MNeagle
1st October 2010, 09:21 AM
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Auto sales appeared ready for another lackluster month in September after automakers reported a jump in sales compared to last year, but much weaker comparisons to August sales.
GM, No. 1 automaker in terms of U.S. sales, reported an 11% increase compared to a year ago, when both dealer inventories and customer demand was severely depressed by the end of the Cash for Clunkers program.
But sales fell about 6% from August. The results were roughly in line with forecasts.
GM posted a 22% rise in sales when the comparison is limited to the four brands it still sells -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. GM discontinued or sold its Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands as part of its bankruptcy process, but in September 2009 it was still disposing of inventory from those brands. Sales at those discontinued brands tumbled 99%.
GM's sales increase lagged results of rivals Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) and Chrysler Group as well as forecasts for automakers due to report September sales later Friday, such as Toyota Motor (TM).
Ford sales shot up 46% compared to a year ago. That was better than the forecasts of a 38% to 42% rise by sales trackers Edmunds.com and TrueCar. But it represented only a 2% increase from the August sales levels.
Ford sales gains were broadbased, with most models posting double-digit sales increases.
Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, reported a 61% spike in sales compared to a year ago, but only a tiny increase of less than 1% from its August sales. September 2009 was the worst month in a terrible sales year for Chrysler. Forecasters from sales trackers Edmunds.com and TrueCar had both projected about a 50% jump in sales for the automaker.
Overall, industry sales are forecast to increase more than 25% compared to a year ago, although that will leave sales more than 5% below August levels. Earlier in the month, after strong industrywide sales over Labor Day weekend, many analysts were expecting the industry to post a gain from August levels.
But Don Johnson, GM's vice president for U.S. sales, said sales ended up pretty much hitting the company's internal targets for the month, and that despite weakness in the middle of the month, sales were strong at the end.
"This recovery has been somewhat uneven," he said. "Overall, [the September sales number] lays the foundation for what we expect will be a stronger industry in the fourth quarter."
http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/01/news/companies/autosales/index.htm?hpt=T2
GM, No. 1 automaker in terms of U.S. sales, reported an 11% increase compared to a year ago, when both dealer inventories and customer demand was severely depressed by the end of the Cash for Clunkers program.
But sales fell about 6% from August. The results were roughly in line with forecasts.
GM posted a 22% rise in sales when the comparison is limited to the four brands it still sells -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. GM discontinued or sold its Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands as part of its bankruptcy process, but in September 2009 it was still disposing of inventory from those brands. Sales at those discontinued brands tumbled 99%.
GM's sales increase lagged results of rivals Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) and Chrysler Group as well as forecasts for automakers due to report September sales later Friday, such as Toyota Motor (TM).
Ford sales shot up 46% compared to a year ago. That was better than the forecasts of a 38% to 42% rise by sales trackers Edmunds.com and TrueCar. But it represented only a 2% increase from the August sales levels.
Ford sales gains were broadbased, with most models posting double-digit sales increases.
Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, reported a 61% spike in sales compared to a year ago, but only a tiny increase of less than 1% from its August sales. September 2009 was the worst month in a terrible sales year for Chrysler. Forecasters from sales trackers Edmunds.com and TrueCar had both projected about a 50% jump in sales for the automaker.
Overall, industry sales are forecast to increase more than 25% compared to a year ago, although that will leave sales more than 5% below August levels. Earlier in the month, after strong industrywide sales over Labor Day weekend, many analysts were expecting the industry to post a gain from August levels.
But Don Johnson, GM's vice president for U.S. sales, said sales ended up pretty much hitting the company's internal targets for the month, and that despite weakness in the middle of the month, sales were strong at the end.
"This recovery has been somewhat uneven," he said. "Overall, [the September sales number] lays the foundation for what we expect will be a stronger industry in the fourth quarter."
http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/01/news/companies/autosales/index.htm?hpt=T2