US Auto Sales Show Resilience Amid Weak Consumer Confidence

Weak consumer confidence and the impact of Hurricane Irene failed to dampen US auto sales in August, with most carmakers reporting better results compared to the same period a year earlier. Despite the challenges, the industry continued its streak of consecutive year-over-year increases, with General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler all posting significant gains. Nissan and Volkswagen also reported notable increases, while Toyota and Honda struggled due to lingering inventory issues stemming from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Key Takeaways:

• General Motors reported an 18% increase in US sales from August 2010, with Chrysler's sales up 31% and a 58% increase for its Jeep SUVs.
• Nissan's US sales rose 19.2% while Volkswagen's sales increased 10.4%.
• Chrysler marked its 17th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth, with its recovery gathering momentum after a 2009 bankruptcy.
• Nissan's Leaf electric car sales for the month were 1,362, more than quadruple the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid's 302 sales.
• Don Johnson, G.M. vice president of US sales operations, expressed confidence in the industry's full-year sales forecast of at least 13 million units, despite analysts cutting their projections.
• Analysts forecast disappointing numbers for Toyota and Honda due to inventory issues, but Nissan was able to promote its abundant inventory in contrast to Honda's bare showrooms.

Statistics:

• US auto sales increased 10.9% from January to July, excluding the 7.1% decline at Toyota and 2.6% decline at Honda, the rest of the industry was up 16.6%.
• August marked the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year increases for Chrysler.
• General Motors remained confident in its full-year sales forecast of at least 13 million units.
• Leaf electric car sales for the month were 1,362.

Sources:

• BY NICK BUNKLEY DETROIT
• No external reference provided.