May US auto sales – Nissan, Ford, Honda up, GM, Toyota, FCA down
Sales slip on feeble car, fleet request
Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere.
Source: Automotive News Data Center
**Renault-Nissan acquired controlling interest in Mitsubishi Motors on Oct. 20, 2016.
***Reflects Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lotus sales.
Sunshine on a dreary sales day
U.S. light-vehicle sales slipped 0.Five percent in May, even with higher discounts and strong truck request, as the auto industry ready to will-less from one key selling season to another.
The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales fell to 16.7 million, down from 17.Two million in May 2016, on weaker fleet volume across the industry. A survey of eleven analysts by Bloomberg in late May put the average estimate for May’s SAAR at 16.8 million.
May marked the third straight month the SAAR has come in below seventeen million after six months above that key threshold. Last year’s sales total of 17.54 million was a record.
The lack of consumer request, notably for cars, even amid readily available financing, low gasoline prices and strong job growth belies underlying weakness within the market.
«We are observing an artificially sustained market,» said Mark Wakefield, a managing director and head of the automotive practice at consultant AlixPartners. «It`s unquestionable that retail request is down. It`s not only down, it`s down fairly steadily in the very first five months of the year. It`s not like it`s bouncing around and you can`t indeed see the trend.»
Ford, Nissan and Honda posted U.S. sales increases in May while General Motors, Toyota, FCA and Hyundai-Kia fell as the industry fell just brief of capturing its very first monthly sales build up of the year.
Ford Motor Co.’s Two.Trio percent advance, aided by fleets, marked its very first increase since December. Nissan North America benefited from a spike in discounts in recording a three percent hop. GM dropped 1.Trio percent as the company continued to dial back on shipments to daily rental agencies. After five months, Toyota Motor Corp., Fiat Chrysler and Hyundai-Kia are still looking for their very first advance of 2017.
Truck sales remained strong, rising 6.Two percent in May, even after they dipped in April, while feeble car request persisted in May, with volume off ten percent. Among key car segments, subcompact request skidded nineteen percent and midsize car deliveries dropped twelve percent.
“While request for fresh vehicles is sill relatively strong, it’s a bit of smoke and mirrors,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of industry analysis at Edmunds. “Dealers and automakers truly shoved the deals over the holiday weekend to prop up their May numbers. Incentives were up sharply, and it seems automakers are putting more cash on the rubber hood to nudge car shoppers to buy versus lease.”
Light-vehicle sales across the industry had been forecast by analysts to rise slightly last month, helped in part by one extra selling day.
Edmunds’ Caldwell said finance incentives rose thirty three percent year over year in May, compared with a twenty eight percent leap in lease incentives and an eighteen percent increase in cash incentives.
Company by company
Nissan’s advance was led by Infiniti, up sixteen percent, while volume rose 1.9 percent at its namesake brand. The May results go after a 1.Five percent decline in Nissan’s April volume, its only decline this year.
Nissan’s average incentive on a fresh light vehicle rose nineteen percent last month to $Trio,867 from May two thousand sixteen levels, ALG estimates.
At Ford, deliveries rose Two.Trio percent, with volume up Two.Two percent at the Ford division and Four.9 percent at Lincoln. Ford’s retail sales slipped 0.8 percent while fleet shipments hopped 8.Four percent, with daily rental deliveries surging twenty four percent. Ford also outsold rival GM, by almost Two,900 cars and light trucks, for the very first time since March 2016.
GM said May sales dropped 1.Trio percent behind a decline of Trio.8 percent at Chevrolet and Five.Two percent at GMC. Volume rose twenty nine percent at Buick and 9.Two percent at Cadillac. GM’s retail sales rose slightly to 191,388 vehicles last month while fleet volume dropped thirty six percent.
Toyota sales fell 0.Five percent to 218,248 , with the Toyota division eking out a 0.1 percent build up while Lexus suffered a Four.8 percent drop.
FCA deliveries notched down 0.9 percent. Jeep fell fifteen percent while Fiat took a sixteen percent hit and the Chrysler brand was off 1.8 percent. Ram led FCA with an eighteen percent improvement while Dodge rose 8.Four percent. Alfa Romeo sold nine hundred nineteen vehicles during the month compared with forty four a year ago.
The VW brand spread its winning streak to seven months with a Four.Three percent build up in May.
