All About Japan Autos

Earlier this month, analysts reported that the new car market has finally begun to rebound. They compared September 2010 sales to sales in September of 2009 as evidence of their claim. In fact, the Los Angeles Times reported: “GM, the nation’s largest automaker, saw its new vehicle sales in the U.S. increase 12% to 173,031. Ford saw its sales jump 46% to 160,375, and Chrysler sold 100,077 vehicles, up 61%.&rdquo.

The news, however, may have been too good to be true — for automakers.

Automotive News reports that fleet sales — not retail sales — are driving the market surge. “Collectively, General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Chrysler Group, Hyundai-Kia Automotive and Nissan North America sold 2.3 million units in the third quarter, up 1 percent. Combined retail sales fell 4 percent to 1.8 million, but fleet volume surged 24 percent to 461,786 units according to the company documents.”

Autoblog breaks the numbers down to illustrate the point even further. “Every one of those previously mentioned automakers, with the exception of GM, Hyundai and Kia, saw a dramatic rise in fleet sales for Q3 2010,” they write. “In fact, Nissan was up 557 percent; having sold 972 fleet vehicles last year and then 6,384 this year. In Chrysler’s case, the Auburn Hills automaker was previously quoted as gunning for a year-end fleet mix of 25 percent, but it’s currently running at 39 percent with 39,474 units for September versus 24,070 at this time last year.”

So how does this news affect car shoppers? Fleet sales can only sustain the auto market for so long. To boost retail sales, automakers will most likely have to offer greater discounts and incentives. So, if you’re in the market for a new car, consider waiting a bit before signing any paperwork. You may end up saving thousands.

Before you shop, make sure you check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars. Also, be sure to check out this month’s best car deals and follow us on Twitter to stay on top of the latest car news, discounts and incentives.