Bandon, Ore. — Through the first 15 days of the month, August sales were on track to rise at least 8 percent, according to data from CNW Research. Same-store deliveries were up nearly 6 percent in the opening weeks of the month, while new floor traffic beat out last year’s numbers by 24.7 percent.

“We’re already seeing closing ratios swelling significantly, up more than four percent vs. July even though subprime has taken a hit when compared to both last month and the same month a year ago,” wrote CNW’s Art Spinella.

The last 10 days of July had a strong showing, sending new-car sales to a 15.7 million SAAR. Many automakers, according to CNW, could see a repeat in August. The firm also expects leasing to hit a 30 percent share of sales by the end of the year.

On the manufacturer side, incentives are up 39 percent vs. a year ago when including dealer spiffs, spins and special financing including subsidized leasing. They are down 28 percent on the dealer side.