June was dismal for Car sales, we are now seeing July is even worse. General Motors $GM July sales down 15.4% , Fiat Chrysler $FCAU US sales down 10.5%, Ford $F Sales down -7.4%.
June was dismal for Car sales, we are now seeing July is even worse. General Motors $GM July sales were down 15.4%, compared to an estimated 9.1%. Fiat Chrysler $FCAU US sales were down 10.5% compared to 6.9% expected. Ford $F Sales were down -7.4% compared to a -6.2% estimate.
The positive surprises were from Japan’s Toyota up 3.6% and Germany’s Audi up 2.5%.
The big 3 dealer inventory glut is expanding, do they cut production, find new export markets or increase incentives?
“July 2017 would represent the fifth month in a row under 17 million SAAR, the longest period since a six-month streak from September 2014 through February 2015,” KBB said in a statement.
The big three automakers General Motors $GM, Ford $F and Fiat Chrysler $FCAU sales are indicative of consumer interest, potential jobs and manufacturing. False economies have a downside, auto sales have been downhill since a record December inflated by incentives as automakers tried to boost demand with deals like zero-percent financing.
The sales come after both General Motors and Ford reported earnings and gave guidance just over a week ago.
July U.S. light vehicle sales, down % yr-over-yr. Passenger car sales down % and truck sales up %.
- General Motors (GM) sales fell 15.4% to 226,107 units in June v exp -9.1% by Kelley Blue Book.
- Ford (F) sales fell -5% to 200,212 units in June v exp -6.2% by Kelley Blue Book.
- Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) sales fell 10.5% to 161,477 units in June v exp -6.9% by Kelley Blue Book
- Toyota (TM) sales rose 3.6% to units in June v exp -4.3% by Kelley Blue Book
- Nissan sales (NSANY) fell 3.2% to 128, 295 units in June v exp -5.6% by Kelley Blue Book
- Honda (HMC) fell -1.2% to units in June v exp -3.8% by Kelley Blue Book
- Hyundai-Kia – Hyundai fell %, Kia fell % v exp -11.1% by Kelley Blue Book
- Volkswagen (VLKAY) sales of VW, Audi and Porsche vehicles rose % to units in June v exp +0.0% by Kelley Blue Book. Audi luxury brand rose 2.5% to 19,416 vehicles.
- Subaru rose % to units in June. exp +3.7% by Kelley Blue Book
General Motors $GM
Three of GM’s four brands posted double-digit percentage sales declines in July.
- Chevrolet fell 15.3%,
- Cadillac fell 21.7%
- Buick fell 30.5%,
- GMC fell 7.3%.
Meanwhile GM says they will curb production, taking a cue from OPEC?
“We have strategically decided to reduce car production rather than increase incentive spending or dump vehicles into daily rental fleets, like some of our competitors,” Kurt McNeil, G.M.’s U.S. vice president of Sales Operations, said in a statement.
Ford $F
- The Ford brand fell 7.7% with the luxury Lincoln brand falling 2.5%.
- Retail sales fell 1% with fleet sales down 26.4%.
Car sales down 19.4%, similar horror stories to GM, Ford Fiesta subcompact with a 2.5% decline and a 42.2% decline for the Fusion mid-size car.
Fiat Chrysler $FCAU
Four of $FCAU’s five brands posted double-digit percentage sales declines in July.
- Jeep down 12.3%,
- Chrysler down 30.1%,
- Dodge down 11.9%
- Fiat down 18%.
- Ram sales flat.
Fiat Chrysler contues to reduce its reliance on fleet sales which were down 35%. Retail sales were down 6%.
Last Month
June U.S. light vehicle sales 1.47m, down 3.0% yr-over-yr. Passenger car sales down13.2% and truck sales up 4.1%.
- General Motors (GM) sales fell 4.7% to 243,155 units in June v exp -1.3% by Kelley Blue Book.
- Ford (F) sales fell 5.1% to 227,979 units in June v exp -9.3% by Kelley Blue Book.
- Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) sales fell 7.4% to 187,348 units in June v exp -7.9% by Kelley Blue Book
- Toyota (TM) sales rose 2.1% to 202,376 units in June v exp +0.9% by Kelley Blue Book
- Nissan sales (NSANY) rose 2% to 143,328 units in June v exp -1.1% by Kelley Blue Book
- Honda (HMC) rose 1% to 139,793 units in June v exp -2.7% by Kelley Blue Book
- Hyundai-Kia – Hyundai fell 19.3%, Kia fell10.3% v exp -0.8% by Kelley Blue Book
- Volkswagen (VLKAY) sales of VW, Audi and Porsche vehicles rose 15% to 27,377 units in June v exp +9.1% by Kelley Blue Book. Audi luxury brand posted 5.3% to 19,416 vehicles.
- Subaru rose 11.7% to 52,057 units in June. exp +7.3% by Kelley Blue Book
US light vehicle sales at a rate of 16.51m in June compared to 16.66m in May, the slowest since Feb 2015
U.S. sales had six straight years of sales gains into December. The National Automobile Dealers Association expected U.S. sales to drop to 17.1 million vehicles in 2017 as interest rates and vehicle prices rise. Buyers are also opting for longer loans to lock in lower rates which also means they won’t be buying as soon.
Low gasoline prices, rising employment and low interest rates buoyed buyers in 2016. There was also the lure of new technology such as backup cameras, automatic emergency braking and Apple CarPlay. New vehicles such as the electric vehicles like Tesla high end offerings and the Chevrolet Bolt helped last year. New vehicles like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and the Honda Civic are also popular.
Source: Reuters, Edmunds, TradersCommunity Research Desk, Kelley Blue Book,
From The Traders Community News Desk