US auto sales strong in July on SUV, luxury demand - iFreePress.com (blog)
General Motors Co. sales rose 6. 4 percent, beating projections for a 0. 6 percent improvement, and Ford Motor Co. ’s light-vehicle deliveries rose 5 percent, topping estimates for a 1. 8 percent gain. “We think it is a market share battle in the passenger-car market for us, ” Ford’s U. S. sales chief Mark LaNeve said. Sales for the automaker’s Dodge brand fell 13 percent, and Fiat sales fell 15 percent. Overall sales rose 5. 3 per cent from a year ago to 1. 51 million vehicles in July, according to Autodata. The surge in SUV sales is due in part to relatively low gas prices, which ended July at around $2. 70 per gallon nationwide. Lincoln with its new small SUV, the MKC was among the brands expected to see a big jump in July sales. Rise in sales of Chevrolet pickup, van and SUV helped the automaker post its best July sales since 2007. At FCA, trucks and SUVs made up 79% of its sales. “The second half of 2015 is off to a great start, with industry sales above expectations”, commented Kurt McNeil, GM’s U. S. vice president of Sales Operations. However, sales at Toyota for July were up only 0. 6%. Ford said the sale of trucks and utilities rose 10% during the month, while the sale of cars declined 4%. All of Ford’s major utility vehicles. Source: www.ifreepress.com
