Zacks Investment Research raised Ford Motor Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th.
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Fiat Chrysler’s sales declined by 6.6% versus a 5.8% projected decline, although the company cited a purposeful decline in fleet sales as a big reason and efforts at reintroducing the Alfa-Romeo line appears to be off to a good start with almost 700 deliveries.
The U.S. vehicle industry has been on a winning streak since bailouts rescued General Motors Co. and other auto companies in 2009.
While sales are down, the industry as a whole is still expecting about 17 million units to be moved this year. “I think that’s why we’re starting to see sales back off a little bit”, she said.
Ford Motor revealed that its fleet sales remained flat in April with 73,933 vehicles sold. All three companies reported slumping sales for passenger cars including the Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu and Toyota Prius sedans.
Not everyone subscribes to the notion that the industry is headed for annual sales of under 16 million over the next couple of years.
Some hybrid and electric cars, meantime, are enjoying healthy percentage sales increases, but off of a tiny base: April sales for the all-electric Nissan Leaf were up 35.1% year-over-year, to a total of 1,063 cars. “But with interest rates rising, auto loans are becoming less enticing for consumers, which inevitably creates further drag on new vehicle sales”. Everence Cap Mgmt Inc has invested 0.31% in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). The company said vehicle deliveries slumped 21 percent, while SUV deliveries edged up 1.2 percent and pickup demand slid 4.2 percent. Lincoln (-0.9%) deliveries slipped to 9,691 units, despite a 24.8% gain for the MKZ and 1,003 sales from Continental.
The stock subtracted in the prior trading session by -1.27%, closing at the stock price of $34.2.
FCA US was down across all of its brands, except Ram trucks which saw sales rise five percent.
Economists have blamed some of the softening in vehicle sales on tighter credit after industry sales surged.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd said April U.S. sales were off 1.5 percent, but SUVs, crossovers and trucks jumped 11 percent. But General Motors took an even harder hit, posting a 5.8% drop in sales rather than the 0.5% fall that was expected. It said April’s Chevrolet crossover sales set a record, however Chevrolet sales were down 10.4 percent overall.
The largest auto makers in the U.S. sparked concerns that years of high-flying demand are over. Toyota sales for April totaled 9,912, down 3.4% year over year.
As automakers released sales data Tuesday, stocks of Detroit automakers came under heavy pressure. But as the consumer appetite for new cars has waned, automakers have leaned more heavily on discounts.
GM’s spending in April was 11.7 percent, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates, which was below the company’s first quarter average of 14.1 percent and March’s level of 13.6 percent. Similarly, its Edge grew 6 percent to 12,147 vehicles sold in April. This year, analysts expect fewer sales, but most envision more of a plateau, not the kind of drop-off that could hurt the economy.
Sales are declining even as auto makers have ratchet up discounts. But in some light-truck segments, consumer demand in easing and pressure is building, analysts say, forcing prices down.
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Only Volkswagen AG posted a 1.6 percent increase in April, with sales standing at 27,557 units. With marginal buyers beginning to balk due to sticker shock, Ford Motor Co. cautioned last week it’s not going to be able to count on price increases to boost North American profits the rest of this year. “Kelley Blue Book anticipates average transaction prices will likely begin to decrease when the sales mix of SUVs eventually levels off”.
