U.S. April auto sales seen rising 4.9 percent: JD Power-LMC

Reuters
A customer looks at a 2012 Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle in a showroom in Redford, Michigan, in this file photo taken January 31, 2012. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/Files

DETROIT (Reuters) - J.D. Power and LMC Automotive on Thursday said April U.S. total light vehicle sales will rise 4.9 percent to 1.523 million vehicles, for an annualized rate of 17.6 million vehicles.

The two auto industry consultants said consumers are expected to spend $36.9 billion on new vehicles in April, compared with $35.3 billion last April.

Retail sales, or sales to individual consumers, will rise 3.9 percent to 1.195 million vehicles in April, the consultancies said. Retail sales do not include fleet sales, which are volume sales to rental agencies, government and businesses.

Many auto analysts see retail sales as a better barometer of consumer spending than total light vehicle sales.

Each month, auto sales are seen as an early indicator of U.S. consumer spending.

J.D. Power and LMC maintained their forecast for 2016 total light vehicle sales at 17.8 million vehicles. This would be a new record, topping last year's record U.S. auto sales which were 17.4 million according to WardsAuto.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)