US auto sales are on fire.
On Monday, major automakers are reporting their US sales for July, and it has been a beat all the way around.
GM joined Ford in crushing July sales expectations in the US.
In July, GM sales rose 6.4%, topping estimates for a 0.6% increase.
Ford earlier reported sales that rose 4.9% in July, more than the 1.8% that was expected.
Fiat Chrysler, the third of the “Big 3″ US automakers, reported sales rose 6.2% in July. This was better than the 4.8% increase that was expected.
Economists are expecting sales to rise to an annualized pace of 17.2 million vehicles, a slight uptick from June’s 17.11 million vehicle pace, and these expectations might be getting blown away.
According to Bloomberg, a GM spokeswoman said the company estimates US industry sales came in at a rate of 17.6 million in July. Confirmation of this number is expected later this afternoon.
According to analysts at JPMorgan, a July sales figure of a seasonally adjusted pace over 17 million vehicles would mark the first 3-month stretch of auto sales at this quick of a pace since August to October 2000. [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560”]
Here’s the updated scoreboard so far:
- Ford: +4.9% (+1.8% expected)
- Fiat Chrysler: +6.2% (+4.8% expected)
- GM: +6.4% (+0.6% expected)
- Nissan: +7.8% (+5.3% expected)
- Honda: +7.7% (+4.7% expected)
In its July release, Ford said the strength of its sales were driven by its F-Series truck, which had its best July since 2006 and saw sales rise 13% over the prior year.
GM also said that truck and crossover vehicles were also having a big month.
“GM has been steadily growing its commercial sales and retail market share, thanks to our strong truck and crossover portfolio,” Kurt McNeil, GM’s U.S. vice president of sales operations said in a statement. “We feel very good about our truck strategy heading into the late summer and fall, when those segments usually heat up.”
(Business Insider)