At Subaru, May volume rose twelve percent as the automaker proceeds to roll toward another annual U.S. sales record. Mazda said deliveries slipped 7.9 percent while sales edged up Four.Five percent at Mitsubishi.
Among other luxury brands, volume rose Two.Five percent at Audi, five percent at Porsche, forty four percent at Jaguar, 0.9 percent at Land Rover and twelve percent at Volvo.
While the economy and employment proceed to grow, and U.S. equity markets reach fresh highs, U.S. sales — now down two percent for the year — are on track to fall in two thousand seventeen for the very first time since 2009. That would end a string of seven annual gains for the industry, the longest such run in a century.
Incentive spending resumes to rise, averaging $Three,583 per vehicle in early May, an increase of $241 from May two thousand sixteen and a record for the month, J.D. Power and Associates says. Average light-truck spiffs rose $187 to $Trio,358 and car incentives enlargened $344 to $Three,942.
And in a sign that inventories proceed to climb, J.D. Power says the industry’s average rose above seventy days in May for the very first time since 2009. And more than twenty seven percent of fresh vehicles sold in early May sat on dealer lots for more than ninety days, up from twenty five percent in May 2016.
ALG estimates that incentive spending averaged $Trio,435 last month, an increase of 9.Five percent over May 2016, with GM, Ford, FCA and Volkswagen Group the largest spenders among broad-line automakers.
ALG has diminished its outlook for U.S. light-vehicle sales this year to 17.Two million from 17.Four million.
Analysts say deals are getting more generous on remaining two thousand sixteen cars and light trucks as well as some two thousand seventeen models.
A sample of some of the deals suggested last month:
• In some California markets, Honda waived the very first three monthly payments on the two thousand seventeen HR-V.
• $7,500 off a two thousand sixteen Ford F series SXT.
• two thousand seventeen Dodge Charger R/T lease for $249 a month for thirty six months and $1,950 due at signing.
“Automakers, particularly GM, proceed to work through elevated inventory levels with near record incentive spending,” said Eric Lyman, chief industry analyst for ALG. “However, on a month-over-month basis, automaker discounting is down and fleet mix resumes to decline, both signals that the industry is adapting to lower overall sales volumes.”
May US auto sales – Nissan, Ford, Honda up, GM, Toyota, FCA down
Sales slip on powerless car, fleet request
Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere.
Source: Automotive News Data Center
**Renault-Nissan acquired controlling interest in Mitsubishi Motors on Oct. 20, 2016.
***Reflects Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lotus sales.
Sunshine on a dreary sales day
U.S. light-vehicle sales slipped 0.Five percent in May, even with higher discounts and strong truck request, as the auto industry ready to will-less from one key selling season to another.
The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales fell to 16.7 million, down from 17.Two million in May 2016, on weaker fleet volume across the industry. A survey of eleven analysts by Bloomberg in late May put the average estimate for May’s SAAR at 16.8 million.
May marked the third straight month the SAAR has come in below seventeen million after six months above that key threshold. Last year’s sales total of 17.54 million was a record.
The lack of consumer request, notably for cars, even amid readily available financing, low gasoline prices and strong job growth belies underlying weakness within the market.
«We are observing an artificially sustained market,» said Mark Wakefield, a managing director and head of the automotive practice at consultant AlixPartners. «It`s unquestionable that retail request is down. It`s not only down, it`s down fairly steadily in the very first five months of the year. It`s not like it`s bouncing around and you can`t truly see the trend.»
Ford, Nissan and Honda posted U.S. sales increases in May while General Motors, Toyota, FCA and Hyundai-Kia fell as the industry fell just brief of capturing its very first monthly sales build up of the year.
Ford Motor Co.’s Two.Three percent advance, aided by fleets, marked its very first increase since December. Nissan North America benefited from a spike in discounts in recording a three percent leap. GM dropped 1.Three percent as the company continued to dial back on shipments to daily rental agencies. After five months, Toyota Motor Corp., Fiat Chrysler and Hyundai-Kia are still looking for their very first advance of 2017.
Truck sales remained strong, rising 6.Two percent in May, even after they dipped in April, while powerless car request persisted in May, with volume off ten percent. Among key car segments, subcompact request skidded nineteen percent and midsize car deliveries dropped twelve percent.
