The U.S. auto industry reported its October sales. While demand for larger vehicles and pickup trucks continued to show an upward trend, automakers witnessed solid replacement demand on account of flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Despite all this, auto sales in the U.S. plummeted 1.3% to 1.35 million vehicles. Considering a sales drop in October, analysts remain certain that annual sales volume will be less than in the previous year.
Of the three Detroit automakers, Ford (F, Financial) reported sales growth while General Motors (GM, Financial) and Chrysler (FCAU, Financial) posted sales decline for the month. Here’s a comprehensive analysis on the monthly performances of the automakers.
The Big Three
The leading U.S. automaker, General Motors, sold 252,813 units in October, down 2.3% from the same period last year. The sales drop was due to poor performance across the company’s three major brands – Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac. In contrast, GMC sales surged 4.6%. The company saw gains in trucks and crossovers. But car sales plunged 24% to 52,800 units on a year-over-year basis. The positive that the company could take out from October sales was that its electric car Chevrolet Bolt enjoyed huge sales in the U.S. market.
Source: www.goodcarbadcar.net
Ford’s October sales surpassed expectations with a 6.4% sales growth to 199,698 units. The Michigan-based automaker saw huge demand for its F-Series pickups, up 15.9% to 75,974 units. This marked the model's best October since 2004. While retail sales climbed 3.5%, fleet sales increased 15%. Sales of Ford Division and Lincoln improved 6.8% and 1.8%. The combined sales of SUVs and crossovers soared 5.3%. Strong contributions from trucks, vans, SUVs and crossovers powered Ford’s overall sales considerably.
Source: www.goodcarbadcar.net
Fiat Chrysler reported a 13.5% sales drop in October, compared with last October. The company’s key brands reported declines. Brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat recorded 2.5%, 22.3%, 41% and 32.5% sales drops. What hampered the company’s overall sales were disappointing fleet sales which were down 43% to 23,220 vehicles.
Performance of other automakers
The world’s topmost automaker, Toyota (TM, Financial), experienced 1.1% sales growth in October. Robust performance of trucks, SUVs and crossovers (up 15.5% combined) compensated for the tumbling sales of passenger cars (down 12.7% year over year). RAV4 proved to be the company’s best-seller as is evident from its sales volumes which stood at 34,086 units, up 34.1%. Toyota brand sales improved 2.5%. But sales of its luxury Lexus lineup dipped 7.7%. This did not have an adverse impact on the company’s monthly sales growth.
Nissan’s (NSANY, Financial) U.S. sales spiked 8.4% in October to 123,012 units. The sales gain was attributable to robust sales of trucks, SUVs and crossovers, up 13% combined. This also included a 43% sales growth of the Nissan Rogue crossover. Honda Motor’s (HMC, Financial) sales, on the other hand, grew 0.9%. While Honda car sales were up 5.9%, Accord and Civic sedan sales rose 4.7% and 15%.
Last word
October was a month that gave mixed results for the automakers. September was the only month this year with positive sales growth on a year-over-year basis. The remaining two months are likely to drive good results as the automakers would shift to providing more discounts and incentives to generating revenue and end the year on a high note. Average discounts on vehicles in October came in at $3,901, which was more than the automakers provided last year ($3,835).
As for this month, trucks and SUVs dominated the U.S. market accounting for nearly two-thirds of total automotive sales with cars contributing the remaining portion. Let’s stay tuned for further updates.
Disclosure: I do not hold any position in the stocks mentioned in this article.
