Automakers Report Strong Sep. U.S. Sales

(RTTNews) - Automakers on Thursday reported strong U.S. vehicle sales for the month of September, driven by continued demand for trucks and sport-utility vehicles amid an improving economy, lower gas prices and easy availability of credit. A late Labor Day weekend also helped boost September numbers. General Motors Co. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), FCA US, LLC and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) - all reported double-digit percentage growths in vehicle sales.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said that its September U.S. sales rose 12.5% to 251,310 vehicles from 223,437 vehicles in the same month last year.

There were 25 selling days for September 2015, compared to 24 for last year.

For September, GM's retail sales were up 17%, but its fleet sales were down 5%, as planned, due to a 12% decline in rental deliveries.

Among GM's four brands, Chevrolet sales rose 10.9% to 170,675 units, while GMC sales surged 23.8% to 47,386 units, Buick sales grew 5% to 18,341 units and Cardillac sales increased 7.8% to 14,908 units.

"Staying focused on core values like initial quality, sales and service satisfaction, cost of ownership, dependability and advanced technology is paying off in higher sales and share, stronger transaction prices and lower incentives," said Kurt McNeil, GM's U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. "Unlike our competitors, we did not need to rely on higher incentives to grow our business."

At its Global Business Conference in Milford, Michigan on Thursday, the Detroit, Michigan-based automaker said it is targeting an increase in 2016 adjusted earnings per share to between $5 and $5.50 per share, from the Wall Street analysts' consensus forecast of $4.50 per share for this year. GM reported adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share in 2014.

The company also said it will save about $5.5 billion in the next three years in efficiencies in manufacturing, administration and purchasing, more than offsetting its increased investments in brand development and technology.

GM last month agreed to a $900 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department for concealing an ignition switch defect that resulted in many deaths and forced the automaker to recall a large number of vehicles.

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said it sold 221,599 vehicles in the U.S. in September, up 23% from 180,175 vehicles sold in the same month last year. For August, Ford had reported a 5.4% rise in U.S. vehicles sales.

Ford's car sales for the month rose '18.9% year-over-year to 63,732 units, while utility vehicle sales surged 26.8% to 69,892 units and truck sales jumped 23.2% to 87,975 units.

Sales of Ford's F-Series truck, America's best-selling truck for the 38 straight years and best-selling vehicle for 33 consecutive years, rose 16.4% to 69,651 units in September. F-Series retail sales were up 28%, providing the best September retail results since 2006.

"Our Ford and Lincoln dealers had an outstanding month, delivering strong sales, with gains in cars, SUVs and trucks in September," said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. "Sales of EcoBoost-equipped vehicles also were strong, driving us to an annual record for EcoBoost sales with three months left in the year."

FCA US, LLC, which changed its name from Chrysler Group LLC in mid-December, said its U.S. vehicle sales for September rose 14% to 193,019 units from 169,890 units in the same month last year, marking the 66th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. This was also the company's best September sales since 2000.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), said its September sales increased 16.2% to 194,370 units from 167,279 units last year. Toyota division sales rose 16.3% from a year ago to 169,076 units, while Lexus sales surged 15.8% to 25,294 units.

Among other automakers reporting U.S. sales Thursday, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NSANY.PK), said total U.S. sales for September 2015 increased 18.3% to 121,782 units, from 102,955 units in the same month last year. Total car sales for the month rose 13.8% to 68,926 units, while total truck sales climbed 24.7 % to 52,856 units. Nissan Division sales rose 17.3% to 111,562 units, while Infiniti division sales surged 30.4% to 10,220 units.

GM shares are currently trading at $30.13, up 11 cents, while Ford shares are currently trading at $13.50, down 7 cents.