“While request for fresh vehicles is sill relatively strong, it’s a bit of smoke and mirrors,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of industry analysis at Edmunds. “Dealers and automakers indeed shoved the deals over the holiday weekend to prop up their May numbers. Incentives were up sharply, and it seems automakers are putting more cash on the bondage mask to nudge car shoppers to buy versus lease.”
Light-vehicle sales across the industry had been forecast by analysts to rise slightly last month, helped in part by one extra selling day.
Edmunds’ Caldwell said finance incentives rose thirty three percent year over year in May, compared with a twenty eight percent hop in lease incentives and an eighteen percent increase in cash incentives.
Company by company
Nissan’s advance was led by Infiniti, up sixteen percent, while volume rose 1.9 percent at its namesake brand. The May results go after a 1.Five percent decline in Nissan’s April volume, its only decline this year.
Nissan’s average incentive on a fresh light vehicle rose nineteen percent last month to $Trio,867 from May two thousand sixteen levels, ALG estimates.
At Ford, deliveries rose Two.Three percent, with volume up Two.Two percent at the Ford division and Four.9 percent at Lincoln. Ford’s retail sales slipped 0.8 percent while fleet shipments leaped 8.Four percent, with daily rental deliveries surging twenty four percent. Ford also outsold rival GM, by almost Two,900 cars and light trucks, for the very first time since March 2016.
GM said May sales dropped 1.Trio percent behind a decline of Trio.8 percent at Chevrolet and Five.Two percent at GMC. Volume rose twenty nine percent at Buick and 9.Two percent at Cadillac. GM’s retail sales rose slightly to 191,388 vehicles last month while fleet volume dropped thirty six percent.
Toyota sales fell 0.Five percent to 218,248 , with the Toyota division eking out a 0.1 percent build up while Lexus suffered a Four.8 percent drop.
FCA deliveries notched down 0.9 percent. Jeep fell fifteen percent while Fiat took a sixteen percent hit and the Chrysler brand was off 1.8 percent. Ram led FCA with an eighteen percent improvement while Dodge rose 8.Four percent. Alfa Romeo sold nine hundred nineteen vehicles during the month compared with forty four a year ago.
The VW brand spread its winning streak to seven months with a Four.Three percent build up in May.
At Subaru, May volume rose twelve percent as the automaker proceeds to roll toward another annual U.S. sales record. Mazda said deliveries slipped 7.9 percent while sales edged up Four.Five percent at Mitsubishi.
Among other luxury brands, volume rose Two.Five percent at Audi, five percent at Porsche, forty four percent at Jaguar, 0.9 percent at Land Rover and twelve percent at Volvo.
While the economy and employment proceed to grow, and U.S. equity markets reach fresh highs, U.S. sales — now down two percent for the year — are on track to fall in two thousand seventeen for the very first time since 2009. That would end a string of seven annual gains for the industry, the longest such run in a century.
Incentive spending proceeds to rise, averaging $Trio,583 per vehicle in early May, an increase of $241 from May two thousand sixteen and a record for the month, J.D. Power and Associates says. Average light-truck spiffs rose $187 to $Three,358 and car incentives enlargened $344 to $Trio,942.
And in a sign that inventories proceed to climb, J.D. Power says the industry’s average rose above seventy days in May for the very first time since 2009. And more than twenty seven percent of fresh vehicles sold in early May sat on dealer lots for more than ninety days, up from twenty five percent in May 2016.
ALG estimates that incentive spending averaged $Three,435 last month, an increase of 9.Five percent over May 2016, with GM, Ford, FCA and Volkswagen Group the thickest spenders among broad-line automakers.
ALG has diminished its outlook for U.S. light-vehicle sales this year to 17.Two million from 17.Four million.
Analysts say deals are getting more generous on remaining two thousand sixteen cars and light trucks as well as some two thousand seventeen models.
A sample of some of the deals suggested last month:
• In some California markets, Honda waived the very first three monthly payments on the two thousand seventeen HR-V.
• $7,500 off a two thousand sixteen Ford F series SXT.
• two thousand seventeen Dodge Charger R/T lease for $249 a month for thirty six months and $1,950 due at signing.
“Automakers, particularly GM, proceed to work through elevated inventory levels with near record incentive spending,” said Eric Lyman, chief industry analyst for ALG. “However, on a month-over-month basis, automaker discounting is down and fleet mix resumes to decline, both signals that the industry is adapting to lower overall sales volumes.”