Major Automakers Report Disappointing December U.S. Sales

(RTTNews) - Major automakers on Friday reported disappointing U.S. vehicle sales for the month of December, with General Motors Co. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), Chrysler Group LLC and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) all reporting sales figures that missed analyst estimates. GM was the worst performer among the four with a 6.3% sales drop followed by Toyota with a 1.7% sales decline. Even Ford and Chrysler posted moderate sales growths of 1.8% and 6%, respectively, for the month.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said that its December U.S. sales fell 6.3% to 230,157 vehicles from 245,733 vehicles in the same month last year.

There were 25 selling days for December 2013, compared to 26 for last year.

GM said December's sales volume was the highest since August. Retail sales were down 6% and fleet sales were down 9% for the month.

All of GM's four brands reported sales declines. Chevrolet sales dropped 8.1% to 153,493 units, while GMC sales declined 1.8% to 43,120 units, Cardillac sales fell 0.5% to 18,165 units and Buick sales slipped 6.6% to 15,379 units.

"December started a little slow but sales were stronger later in the month, especially in the week between Christmas and New Year's," said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations. "We didn't make any big changes to our 'go-to-market' strategy during the month, which is to offer competitive incentives and market aggressively, and we are carrying good momentum heading into January."

For the full year 2013, GM's U.S. sales rose 7.3% to 2.79 million vehicles from 2.60 million vehicles sold in 2012. All four GM brands gained retail market share for the year, the automaker said.

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said it sold 218,058 vehicles in the U.S. in December, up 1.8% from 214,222 vehicles sold in the same month last year. For November, Ford had reported an 7.2% rise in U.S. vehicles sales.

Ford's car sales fell 9.3% year-over-year to 61,516 units in December, while truck sales for the month surged 7.3% to 92,305 units, while utility vehicle sales rose 6.4% to 64,237 units.

Ford's December U.S. retail sales were up 3%, for the best December performance since 2005.

"December was a strong close to an even better year for Ford Motor Company," said John Felice, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. "We saw strong growth across the entire Ford lineup and made significant gains in the import-dominated coastal markets.

"Strong demand for our new cars, utilities, hybrids and trucks provided Ford with the largest share point gain of any full-line automaker in 2013," Felice added.

Sales of Ford's F-Series truck rose 8.4% to 74,592 units in December, its 29th straight month of sales increases. F-Series remains America's best-selling truck for 37 straight years and the country's best-selling vehicle for 32 consecutive years.

For the full year 2013, Ford's U.S. sales rose 10.8% to 2.49 million vehicles from 2.25 million vehicles sold in 2012. This was Ford's best sales year since 2006. Also, Ford remains America's best-selling vehicle brand in 2013 for a fourth straight year.

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 seventeen quarters. The company has also reinstated its quarterly stock dividend.

Chrysler Group LLC, majority-owned by Italian carmaker Fiat SpA (FIATY.PK), said its U.S. vehicle sales for December increased 6% to 161,007 units from 152,367 units in the prior year month.. This marks the 45th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains for Chrysler.

Chrysler's total car sales for the month slipped 17% year-over-year to 37,749 units, while total truck sales for the month surged 15% to 123,258 units.

For the full year 2013, Chrysler's U.S. sales increased 9%, representing fourth consecutive year of annual sales growth.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), said its December sales fell 1.7% year-over-year to 190,843 vehicles. Toyota's full year 2013 sales grew 7.4% to 2.24 million vehicles.

GM shares are currently trading at $39.65, down $1.30 or 3.16%, while Ford shares are currently trading at $15.54, up 10 cents.