Chrysler and Toyota posted double digit US sales gains in October while rival Ford’s results were unchanged from a year ago and GM posted modest growth as Hurricane Sandy took a bite out of sales.
Ford estimates that the deadly storm prevented dealers across the industry from selling about 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles in the final days of the month.
Those sales will likely simply be postponed, not lost, and sales will climb even further as people replace vehicles damaged in the storm, Ford sales chief Ken Czubay said.
“I would expect we’ll see a lot of them in November as people quickly need to get back on their feet,” Czubay said in a conference call.
The second largest US automaker forecast total sales would come in at a seasonally adjusted annualized pace of about 14.7 million vehicles once all automakers report October results.
“Economic fundamentals are pointing to modest economic growth with signs of a better housing recovery ahead,” Ford economist Jenny Lin said in a conference call.
That’s good news for the auto industry, GM sales chief Kurt McNeil said.
“Year over year, the light vehicle selling rate has increased for eight consecutive quarters without a tailwind from the residential housing sector, but that is starting to change,” McNeil said.
“If these trends continue, housing may be the final piece of the puzzle that lifts sales above 15 million units on an annual basis just as GM prepares to launch even more new cars, crossovers and trucks.”
Ford sales were up 0.4 percent at 168,456 vehicles in October and have climbed 4.9 percent for the year to date to 1.9 million vehicles.
GM posted its best October since 2007 as sales rose five percent to 195,764, pushing sales for the first 10 months of the year up four percent to 2.2 million vehicles.
Toyota said its sales rose 15.8 percent to 155,242 vehicles, with more details set to come later in the day.
Chrysler sales rose 10 percent to 126,185 vehicles and are up 23 percent to 1.4 million for the year to date.
“In spite of Hurricane Sandy, Chrysler Group posted its best October sales since 2007 and we achieved our 31st consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth,” sales chief Reid Bigland said in a statement.
US auto sales strong despite Sandy hit
