Adding Labor Day to September US light vehicle sales not only made for a very good month, it made history. September’s seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of 18.17m units was not only the highest monthly reading since July 2005, it was the highest September SAAR in automotive history, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. It was also a gain of 1.64m sales over September 2014. Total volume was very healthy, as well as automakers delivered 1,442,113 cars and light trucks in September, a 15.7% increase over last year.
Crossovers and SUVs continued to be the hot segment, up 30.7% last month. Their piece of the total light vehicle market grew by 4.4 percentage points to a 38.7% share.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
FCA was the king of the hill. Its Jeep brand continued to be the favourite and sales hit an all-time record, 39.8% ahead of September 2014. Between the Jeep and Dodge vehicles, FCA was also the sales leader in the segment, finishing the month 1,782 sales ahead of General Motors.
Ford had an outstanding month as sales soared 23.3%, giving the blue oval its best September in 11 years. There was strong growth in both cars and trucks: Mustang sales were up nearly 200% in September and LCV sales had their best September since 1987.
While SUVs were enjoying a banner month, pickup sales were slumping a bit. Sales lagged the market in September, giving up 60 basis points of market share. Full-size trucks were the weak point: mid-size pickup sales remain robust, 30.3% ahead of September 2014. The Toyota Tacoma remained the market leader and that’s creating a problem for the factory. A Toyota distributor rep told just-auto that the new Tacoma still isn’t at full steam and turn time on dealer lots is about five days. The 3.2% deficit reported by Toyota in September was due to a lack of inventory.
Sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) don’t get much press: the tradesman’s van isn’t quite the epitome of cool. However, growth in the segment is actually higher than it is for SUVs. In September, full-size and compact LCV deliveries jumped 41.7%, led by the Ford Transit. Ram’s rebadged Fiat Ducato saw its sales grow 76.3% last month. European-style full-size vans from Ford, Ram and Mercedes-Benz brought in 14,954 sales in September and Ram just announced a deal for more than 9,000 ProMasters for the US Postal Service.
With the price of petrol falling again – today’s average is about the equivalent of GBP0.40/litre – Americans’ appetite for light trucks is likely to remain strong. This is good news for the automakers as light trucks are generally more profitable than cars.
While the market remains healthy, the Detroit automakers may need to brace for stormy weather ahead. All of the contracts with the United Auto Workers union have expired and are being continued on a day-by-day basis. The union’s rejection of the proposed deal with Fiat Chrysler is noteworthy not just because it is the first Chrysler contract to fail ratification since 1982 but because of the large margins by which it was defeated. At the Toledo, Ohio, plant that produces the Jeep Cherokee and the Jeep Wrangler, 87% of production workers voted against the contract. In addition, the UAW has already given Ford notice of a strike at the Kansas City, Missouri, plant that assembles the F-150 pickup, charging that the company has not bargained in good faith on a local contract.
Members' Report: U.S. light vehicle sales
* indicates a sales record.
**Volkswagen Group figures include Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen brands
Other includes estimated sales for Aston-Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Rolls-Royce and Tesla
