Sales of the 2015 Chevrolet Suburban were up 50% in September, helping the maker to a 19% overall increase, including 17% at the retail level.
General Motors, Nissan and Audi all reported major sales gains during September as sales of new vehicles remained strong. However, with its stock price under pressure, Ford Motor Co. reported that its sales – and marketshare – continued to shrink during the past month.
Reid Bigland, head of U.S. Sales, said Chrysler, Jeep, Ram Truck and Fiat brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in September as Chrysler Group’s overall sales increased by 19%.
Jeep’s 47% increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand and its best-ever sales in the month of September. Chrysler Group extended its streak of year-over-year sales gains to 54 consecutive months.
“Continued consumer demand for our new Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan, our Jeep models and the Ram pickup truck helped Chrysler Group achieve a 19% sales increase in September and our 54th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth,” Bigland said.
The new Chrysler 200 helped push Chrysler Group to its 54th consecutive month of increased sales.
Chrysler Group has posted seven consecutive months of double-digit sales increase and finished September with a 71-day supply of inventory across the United States.
GM’s deliveries increased 19% compared with a year ago. Retail deliveries, which are sales to individual consumers, were up 17%. Fleet deliveries were up 30%, including the 11th consecutive monthly increase in commercial sales. But the troubled Cadillac Division saw its sales drop by 1.3% even though sales of the Cadillac Escalade more than doubled.
“GM saw strength almost across the board in September, and outpaced the industry with the newest trucks and SUVs at exactly the right time,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations.
“We will have improved availability of heavy-duty pickups and large SUVs in the months ahead, and the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are arriving in showrooms as we speak. This sets us up to finish the year on a very strong note.”
Nissan Group also enjoyed a strong month in September with an 18.5% jump over the prior year. Audi reported that its September 2014 sales increased 14.2% to 14,917 vehicles, a total that stands as the 45th consecutive month of record monthly U.S. sales for the brand. Hyundai also reported a sales gain of 2% during September.
After a strong summer, Toyota reported Toyota, Scion and Lexus today reported total September 2014 sales increased slightly by 1.7% from year-ago levels.
Toyota's 4Runner saw a marked jump in September sales, helping the Japanese maker to small increase.
“Auto sales remained strong in September and rounded out an excellent third quarter, the best for the industry since 2006,” said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. “SUVs and crossovers continue to be the industry’s hot spots, and RAV4 and 4Runner both saw double-digits gains,” Fay said.
Volkswagen sales, however, continued to decline dropping 18.6% during September.
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Ford Motor Co. said sales were down 3% in September as the company transitions production to its all-new F-Series aluminum bodied pickup truck due in showrooms by the start of next year.
As the automaker makes an historic transition to a lighter version of the longtime national best-selling vehicle, it has managed inventories of the previous version, which pushed down deliveries by 1%.
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But Ford sedan sales are down about 6%. The Ford Fusion was the only Ford passenger car to grow sales, by nearly 9%, which was the best year-to-date sales performance for the midsized car since 2005.
Meanwhile, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $32,500 last month. New car prices increased $133, which is up 0.4%, from September 2013, while rising $56 from August.
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“Non-luxury utility vehicles are driving some of the strength in transaction prices, with combined market share expected to rise 2 percentage points to 27.8% of the market,” said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for KBB.
“In addition to strong utility sales, average transaction prices are up for small, medium and large SUVs/crossovers. With consumers continually shifting toward utilities rather than more traditional sedans, we expect to see transaction prices continue to rise.”
Strong sales of trucks and crossovers boosted GM’s average transaction prices (ATP) to about $34,600, the highest in company history, according to J.D. Power estimates. ATPs were up about $1,200 per unit compared with August, and they were up about $2,500 per unit from a year ago. Nearly 80% of retail customers who bought a large SUV, which are some of the most expensive vehicles on the road, purchased a Chevrolet or GMC product, GM’s McNeil noted.