US car sales slump but Fiat Chrysler surges

Chicago, Oct 3: Almost all major auto makers reported North American sales declines on Tuesday, meeting analyst expectations for a pull-back by consumers in the second half of the year.

Compared to September 2017, sales at Ford, Toyota, and Nissan all declined 10 percent or more. Honda was down seven percent.

The exception was Fiat Chrysler, where its North American subsidiary FCA US saw a sales growth of 15 percent compared to the year-ago period, on the strength of its refreshed Jeep SUV and Ram truck models.

General Motors, which no longer reports monthly figures, said sales in the third quarter were down 11 percent.

"September doesn't appear to have many surprises this year," said Cox Automotive economist Charlie Chesbrough. "Sales reports are showing declines for most manufacturers, as expected."

The recovery last year from catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey boosted auto sales during the equivalent time period -- making this year's early fall numbers look even worse by comparison.

Analysts have been concerned that higher gas prices, rising interest rates, a large supply of relatively new pre-owned cars, and tariffs potentially raising prices, could depress demand in the new car market.

The US Federal Reserve last week raised a key interest rate for the eighth time in two years.

"Results from August and now September suggest our expectations of a slowing market are correct," Chesbrough said.

"With more interest rates hikes expected this year, and continued increases in transaction prices, monthly payments are rising and some car buyers are getting squeezed out of the market."

But GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg pointed to strong US consumer confidence and a robust job market, predicting 2018 would end with total industry sales above 17 million units.

"The US economy and auto industry remain strong," Buckberg said in a statement. "A new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will reduce uncertainty for the auto industry and all three countries."

(AFP/APP)