The U.S. auto industry posted a flat November sales at 742,925 vehicles compared to the year-ago level, suggesting the market has bottomed. The seasonally adjusted rate was 10.9 million vehicles compared 10.4 million vehicles in November last year. Sales of cars and light trucks dipped 3% to 566,365 vehicles.
Automakers tried to regain sales through discounts and higher sales incentives. According to the auto information website Edmunds.com, sales incentives increased 2% to $2,713 per vehicle during the month. However, this has not proved very helpful in melting the ice. The high unemployment rate was cited as the primary factor behind the lagging sales.
Among the U.S. automakers, Ford (F) succeeded in sustaining a strong position in the market by posting flat sales at 122,846 vehicles during November. The automaker’s sales of crossovers, which imitates SUVs but with a higher fuel-efficiency, grew 26%. Its car sales rose 14%, driven by a fuel-efficient product line. However, sales of trucks and SUVs posted double-digit declines on account of a deteriorated construction industry conditions and fuel-inefficiency, respectively.
Sales at General Motors fell 2% to 151,427 vehicles. However, four of its core brands — Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC — performed well. Chrysler sales were lagged with a 25% decline to 63,560 vehicles, despite an array of sales incentives, including zero percent financing and cash rebates offered by the automaker.
Toyota (TM) showed a 2.6% rise in sales to 133,700 vehicles in the U.S. helped by popular models including Camry (up 18% 27,385 vehicles), RAV4 crossover (up 35.1% 11,512 vehicles) and Prius (up 11% to 9,617 vehicles). Hyundai sales shot up 46% on the back of its top-selling fuel-efficient and low-cost sedan, Sonata.
Honda (HMC) recorded a 2.9% decline in sales to 74,003 vehicles driven by poor sales of Civic (23% decline) and the Fit (27% decline). Sales at Nissan (NSANY) were up 21% to 56,288 vehicles after declining for the past three months. Some of its vehicles, which showed significant sales increases, included Maxima (83.8%), Altima (43.1%), Frontier (71.4%) and Xterra (50.9%).
We believe the U.S. automotive market will gain its momentum next year as many automakers are projecting positive views by announcing production increases. However, we need to wait for a drop in the unemployment rate to support the revamped inventories.
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