Automakers Report Strong January U.S. Vehicle Sales

(RTTNews) - Automakers on Tuesday reported strong U.S. vehicle sales for the month of January, helped by an expanding economy, growing employment and lower fuel prices. General Motors Co. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), FCA US LLC and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) all reported double-digit sales growths for the month.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said that its January U.S. sales rose 18.3% to 202,786 vehicles from 171,486 vehicles in the same month last year.

The automaker said this was its best January U.S. sales in seven years.

There were 26 selling days for January 2015, compared to 25 for last year.

For January, GM's retail sales were up 14%, while fleet sales were up 32% from a year earlier.

Among GM's four brands, Chevrolet sales surged 20% to 142,882 units, GMC sales rose 28.6% to 35,671 units and Cardillac sales grew 2.6% to 11,680 units, while Buick sales fell 5.5% to 12,553 units.

"Consumers feel very good because more people are working, the U.S. economy is expanding and fuel prices are low," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. "Consumer and commercial demand for trucks and crossovers is really driving our business, and our move into the small crossover segment with the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore, and mid-size pickups with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, was well-timed."

GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate for light vehicles in January was 16.6 million.

GM's strong sales performance continued despite a series of recalls announced by the automaker last year. Also in October, GM reported an 82% jump in third quarter profit, reflecting strong operating performance in North America and China.

GM is establishing its flagship Cadillac brand as a separate business unit headquartered in New York City to pursue growth opportunities in the luxury market. Cadillac expects to introduce four new vehicles in North America in 2015.

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said it sold 178,351 vehicles in the U.S. in January, up 15.3% from 154,644 vehicles sold in the same month last year. For December, Ford had reported a 1.2% rise in U.S. vehicles sales.

The automaker said its retail vehicle sales for the month were up 13% from a year earlier, making it the best retail January results since 2004.

Ford's car sales rose 17.1% year-over-year to 56,961 units in January, while utility vehicle sales grew 8.3% to 52,733 units and truck sales for the month surged 19.8% to 68,657 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, jumped 16.8% to 54,370 units. This was F-Series' best January sales volume since 2004.

Ford was less ravaged by the recession than most of its peers. The company also did not have to restructure with federal assistance. The automaker has reported a profit for each of its last 21 quarters. In October, the company reported a 34% decline in third quarter profit, reflecting lower revenue and volume.

FCA US LLC, which changed its name from Chrysler Group LLC in mid-December, said its U.S. vehicle sales for January rose 14% to 145,007 units from 127,183 units in January last year, marking the 58th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. The company also recorded its best January sales since 2007.

FCA US, which was once part of German automotive company Daimler AG, emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in December 2009 and was bought by Italian automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in a U.S. government-brokered deal. FCA US is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fiat.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), said its January sales rose 15.6% to 169,194 vehicles from 146,365 units last year. Toyota division sales increased 13.5% to 146,063 units in January, while Lexus division sales climbed 31.2% to 23,131 units.

"The year is off to a strong start as the sales momentum we saw in 2014 continued into January," said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager.

Among other automakers reporting U.S. sales Tuesday, Nissan North America Inc., a unit of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NSANY.PK), said total U.S. sales for January rose 15.1% to 104,107 units. Nissan Division January sales increased 15.9% to 94,449 units, while Infiniti division sales grew 7.3% to 9,658 units.

GM shares are currently trading at $34.04, up 93 cents or 2.81%, while Ford shares are currently trading at $15.65, up 38 cents or 2.46%.