Most major automakers are reporting double-digit US sales gains for October – as the industry rolls along toward what could be a record-setting year. A trio of redesigned SUVs – the Ford Edge, Explorer, and Lincoln MKX – gained 39 percent, 30 percent, and 9.7 percent, respectively. Nissan sales rose 12.5 percent over a year ago, and Fiat Chrysler’s sales were up almost 15 percent.
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Honda said it had a record-breaking October, selling 131,651 Honda and Acura vehicles, an increase of 8.6 percent.
Auto makers in the USA said car sales rose by a double-digit percentage in October, driven by the month having five weekends and continued strong demand for larger vehicles amid low oil prices. In addition, Dodge Journey, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Compass, Jeep Wrangler, Ram ProMaster and Brampton-built Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger each recorded their best October sales ever.
“The consumer is driving this”, Jeff Schuster, an analyst for LMC Automotive, said in an interview. It seems that Jeep’s iconic image is far more powerful than surveys and the brand enthusiasts will keep buying their models regardless. TrueCar said vehicle manufacturers spent 14.1 percent more than in October 2014 on cash-back promotions and other deals. “Gains in our truck business were especially strong”. Volatile interest rates and reduced capital cushions for the two companies, under their agreements with the government, “will likely make both enterprises increasingly susceptible to the possibility of quarterly losses that could result in draws” from the Treasury, Mel Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement Tuesday.
New SUVs continue to deliver big profitsAs we’ve seen since the second quarter, Ford is also generating heavy profits on its SUVs.
In 2009, at the depth of the Great Recession, USA auto sales dipped to 10.4 million vehicles.
“We’re in a strong market, but it’s a very competitive market with a lot of activity out there”, he said.
Most analysts expected it would be one of the few automakers with lower sales. That lowered industry profits and slashed cars’ resale values.
Analysts had forecasted October sales to be 8 to 12 percent higher than previous year. VW’s other brands, Audi and Porsche, saw little impact because the scandal mostly affected four-cylinder diesels in Volkswagens.
GM thanks to it’s Sliverado pickup says its sales rose nearly 16% last month. Sales of the Lexus luxury brand rose 13 percent.
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Ford Motor Co.’s sales jumped to almost 214,000.
