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GM, Chrysler Report Solid Sales; Cruze Up 34%
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC reported stronger sales during October as dealers on the East Coast wrestle with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Chrysler reported Thursday that it experienced its best October sales in five years on a volume of 126,185 units, a 10% increase over the same period last year.
And, GM said its October sales were the best in five years as it posted a 5% gain compared to a year ago when it sold 195,764 new vehicles.
Sales of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze were nearly 34% higher than the same period last year, GM said. The Cruze was the second-best seller in GM's auto portfolio with 19,121 sold -- only the Chevrolet Silverado pickup sold more with 38,739 units, the company reported.
"GM had a solid October in a month that was marked by a devastating national tragedy," said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations. "All of us at GM are deeply saddened by the loss of life and the extensive damage caused by the storms, but we're really encouraged by the national and local response, which will speed the recovery."
McNeil said the storm could affect sales across the industry, possibly between 300,000 and 700,000 units, but suggested that the number would be closer to 300,000. The company is still trying to quantify the impact for the month for GM.
GM reported sales of its passenger cars were up 15% from a year ago.
"The combined sales of our mini, small and compact cars were up 72%," McNeil reported. "At Chevrolet, a 34% increase for the Cruze, record Volt sales, Spark's fast start, and solid results for Sonic helped drive a 12% increase in car sales."
The annual sales rate, or SAAR, was pegged at 14.4 million, GM said, when the impact of Sandy is taken into consideration.
Chrysler reported that October was the 31st consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth for the company. "Last month, we also further demonstrated our disciplined approach to sales growth by posting a Q3 operating profit of $706 million, an increase of 46% over Q3 2011," noted Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales.
Two Jeep models experienced record-setting sales in October, Chrysler reported. Sales of the Jeep Wrangler were up 14% as the Jeep Patriot posted an 18% increase in sales.
Jeep has become the focus of a political storm brewing in Ohio since last week, when Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney suggested in a speech that Chrysler was contemplating moving Jeep production out of Ohio to China.
The Romney campaign has since aired television and radio ads that underscore the same theme.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has denied the claims and refuted the ads.
Sales at Ford Motor Co. remained flat as that automaker posted a 0.4% gain for the month. On Tuesday, the Dearborn, Mich., automaker reported a profit of $1.6 billion.
Ford reported it sold 168,456 new vehicles in October, up from 167,803 sold a year earlier. Retail sales were up 2%, the company said.
"Our commitment to deliver a fuel-efficient lineup of cars, utilities and trucks is winning over customers and helping grow our retail sales," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of sales, marketing service. "Our fuel-efficient and full-size pickups delivered our strongest October sales results since 2004."
Sales of the Ford Escape increased 4% while Ford Fusion sales dropped some 30%, the company reported.
Japanese automakers Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. both posted gains for the month, the companies said.
Honda reported its business volume increased 8.8% on sales of 106,973 new cars and trucks. The Honda Accord accounted for the bulk of sales in the United States with 28,349 new vehicles, a 25% improvement from last year.
And, Toyota said that its sales jumped 16% to 155,242 new vehicles, a slower pace than September when the company registered a 47% year-to-year increase as it recovered from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan a year earlier.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.