(Reuters) – U.S. automakers on Friday reported another quarter of stable sales of pick-up trucks, fueled by holiday season discounts and lower interest rates on vehicle loans, even as demand for passenger cars fell further.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of car manufacturer Fiat is seen in Zurich, Switzerland October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Passenger cars have fallen out of favor with buyers amid lower oil prices and automakers have focused on selling larger SUVs and trucks that are also more profitable.
General Motors Co, which was hit by a month-long strike by its 48,000 hourly employees, reported a 6.3% fall in sales for the fourth quarter.
The No.1 U.S. automaker said it sold 735,909 vehicles in the latest quarter, compared with 785,229 a year earlier.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV reported a 2% fall in U.S. auto sales for the period. Sales of its Ram pick-up truck jumped 6%, the company said.
In line with the industry trend, sales of GM’s Trax compact SUVs jumped about 30% to 116,816 units in 2019, while sales of its Cruze cars slumped 66% to 47,975.
Toyota Motor Corp reported a 5% drop in U.S. passenger car sales last year, compared with a 0.8% dip in sales of its trucks and SUVs.
Ford Motor Co is scheduled to report quarterly sales on Monday.
Analysts expect overall 2019 sales to fall by about 1% from 2018, but still finish above 17 million vehicles for the fifth consecutive year.
However, industry experts warn that sales could dip below that mark in 2020, as the market is saturated following a long bull-run since the 2008 financial crisis.
Auto consultants LMC Automotive and J.D. Power have forecast total light-vehicle demand to decline 1.4% to 16.8 million units this year.
“Manufacturers will face a lot of pressure to stand out in a crowded market with nearly 60% more redesigned or new entries in 2020 than there were in 2019,” LMC Automotive Global Vehicle Forecasts President Jeff Schuster wrote last week.
Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila