By Angelo Young - The world’s eight top auto manufacturers are releasing their U.S. new-car and light-truck sales figures for the first month of 2014 throughout the day on Friday.
Forecasters predict total passenger car and light-truck sales volume at between 1.03 million and 1.06 million units. Last year, total U.S. new auto sales came in at 1.04 million cars, largely due to strong pickup truck sales amid a steep rise in housing starts at the time. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) is forecasted by Edmunds.com to be 15.6 million units, while J.D. Power & Associates and LMC Automotive see it increasing to 15.9 million, up from 15.2 million in January of last year. The SAAR is a 12-month running tally, so even a softer-than-expected January isn’t likely to have much of an effect on 2014 sales expectations. A shortfall last month could easily be attributed to the colder-than-usual weather that swept through many parts of the country. In other words, if sales were softer than expected in a typically soft month, blame it on the weather. g the most market share in January compared to the same month last year. IBTimes
Chrysler Group LLC
Starting off the monthly sales-reporting day as usual is Chrysler, which began the year announcing that Italy’s Fiat SpA (BIT:F) was acquiring the 42 percent of Chrysler it didn’t own in a $3.65 billion deal that CEO Sergio Marchionne says will create a more unified ownership structure.
The owner of the Jeep and Dodge brands said U.S. buyers purchased 127,183 of its vehicles in January, an 8 percent increase from the same month last year. If other automakers follow this pattern, then that January auto sales will have beaten expectations.
The company saw a 22 percent increase in Ram truck sales, to 25,071, and the all-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee, which went on sale in the U.S. in December, fared well with 10,505 units. Grand Cherokee sales increased 10 percent, to 12,207. Combined these three models made up over 37 percent of total U.S. sales volume last month.
“The bad weather only seemed to affect our competitors’ stores as we had a great January,” said Reid Bigland, Chrysler’s head of U.S. sales, in a statement announcing the figures. “In addition to a strong sales start to the year, last month we also reported 2013 full-year profits and unveiled the all-new Chrysler 200, our strongest entry yet in the mid-size sedan segment.”
Last Wednesday, the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker reported net income of $2.76 billion for 2013, up from $1.67 million the previous year, on a 9.7 percent increase in net revenue, to $72.14 billion as the company increased its market share in the U.S. last year.
The Dodge group saw declines in all models last month except the Caravan minivan, which saw sales increase 47 percent to 7,290, and the Durango SUV, which grew sales by 22 percent to 4,128 units. Sales of the Chrysler 200 midsized sedan increased 23 percent to 10,912 units ahead of the debut of the 2015 model expected out in the second quarter.
Chrysler made these sales while reeling in incentive spending by nearly 20 percent compared to last January and 10 percent from December, according to automotive pricing and information provider TrueCar. Chrysler ended the month having spent $2,623 on average per sale on rebates and other deal sweeteners. The average transaction price increased from last January, too, by 7.1 percent to $32,154.