Wall Street’s meltdown isn’t over yet. On the heels of Monday’s wild market swings, stock watchers are predicting the investor enthusiasm that powered the equities surge in recent years is headed for a brutal reality check. Monday’s market turmoil, spurred by concerns about the health of China’s economy, metastasized into a panic that shows no sign of abetting.
New car and truck sales exceeded already lofty expectations in May as easy credit, longer loans and Memorial Day weekend promotions attracted strong showroom traffic. The industry’s annual selling rate reached 17.8 million, the strongest monthly pace since July 2005, according to Autodata.
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it’s laying off 700 workers at a Michigan assembly plant because of slow sales of the small cars and hybrids it makes. […]
Carmakers embrace social media and spend millions of dollars on sophisticated marketing campaigns, but many dealers barely maintain a Facebook page. Some experts question whether local businesses even need to be active on social media.
Automotive sales have been strong the past few years, reflecting the strengthening economy. But buyers put the brakes on in March. With just a day to go, auto sales this month are on pace for their first year-to-year decline in more than a year, marking just the sixth month since 2009 that sales have declined.
Toyota led major automakers with a 13.3% gain over last February. Others came in below analysts’ predictions. Chrysler, General Motors, Honda and Nissan all saw gains of 6% or less. Ford’s U.S. sales were down 1.9%, as dealers lacked the inventory to meet demand for the new F-150 pickup truck. Volkswagen’s sales fell 5.2%.
Exclusives
U.S. auto sales are on pace for the best February since 2002, forecasters say, even as relentless snow slowed demand in the Northeast. February is expected to mark the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year gains for the industry.
The Japanese automaker sold 10.23 million vehicles, beating out Volkswagen and General Motors. But it expects to sell fewer trucks and cars this year, forecasting sales will fall 1% year-on-year to 10.15 million vehicles, according to numbers released Wednesday.
Black Friday promotions — coupled with falling gas prices, low-interest loans and hot new vehicles — drove U.S. auto sales higher in November, kicking off what’s expected to be a strong holiday season. Subaru and Chrysler led the major automakers with sales increases around 20%. It was Subaru’s best November ever and Chrysler’s best November in 13 years. General Motors, Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen also reported gains. Sales fell at Ford, Hyundai and Nissan.
GM, Chrysler and Nissan — fueled by robust demand for light trucks — set the pace among major automakers as each posted U.S. sales gains of 19% in September. Honda followed with a 12% gain. The increases were countered by slight advances at Hyundai and Toyota, while Ford declined.
The Japanese company sold 9.7 million cars and trucks worldwide in 2012, although it’s still counting. GM sold 9.29 million. Both companies saw higher sales, but Toyota’s growth was far larger as it rolled out new versions of popular models like the Camry.
Carmakers on Thursday announced their final figures, which totaled 14.5 million — 13% better than 2011. More than three years after the federal government’s $62 billion auto-industry bailout, Americans had plenty of incentive to buy new cars and trucks in the year just ended. The best part of 2012 came at the end, when special deals on pickup trucks and the usual round of sparkling holiday ads helped December sales jump 9% to more than 1.3 million, according to Autodata Corp.
Toyota Motor Co., poised to regain its title as the world’s biggest carmaker this year, said its vehicle sales may rise 2% next year to a record amount, led by demand from overseas markets. Global sales may climb to 9.91 million vehicles in 2013, it said yesterday. The maker of the Corolla and the Camry sedan estimates sales expanded 22% to a record 9.7 million this year, the biggest gain since at least 2000.
U.S. auto sales — led by Honda Motor Co., the Volkswagen Group and Toyota Motor Corp. — jumped 20% last month for the strongest monthly pace in three years. The results topped most analysts’ forecasts and marked the greatest pace of growth since the U.S.-sponsored cash-for-clunkers program in August 2009.
Ford said that it sold nearly half a million of the compact cars in the first six months of the year and that it expects the world’s-best pace to continue.“The Focus is attracting many new customers to the Ford brand for the very first time, particularly in Asia where we are growing every day,” says global market chief Jim Farley.
New vehicle sales look set to rise almost 30% in May, the biggest gain in more than a year and helped by a favorable comparison to weak results a year ago, two research firms predicted this week.
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson foresees flat industrywide U.S. auto sales in 2012, but says GM can continue to prosper because of a low breakeven point, sustained in part by the new contract with the UAW. Akerson’s market forecast for next year is gloomier than that of many analysts, but he doesn’t buy the predictions of a sales-juicing incentive binge.
Automakers expect new-car sales to outperform the lousy overall economy in the coming months — just as they did in a surprisingly strong September. Here’s why.
Major automakers posted double-digit percentage U.S. sales gains for September in a rebound that General Motors Co. said showed the economy was likely to steer clear of a double-dip recession. Among the Detroit automakers, GM sales rose 20%, while Ford Motor Co. sales rose 9% and Chrysler Group was up 27%.
Lured by new models, cheaper financing and the need to replace agingvehicles, American’s bought cars last month, boosting August sales by 7.5% compared with the same month last year.
U.S. auto sales for August were projected to fall short of July’s rebounding pace as consumer confidence sank, prospects dimmed for faster economic growth and Hurricane Irene ravaged the East Coast. August vehicle sales, to be released today, were forecast to run at a 12.1 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. The pace averaged above 13 million through April of this year and dropped below 12 million in May and June before rising to 12.2 million in July.
Gyrations in stocks and talk of a weakening economy are ratting consumer confidence about taking on another payment. Analysts say the swoon in financial markets and economic uncertainty could reduce auto sales by a few percentage points, shrink earnings and delay hiring in an industry that has been a recent leader in job creation.
U.S. auto sales rose 1% in July as demand for crossovers and small, fuel-efficient vehicles was enough to overcome sharp declines at earthquake-hampered Honda and Toyota. Every other major automaker advanced, led by Volkswagen AG and Chrysler Group.
July auto sales should show an improvement from the past two months as the industry recovers from supply chain disruptions in Japan, but it could be a long time before the industry is fully back on track.
As Japan’s escalating disaster comes ashore in North America, automakers, suppliers and dealers are preparing for shortages of parts and vehicles.
As car buyers head back into dealerships after a two-year drought, they’re being greeted by rock-bottom interest rates on auto loans, eye-popping lease deals and a renewed willingness to lend to people with spotty credit. As a results, U.S. auto sales rose 20% in February to the highest monthly pace since the cash for clunkers program in August 2009.
Ford Motor Co. says its U.S. sales rose 15% in 2010, while Chrysler today reported that its U.S. sales rose 17% last year, helped by purchases from rental car companies and strong demand for its new Jeep.
Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan, Hyundai and Honda all reported double-digit increases. Only Toyota, which has been hurt by a string of safety recalls, had a sales drop.
Auto sales put in their strongest performance of the year in October as buyers grew more confident in the economy and incentives lured them into dealerships. Every major automaker but Toyota chalked up better results last month. Overall industry sales accelerated 13.4% to 950,165.
