Most large USA automakers on Wednesday reported slower sales in May, which company officials primarily blamed on two fewer selling days compared to the same month in 2015. While its sales have been declining for months due to a pullback in deliveries to fleet buyers, the company’s retail sales also slipped 13%, mostly due to fewer selling days and “very tight supplies of new launched products”. “With our balanced lineup and an all-new Ridgeline pickup and restyled and re-engineered 2017 Accord Hybrid launching this summer, we remain bullish on our prospects for a third consecutive yearly sales record for the Honda brand”. “Rather than chasing volume for the sake of volume, they are making better margins”, he said in a phone interview.
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GM said sales fell across brands, including Buick, down 22.1 per cent, and Chevrolet, 18.6 per cent.
The Detroit automaker said customer demand has “significantly exceeded supply for new vehicles like the Malibu, Cruze, XT5 and CT6”. Ford said sales were strong over Memorial Day weekend.
Another red flag: Sales incentives crept up 11% last month compared with the prior May, exceeding $3,000 per vehicle on average, Autodata reports. In addition to the calendar issues the rest of the industry is facing for May’s comparison, GM has been substantially reducing its rental-fleet sales and had to deal with production hiccups at Fairfax, Lordstown, and Spring Hill because of the Japanese earthquakes.
A USA stall would be worrisome because other global markets are shrinking or still trying to recover from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. However, Ford’s F-Series pickup’s sales rose 9% during the month and the sales of Ford Vans peaked at their best since 1978.
Analysts had expected softer May sales generally after an April surge as a seven-year boom in the auto industry shows signs of moderating. “With strong demand for pickups, vans and SUVs, Ford brand saw average prices grow nearly $1,500 per vehicle in May – about 50 percent higher than the industry”. Companies like General Motors and Ford Motor led the decline with a major slump. The Lincoln MKX drove sales for the luxury brand. 7267, -4.16% also posted year-over-year sales declines.
“That’s where consumers are going so that’s where we’re leaning in”, LaNeve said.
Over the first five months of the year, GM sales were down five per cent from the same period in 2015, while United States rival Ford sales rose 4.2 per cent. The automakers’ reports join other economic data, including jobs numbers coming Friday, that Federal Reserve policymakers will examine when considering a possible interest rate change this month or next. Ford’s total truck sales surged 8.9%, while utility sales grew 0.3%, however its vehicle sales plunged 25%. Fiat Chrysler and Subaru bucked the trend, with sales up 1 percent each.
Ford sold 235,997 vehicles during May, translating into a decline of 6% against the same month of 2015.
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The disatvantages of a May with two fewer selling days and one less weekend, at a time when sales of passenger cars are slowing in favor of SUVs, made for a brutal-looking vehicle segment. Toyota reported a 9.6% sales decline, Honda Motor Co. sales were off almost 5%, and Nissan Motor Co. reported a 1% drop.
