SANTA MONICA, Calif. –

Following CNW Research’s predictions last week that April would finish up with 3.85 million used vehicles sold for the month, two other firms have released their respective forecasts, both of which are targeting a lower sum than CNW.

At TrueCar.com, analysts are calling for 2.94 million used sales for April, with a new-to-used ratio of 1:2.  

Meanwhile, Edmunds is forecasting 3.25 million used sales this month, which would translate to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 37.0 million.

These projections followed CNW’s analysis that emphasized a shift in used-car sales this month toward private-party transactions.

In its Retail Automotive Summary released Tuesday, the firm suggested that casual sales have been driving the bulk of what’s expected to be 1.5-percent year-over-year growth in the industry’s used-car sales this month.

Specifically, CNW was calling for 1.23 million private-party sales, which would be a 3.5-percent hike.

Franchised dealers are expected to see their used sales climb moderately (1.2 percent) from April 2012 at 1.38 million units sold, while independents are projected to remain static from a year ago at 1.24 million.

 “As expected and reported, the shift toward private-party sales is increasing as the weather turns warmer and spring begins,” CNW president Art Spinella said in the report.

“Expect the trend toward private-party sales to continue for the next four months,” he added. “Overall, however, all channels are going to finish the year ahead of 2012.”

Joe Overby can be reached at [email protected]. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.