U.S. auto sales have been historically strong in September, but this year dealership traffic appears to have lowered after more than six straight years of steady growth. Almost all automakers including General Motors (GM, Financial), Ford (F, Financial), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU, Financial) and Honda (HMC, Financial) reported declines in sales volumes. However, Asian counterparts Toyota (TM, Financial) and Nissan (NSANY, Financial) managed to register growth.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate for September stood at 17.45 million units. Retail sales have eased since solid numbers were seen in the second half of last year. As such automakers are heavily spending on discounts and incentives to keep their factories operating to capacity and relying on fleet sales to boost their volumes. Here’s a comprehensive look at the performances of U.S. and other automakers.
Performances of the U.S. automakers
The top U.S. seller, General Motors, said that its sales dropped 0.6% to 249,795 units in September as seen in the chart below. Sales volume has been softer in the last six months compared with the previous year's comparable period. During September, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra faced declines in their sales, 15.5% and 8.5%. Moreover, the company’s pickup sales plunged. All this impacted the company’s market share which reduced to less than 17%. In contrast, Buick sales climbed 14% powered by robust sales of new Envision. Cadillac sales surged 3% on the back of strong sales of the XT5 SUV and CT6 sedan.
Source: www.goodcarbadcar.net
Ford said that its sales dropped 8% year over year to 204,447 vehicles. Retail sales dropped 4%, and sales to fleet customers declined 21%. F-Series truck sales were also disappointing, down 3%. In contrast, Lincoln sales were up 1%, but that of course has a negligible impact on the company’s overall performance for the month. The Blue Oval’s sales volume has been down in the last three months compared with the previous year's comparable period.
Source: www.goodcarbadcar.net
Fiat Chrysler witnessed a drop in sales of 0.9% as the automaker sold 192,883 units in September. Ram sales improved 27%. The remaining brands’ sales, including Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, were down for September.
Performances of the other automakers
Toyota and Nissan were among the few automakers that posted gains amid the U.S. auto sales slowdown. Toyota registered 1.5% sales improvement by delivering 197,260 vehicles in September, missing a 2% gain estimate. Toyota brand sales rose 1.4% while sales of the luxury Lexus brand improved 2%.
Honda, on the other hand, witnessed a meager 0.1% sales decline as it sold 133,655 vehicles in September, selling 95 fewer vehicles compared with last year’s September. The company’s car sales dropped 8% while Acura sales plunged 13%. However, the small SUV, HR-V, witnessed a 49% sales surge year over year.
Nissan’s sales jumped 5% to 127,797 units on the back of strong truck and SUV sales. Murano and Rogue set a record for the month. Moreover, luxury brand Infinite sales spiked 12%.
Lower auto sales for September have raised doubts regarding the outlook for the year. Will the industry be able to do as well this year as in the previous year? Some analysts believe that the industry is going to plateau but would close the year at an all-time record or be very close to volumes reported in 2015.
Disclosure: I do not hold any position in the stock/s mentioned in this article.
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