales likely in January

Used-car sales should exceed 2.78 million units this month, but they are likely to fall short of January 2015 levels by 6.8 percent, TrueCar said in an analysis on Tuesday.

On the new-car side, the company is projecting 1.15 million sales for the month, a figure that includes fleet sales. This would be down 0.3 percent year-over-year. That said, the daily selling rate for new cars in January would be up 8 percent year-over-year, given the adjustment for two fewer selling days.

TrueCar is forecasting a new-car SAAR of 17.6 million, which beats the year-ago pace by 5 percent.

In short, winter storm Jonas hurt a new-car sales month that’s traditionally slow anyway, and 2016 should still be a strong year.

“Jonas curtailed business for many dealerships on the East Coast, but January is typically one of the slowest months for the industry, especially following holiday and year-end sales events,” Eric Lyman, TrueCar’s vice president of industry insights, said in the news release. “Severe winter weather isn’t ideal for car shopping, but we see signs of strength heading into 2016 and expect consumers to buy a record 18 million new vehicles this year.”