The U.S. auto industry experienced a record year in 2015 with massive sales. 2016 started on a positive note and sales volume came in at 1.15 million units considering the January snowstorm. The automakers stood up to analysts' expectations as high-spirited customers’ demand for SUVs and trucks grew, thanks to cheap gasoline and low interest rates.
While General Motors (GM, Financial), Fiat Chrysler (FCA, Financial) and Nissan (NSANY, Financial) posted sales gains, Ford (F, Financial) and Toyota (TM, Financial) sales slumped leaner than projected. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate came in at 17.58 million units, according to Autodata. Bloomberg analysts expect 2016 to blow past 2015's record sales of 17.5 million units and register sales to the tune of 17.8 million. Here’s a close look at the January results for the automakers to get an idea of how the rest of the year may go.
The Detroit three
General Motors, the largest U.S. automakers, witnessed a sales gain of 0.5%. The combined deliveries of its brands like Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac totaled 203,745 units, making it the company’s best ever January in the past eight years. Retail sales surged 9% led by solid sales gain of 12% and 45% for Chevrolet and Buick.
General Motors U.S. January sales since 2010
GM’s U.S. vice president of sales operation Kurt McNeil said, “GM began 2016 in a very strong competitive position. We built on that momentum in January, with Chevrolet, Buick and GMC outperforming the retail industry by a wide margin. In fact, Chevrolet continues to grow faster than any other full-line brand.” General Motors’ market share in the U.S. stands at 17.7%.
The second-largest U.S. automaker, Ford, saw sales plunging 2.8% to 172,478 vehicles. Sales of the company’s F-Series pickup dropped 5.2% to 51,540 units, which immediately impacted the Blue Oval’s share price that plunged 5%. However, the F-Series remained the top-selling vehicles and the most popular truck in the U.S. It sold 51,540 units.
Top 10 vehicles in the U.S. in January 2016
Ford SUV sales gave a strong showing with volumes up 4.1%. Edge sales climbed 26%. Again, the Lincoln brand sold more than 7,100 vehicles, up 8.4% from January 2015. On the other hand, Ford brand sales plunged 3%. The company’s market share in January stood at 15%.
Ford Motor U.S. January sales since 2010
Fiat Chrysler’s deliveries rose to 6.9% to 155,037 vehicles. That completed the company’s 70th consecutive month of sales gains. While Jeep sales spiked at 15%, Ram pickup trucks posted best-ever January sales. Dodge sales surged 19.1%. On the other hand, Fiat and Chrysler brands sales plunged 20.3% and 22.1%. This was the company’s best-ever January sales in nine months. The company recorded market share of 13.5%.
Performance of other automakers
Toyota’s U.S. auto sales plunged 4.7% for the month of January selling 161,283 units. Lexus was not a good seller with sales down 9.5% to 20,933 units.
Despite the sales drop, there were some positives during the month’s sales.
“For Toyota division, RAV4 led the way with a record January, and pickup truck sales continued to rise, setting a new January Toyota division light truck record,” said Bill Fay, group vice president and general manager for the Toyota division. Apart from this, Camry occupied the fourth spot in terms of sales volume in the economy. Additionally, with market share of 14%, Toyota is close behind Ford.
Nissan reported sales gain of 1.6% by selling 105,734 units. The sales gain is attributable to an 18% sales hike of Nissan-brand trucks. The brand’s car sales fell 6.7%. Honda (HMC, Financial) and Volkswagen (VLKAY, Financial) saw 1.7% and 8.9% sales dips.
Positive outlook
Overall, analysts believe the industry is on track for another record-breaking year. The U.S. auto industry is off to a positive start and sales of new vehicles are also expected to boost volumes during the year.
