June US auto sales for Big Three best expectations

US automakers General Motors and Chrysler Tuesday reported higher US sales in June from a year ago, while rival Ford Motor notched a six percent decline. All three companies reported slower sales gains than in May, when the industry overall saw sales rise more than 11 percent. Yet all three automakers outperformed projections for a period that included fewer selling days than in June 2013.
GM eked out a one percent rise in sales to 267,461 vehicles, much better than the 8.5 percent decline forecast by online car shopping site Edmunds.com. "June was the third very strong month in a row for GM, with every brand up on a selling-day adjusted basis," said Kurt McNeil, US vice president for sales operations. "In fact, the first half of the year was our best retail sales performance since 2008, driven by an outstanding second quarter."
GM said the month's result was the best June since 2007, suggesting that consumers were continuing to overlook the automaker's travails. GM is mired in government probes following its delayed recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition-switch problem linked to 13 deaths. The automaker Monday recalled 8.4 million additional vehicles, bringing total recalls this year to a record 30 million. Chrysler reported a nine percent increase in US June auto sales as its Jeep and Ram brands again scored strong gains.
Chrysler, a unit of Italian company Fiat Chrysler, said it sold 171,086 vehicles last month, its best June sales since 2007. The rise topped the 6.3 percent increase projected by Edmunds.com. Chrysler, the number-three US automaker, pointed to especially robust year-on-year increases for the Jeep brand (+28 percent) and the Ram Truck line (+14 percent). Chrysler said sales of its Fiat brand rose 11 percent in June.
"In spite of two fewer selling days in June versus a year ago, we were able to increase our sales nine percent and post our strongest June sales in seven years," said Reid Bigland, head of US sales at Chrysler. Ford reported June US sales of 222,064, down six percent from June 2013 but still better than the 6.5 percent decline projected by Edmunds.com. "Both the Fusion and Transit Connect set records in June, continuing their sales momentum," said John Felice, Ford vice president for US marketing, sales and service. For total US June auto sales, Edmunds.com projected a 3.1 percent decline from a year ago.