February sales figures likely to be weaker than expected

Severe winter storms and Toyota’s troubles are forecast to take a bite out of the February light vehicle sales to be reported today. Fallout from Toyota’s less-than-stellar handling of its multi-million-vehicle recall is estimated to have left the top Japanese automaker anywhere from 10% to 27% short of its numbers from February 2009.

A panel of five analysts survey by Bloomberg News estimates Chrysler will report sales down anywhere from 15% to 20%, yielding an average prediction of an 18% deficit. Individual estimates were:

Rod Lache, (Deutshe Bank): Down 15%
Jesse Toprak (TrueCar.com): Down 20%
Jessica Caldwell (Edmunds.com): Down 20%
Christopher Hopson (IHS Global Insight): Down 20%
Himanshu Patel (JPMorgan): Down 15%
Average: Down 18%

Ford and General Motors are forecast to report higher sales, with Ford expected to report results as much as 33% better than last February. GM sales are seen as rising 20 percent.

Allpar will be reporting on sales as the figures are released, so check back during the day for the latest information.

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