US auto sales for the month of January remained flat as compared with last year as due to stern winter season and the bomb cyclone that hit the East Coast. Analysts expect sales to slow down a bit in the initial months of this year given robust sales in the final few months of 2017. However, the total industry sales jumped 1% in January on a year over year basis. As a matter of fact, the seasonally adjusted annualised sales rate came in at 17.23 million.
Also, one of the highlights of the month was the fact that customers are buying more crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks than passenger cars. Let’s dig deep into the monthly performance of Detroit and other automakers for the month.
Performance of US automaker
The top US automaker General Motors (GM, Financial) registered a 1.3% January sales gain to 198,548 vehicles. The sales gain was attributable to solid fleet sales (up 16% year over year). Chevrolet sales climbed 5% on the back of robust performance of Silverado full-sized pickup whose sales amounted to 40,716 units. Buick sales soared 4% for the month. By contrast, Cadillac and GMC brands saw sales decline, down 3.9% and 11.4%, respectively.
Ford’s (F, Financial) sales plunged 6.6% year over year to 161,143 vehicles. While Ford brand sales declined 5.6% to 154,733 vehicles, Lincoln sales decreased by 27% to 6,410 vehicles. Passenger car sales plunged 23% on a year over year basis as is evident from the fact that more than 80% of the vehicles sold in January comprised pickups, vans, crossovers or SUVs. F-Series sales saw its best January sales in 14 years, up 1.6% to 58,937 vehicles. As a matter of fact, the average transaction price (ATP) for F-Series surged $1400 from January 2016 to $47800.
Chrysler’s (FCAU, Financial) sales tumbled 13% to 198,548 vehicles. Jeep was the only brand that saw sales surge, up 2.2% from January 2016. Brands that brought about the company’s decline were Chrysler (down 20.9% year over year), Dodge (down 31.2%), Ram (down 15.8%) and Fiat (down 43.2%).
Performance of other automakers
The world’s largest automaker Toyota (TM, Financial) saw a 16.8% sales increase in January. The sales gain is attributable to impressive sales of pickup trucks and SUVs. Moreover, luxury Lexus witnessed sales increase of 15% year over year. Passenger car sales jumped 5% led by Camry passenger car whose sales increased 21% from January.2016.
Nissan (NSANY, Financial) sales, on the other hand, surged 10% year over year. The combined sales of pickup trucks, SUVs and crossovers rose 10% in January. By contrast, the company’s luxury Infiniti brand sales dropped 8%. However, that had a negligible impact on the company’s overall growth.
Honda Motor Company (HMC, Financial) said that it sold 104,542 vehicles in January. Honda brand sales plunged 1.6% while Acura sales dipped 3.2%. As a matter of fact, truck sales decreased 1.8%.year over year.
Last word
US auto sales reached its highest point in 2016 after which it dropped 2% to 17.23 million units in 2017. As a matter of fact, car sales are projected to drop even further this year. Interest rates are rising and Americans are keeping their cars for longer period of time. Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc, commented:
"I think the industry has accepted that (sales) volumes will fall somewhat in 2018 ... and I don't think the industry is going to go over the cliff with insane incentives,"
Stay tuned for February numbers.
Disclosure: I do not hold any position in the stocks mentioned in this article.
