(October 3, 2016) Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler posted U.S. sales declines last month. FCA reported U.S. sales of 192,883 units, a 1 percent decrease compared with sales in September 2015. Ford Transit vans U.S. sales grew 6 percent last month with 10,799 vans sold, but overall Ford U.S. September sales totaled 204,447 vehicles, an 8 percent decline versus a year ago. GM’s total sales in September were down slightly year over year to 249,795 vehicles.    
 
At FCA, the Ram Truck brand posted a 27 percent sales gain in September compared with the same month a year ago as pickup truck sales increased 29 percent year over year. Both the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger turned in double-digit percentage increases in September while the Jeep Grand Cherokee posted an 18 percent sales gain.
 
Sales of the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan increased 23 percent in September, versus sales in the previous month of August. Sales of the all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider, the latest addition to the FIAT brand product lineup, were up 7 percent in September, compared with the previous month of August.

At Ford, retail sales declined 4 percent in September, with 162,327 vehicles sold for the month. Fleet sales of 42,120 vehicles, including daily rental, commercial and government segments, were down 21 percent, consistent with the company’s plan to front-load fleet sales this year. Sales to daily rental companies declined 36 percent for the month.

“We continue seeing strong customer demand, especially for vans and pickup trucks, including our all-new Super Duty,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. “Demand for a rich mix of our all-new Super Duty pickups helped boost Ford’s average transaction prices by $1,100 versus a year ago, outpacing the industry’s $400 average.”

September marked 2016’s best month for F-Series’ retail sales. Ford F-Series sales totaled 67,809 vehicles, a 3 percent decline.

While overall General Motors sales were down slightly, GM said 204,449 vehicles were sold to individual or “retail” customers in the U.S. in September.  Chevrolet’s retail sales in September grew 1 percent, while Buick and Cadillac retail sales also rose 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Based on initial estimates, GM’s retail market share rose 0.3 percentage points in September to 16.6 percent, the largest retail share gain of any full-line manufacturer.  GM has gained retail market share in 15 of the past 18 months, dating to April 2015.

Chevrolet gained 0.3 percentage points of retail share in September to 11 percent.  Chevrolet has gained retail market share in 8 out of 9 months this year, and remains the industry’s fastest-growing full-line brand.  Buick gained 0.1 percentage points of retail share.  In addition, Cadillac grew retail share by 0.1 percentage points, driven largely by the success of the all-new XT5.  GMC sales gained momentum through the month and the brand posted its second highest monthly average transaction price or ATP in the brand’s history at $44,144. 

“GM again outperformed the retail industry and gained profitable market share. We continue to lead the retail truck industry and gained share in the two largest car segments,” said Kurt McNeil, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales operations.  “We are achieving these results while maintaining disciplined incentive spending and commanding the industry’s best average transaction prices for any full-line manufacturer.”