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Chevrolet Cruze sales drop 27.4 percent in Q3, GM reports
LORDSTOWN
Year-over-year sales of the Chevrolet Cruze dropped 27.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, according to the quarterly sales report released Tuesday by General Motors.
GM reported delivering 31,971 Cruzes in the third quarter, down from 44,046 in the third quarter of 2017. Those numbers include both the Lordstown-built Cruze sedan and the Cruze hatchback built in Mexico.
Cruze sales are down 26.5 percent from last year, with 109,662 Cruzes sold so far this year compared with 149,234 sold by this time last year.
Overall, GM reported delivering 694,638 vehicles in the third quarter, which is an 11.1 percent decline from the third quarter of 2017’s deliveries of 781,056. GM reported its sales are down 1.2 percent from last year.
GM posted third-quarter declines across all four of its brands.
GM no longer provides monthly sales reports, but analysts said the automaker’s September sales likely were close to what analysts forecasted. Cox Automotive forecasted GM’s September sales at 235,000 vehicles, which would be a year-over-year decline of about 15 percent.
In the U.S. auto industry overall, the trend of trucks and SUVs outselling cars continued.
“At Ford and GM, trucks and SUVs accounted for over 80 percent of sales, a testament to the consumer’s ongoing desire for utility,” said Rebecca Lindland, executive analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
“Market share for cars is expected to set a new record low in September at 28 percent, down from the previous record of 29.4 percent set in August. The sharp drop in car share is being driven by the Detroit Three, whose market share for cars came in less than 20 percent in September,” said Zo Rahim, research manager for Cox Automotive. “The accelerating shift away from cars into light trucks is proving to be one of the most defining moments for the industry over the past two years.”
Some industry analysts said higher interest rates also impacted September auto sales. Edmunds reported the annual percentage rate on financing new vehicles averaged 5.8 percent last month, compared with 4.8 percent last September.
“The trickle-down effect of elevated interest rates really started hitting car shoppers in September,” said Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds’ manager of industry analysis. “While new-vehicle prices continue to rise, favorable credit offerings are growing increasingly more difficult to come by. Buying conditions are far less amenable for consumers than they were before, which might come as a shock for shoppers coming back to the market for the first time in a few years.”
KBB reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the U.S. was $35,742 last month, up 2 percent year-over-year.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported its September U.S. sales were up 15 percent, from 174,266 last September to 199,819 this September.
American Honda sales of 132,668 vehicles represented a 7 percent decline from last September.
Toyota Motor North America reported September sales of 203,098, a decrease of 6.8 percent over last year.
Ford Motor Co. reported its September U.S. sales dropped 11.2 percent on total sales of 197,404 vehicles.