September Sales: GM Soars While Ford Declines
General Motors, Nissan, and Chrysler Group led the pack in September, with each company posting a 19% growth in sales over the same period the year before, according to sales records released this week.
Chrysler Group sold a total of 169,890 vehicles, compared to 143,017 sold at the same time last year, with the Ram posting a 35% increase in September sales. The Nissan division of Nissan posted 22% growth, but was tempered by Infiniti’s 13% drop in sales from the same time last year.
GM, however, despite having recalled over 25 million vehicles in 2014, as of September 23 according to the automaker’s most recent tally, still experienced strong truck and SUV deliveries in September, with Suburban sales up 50%, while sales of the Escalade more than doubled, and the Silverado experienced a sales increase of 54%, making this September its best month since 2008.
Ford Motor Company’s U.S. sales, on the other hand, totaled 180,175 vehicles in September, down 3% from a year ago.
“Ford’s overall sales continue to be tempered by managed F-Series volumes and planned reductions in 2014 daily rental volumes’,” the company said in a press release. “In September, daily rental sales were down 40%. Overall fleet sales of 42,878 vehicles declined 14%.”
The Fusion, however, showed an increase in sales of 9% and experienced its best sales month since the model’s launch in 2005, according to Ford.
Despite the drop in sales, company executives told investors that by the year 2020 Ford aims to increase global sales by 52%, to 9.4 million annually, by tapping into fast-growing Asian markets, among other strategies, during the company’s Investor Day presentations on Monday.
Volkswagen sales continued to decline, with sales dropping for the 18th consecutive month, and with 40,972 units sold, compared to 45,043 units sold in September 2013, the company was down 9% from the same time last year.
