Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC both reported gains today in their September sales. While Chrysler reported its best September sales since 2007, Ford posted its best since September 2006. General Motors Co., on the other hand, saw a decrease compared to a year ago.
Chrysler reported U.S. sales of 143,017 units, a 1 percent increase compared with sales in September 2012. This extends the automaker’s sales streak of gains to 42-consecutive months.
Chrysler Group had four models that set sales records in September — Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot, Dodge Dart compact sedan, and the Dodge Challenger. Sales of the Dodge Durango full-size SUV were up 66 percent, the largest percentage sales gain by any Chrysler Group vehicle in September.
“Even though industry sales dipped during September, Chrysler Group still managed to eke out a slight sales increase for the month,” Reid Bigland, head of U.S. Sales, said in a statement. “Our dealers had two less selling days in September compared with a year ago, but they still outperformed the industry and extended our sales streak to 42-consecutive months of year-over-year sales gains.”
Likewise, Ford’s sales totaled 185,146, marking the automaker’s 11th consecutive month of sales increases. Compared to September 2012, Ford Fusion sales are up 62 percent and Ford Fiesta sales have increased 29 percent.
Through the first nine months of this year, Fiesta’s largest retail sales market is in the west, which is growing at the fastest rate of all of Fiesta’s markets — up 41 percent.
“We’re particularly encouraged by the strength of the Fusion and Fiesta, especially in coastal markets,” Ken Czubay, a spokesperson for Ford, said in a statement.
The F-Series is also doing well with 60,456 sales. This translates into the F-Series’ 26th consecutive monthly sales increase and its fifth-straight month above the 60,000-vehicle sales mark.
The all-new Lincoln MKZ posted its best-ever September with 2,874 sold, up 12 percent compared with September last year. MKZ has reported record sales for five of the last six months.
While GM delivered more vehicles than its fellow Big Three members, its sales record of 187,195 vehicles for September 2013 showed an 11 percent decrease when compared to last year. Retail sales were down 6 percent versus a year ago and fleet sales were down 27 percent. (Retail sales were up 2 percent on a selling day-adjusted basis.)
That said, GM still had its shining moments. Through the first nine months of the year, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC have posted double-digit retail sales increases compared with 2012. In comparison to September 2012, Buick sales increased 6 percent, marking its 17th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. Cadillac sales were also up at 10 percent.
Chevrolet models that saw a year-over-year increase include the Malibu (29 percent), Spark (6 percent), and Tahoe (14 percent). Retail sales of the Impala increased 64 percent.
“We held our own when it comes to retail market share this month thanks to strong new products, including the Chevrolet Impala, Buick Encore, GMC Sierra and the Cadillac ATS and XTS,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations, in a statement. “We expect a strong finish to the year and more growth in 2014 thanks to new products and a healthier economy.”
