Chrysler's flagship 300 posts a 480% sales increase for February, the maker up 40% overall.
TheDetroitBureau.com will update the Feb. 2012 sales story as more manufacturers report in.
With Volkswagen posting its best sales in almost 40 years, new car sales continued to gain momentum and to provide a huge lift the US economy during February.
Early forecasts had predicted a strong month and with preliminary results now coming in from VW, Chrysler Group, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. the analysts proved to be, if anything, conservative in their expectations, as all four companies reported substantial sales increases.
Preliminary indications – with a number of major makers, including Toyota yet to report in – show that smaller passenger cars and crossovers gained significant momentum of their own in February as consumers responded to the threat fuel prices could again run up to record levels this year.
The new Passat helped VW achieve its best U.S. sales in four decades.
Chrysler sales increased 40% in February as the company posted its best February sales since 2008 and the 23rd-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. And one key model saw demand increase nearly fivefold.
General Motors reported a slight sales increase – defying some forecasts predicting a February decline — and noted the underlying strength of the US economy is steadily improving. GM reported total sales of 209,306 vehicles in February, up 1.1% compared with the company’s very strong February 2011 results.
“Chevrolet’s 6 percent sales increase, which was driven by new models, as well as a stronger economy, helped GM exceed last February’s remarkably strong result,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “It’s an affirmation of our progress. We are continuing to execute the same disciplined sales strategy that was the key to our success in 2011.”
While GM sales have been lagging key competitors in recent months, the maker has garnered kudos for its willingness to take a sales hit in return for reining in costly incentives. Nonetheless, preliminary estimates suggest the giant maker is still putting an industry-leading average of more than $3,000 on the hood of each vehicle it is selling in the U.S.
Industry wide, February light vehicle sales will top 1.1 million units, thanks to stronger employment and credit availability, an improving housing market and the recovery in consumer sentiment, noted GM’s Johnson.
“Commercial sales are a good barometer for the economy,” Johnson said. “GM’s commercial deliveries increased 35 percent in February, driven by strong sales of heavy-duty pickups,” he said.
The underlying strength of the economy was reinforced by Volkswagen AG, which posted a 42% increase in sales as it enjoyed the best February since 1973. The maker is receiving a clear consumer endorsement for its strategy of developing products – such as the 2012 Passat – specifically for the American market. It is building that midsize sedan at a new assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the first time VW has built cars in the States in nearly three decades.
Ford posted a 14% increase in February U.S. sales versus year-ago levels, with 179,119 vehicles sold; retail sales increasing by 19% as the maker continued shifting away from its long-time dependence upon daily rentals and other low-profit fleets.
“Sales momentum built as February unfolded, with higher fuel prices driving consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles in the second half of the month,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S.
Marketing, Sales and Service. “Customers are recognizing Ford for investing in new cars, utilities and trucks with strong fuel economy, especially Focus, Escape and EcoBoost-powered vehicles.”
February was good news for all the domestic makers, lowering concerns that they might lose momentum after their 2011 upturn – all three of the Detroit Big Three gaining market share last year for the first time in more than a decade.
Chrysler has beaten the industry average sales increase in each of the last 12 months. It was Chrysler Group’s ninth-consecutive month of sales gains of at least 20%, while In February, every Chrysler
Group model in production for more than 12 months posted a year-over-year sales gain. The Chrysler brand led the way with a solid 114% increase.
And even the struggling Fiat brand got some good news, February wrapping up its first full year back in the U.S. market with its strongest monthly demand yet.
“Our product portfolio now contains some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in our company’s history driving our sales up 40% in February,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Dodge Brand and the head of Chrysler’s U.S. Sales. “A few years ago higher fuel prices were a major threat to our total vehicle sales whereas today those higher prices have become far less of an issue. We now have 13 vehicles with an EPA-rated highway fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon or higher, and six of those vehicles get 31 mpg or higher.”
Even some of the maker’s bigger, less fuel-efficient models gained momentum, however, the flagship 300 sedan – was up a dazzling 480% in February, the full-size sedan’s fourth-consecutive month with triple-digit gains. The smaller 200 midsize sedan also showed a triple-digit increase for the month.