An improving housing market spurred pickup truck sales and helped boost US auto sales in May after a disappointing April, automakers reported on Monday. The three major US automakers dominate pickup truck sales, which generally are sold at a higher profit margin than other vehicles. The surge in pickup truck sales began late last year and has continued to outpace growth for the US auto industry through May.
Pickup truck sales in May rose about 2 percentage points to 11.7 percent of the overall industry, Ford Motor Co said. "Quite simply, it's a great time to be in the truck business," said Kurt McNeil, head of US sales operations for General Motors Co. "The housing recovery, relatively stable gas prices, and the release of pent-up demand" have helped pickup trucks sales. Total US auto sales were on track to exceed analyst expectations of a 6 percent rise from last year, to about 15.1 million vehicles on a seasonally adjusted annualised rate.
GM said that May US sales will be between 15.4 million and 15.5 million on a seasonally adjusted annualised rate. However, GM, the No 1 automaker in US sales, missed analysts' expectations by nearly 6 percent, showing a 3 percent sales gain for May. GM's retail sales, which are generally more lucrative than fleet sales, rose 9 percent. Ford, No 2 in the US market, recorded a 14 percent sales gain, slightly beating expectations. Toyota Motor Corp, No 3 in the US market, had a 2.5 percent sales increase, matching expectations. Auto sales each month are an early snapshot of US consumer spending. If total US sales reach 15 million vehicles on an annualised basis in May, it would be the sixth month of the last seven to top 15 million, after dropping to 14.9 million in April.
Chrysler Group LLC, No 4 in the US market, reported an 11 percent rise, easily beating analysts' expectations. Sales of the Ford F-Series pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in North America since the 1970s, soared 31 percent for its best May performance since 2005.
GM's top-selling vehicle, its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, showed a 25-percent gain in May. Chrysler's Ram pickup truck, by far the company's best-selling vehicle - rose 22 percent. At GM, sales of two of its top-selling sedans, the Chevrolet Malibu and the Chevrolet Impala, fell 36 percent and 32 percent, respectively. GM said the Impala and Malibu sales figures were skewed due to a high rate of fleet sales in 2012. Chevrolet, which accounted for 71 percent of GM's May US sales, rose only 1 percent in the month. Nissan Motor Co US May sales rose 25 percent, slightly beating expectations, to 114,457, on the strength of sales of a fresh line-up led by its top-seller Altima, up 41 percent. Nissan is No 6 in US auto sales.
Sales for the Rogue, a crossover SUV and Nissan's second-biggest seller in the US market, showed a 45-percent gain. Honda Motor Co, No 5 in the US market, showed a 4.5 percent sales gain to 140,013 vehicles, narrowly missing expectations. Sales of the Dodge Dart, which Chrysler is counting on to help it expand its line-up into smaller, fuel-efficient cars, fell 8 percent from April, to 7,448 vehicles. It was the first month-to-month sales decline for the Dart in six months. Subaru of America, a unit of Fuji Heavy Industries, showed a gain of 34 percent to 39,892 vehicles sold, while Volkswagen AG said its US sales fell 1.7 percent, to 38,013 vehicles.
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