Detroit trio’s U.S. car sales jump in August
by Shawn Langlois
September 1, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC managed to shrug off an ornery Mother Nature, some wild stock-market fluctuations and a stubborn economy to report Thursday double-digit percentage gains in U.S. sales for August.
That wasn’t the case for the leading Japanese manufacturers. Toyota Motor Corp. fell behind Chrysler by just a few hundred cars and Honda Motor Co. saw its sales slip by more than 20% for the fourth consecutive month.
Overall, the industry’s tally reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales, or SAAR, of 12.1 million units, up 1.2% from July and up from 11.5 million vehicles a year ago, according to Autodata.
GM said it sold 218,479 cars and trucks in August, an 18% improvement from a year ago. The retail side gained 22% while less-profitable sales to fleet customers like rental car companies rose 8%. The improvements were steady across the product lineup, with cars and trucks up 18% each and crossovers ahead 17%.
“The ‘new GM’ is making the strides it promised,” said Edmunds.com analyst Michelle Krebs. “About the only negative signs on GM’s spreadsheet of August sales were for models being discontinued or soon to be replaced.”
Still, GM shares continue to be stuck in a rut well below their IPO price. The stock closed down another 4.2% at $23.03 and is down 38% since the beginning of the year.
Looking ahead, GM reiterated its full-year, seasonally adjusted rate of sales in a range of 13 million to 13.5 million vehicles.
“We’re carrying good momentum and we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll see U.S. economic growth improve in the months ahead,” said Don Johnson, vice president of GM’s U.S. sales division.
Ford gains, but Chrysler leads the charge
Ford didn’t fare quite as well as its hometown rivals, but it still reported an 11% increase to 175,220 cars and trucks. Ford brand sales rose 16%, while Lincoln sales surged 25%.
Ford also said it plans to build 645,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up 9% from a year ago. The car maker didn’t change its third-quarter production forecast of 630,000 vehicles.
Ford’s shares finished the session down 2.4% at $10.85.
Chrysler, controlled by Italy’s Fiat SpA, reported a 31% jump to 130,119 cars and trucks. The results mark the car maker’s best August since 2007 and also the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year improvements. Retail sales surged 42%.
“In spite of a volatile market, Chrysler managed to significantly outperform the industry again in August,” said Reid Bigland, head of Chrysler’s U.S. sales.
Toyota slips down list
Toyota reported a 12.7% decline in August U.S. sales to 129,483 cars and trucks.
The company said North America production will finally return to 100% this month, which should help vehicle sales get back on track after the March shaker in Japan slammed inventory levels.
Honda, which is still working to fully recover from the March earthquake in Japan, reported a 24% drop to 82,321 cars and trucks. The company pointed out that production plans for most models returned to 100% in North America late last month, which should help boost selection and unit sales in the coming months.
Nissan Motor Co. joined its Detroit counterparts in the green, with a 19.2% rise to 91,541 cars and trucks. The car maker said it expects to have taken market share away from competitors during the month due to better vehicle availability.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm-posts-18-rise-in-august-us-sales-2011-09-01?siteid=
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