Cheap Gas, Money lead to Strong US October Car Sales

US Market Share October 2014 - Click to Enlarge - Courtesy AIADA and AutoData

In the closely followed Top Ten Seller list were five offshore brands and five domestic ones.

Vehicle sales in the U.S. were up more than 6% during October year-over-year as cheap gas, low interest rates and long-term loans resulted in 1.28 million cars and light trucks moving off dealer’s lots. Offshore brands sold 700,000 of the total, accounting for 54.5% of the market, up from 54.1% in September, but down from the 56.5% share they held in August.

General Motors at -0.2% y-o-y or 227,000 vehicles treaded water. Ford Motor, in the midst of the new 2015 F-Series changeover, dropped -1.8% to 190,000. Once again, among the Detroit Three, Chrysler Group shined. Based on climbing Jeep, Ram and Chrysler and Dodge minivan sales, the comeback car company moved 170,000 vehicles for a whopping 22% y-o-y increase.

Still Chrysler Group’s strong performance was not enough for it to surpass Toyota Motor. The Japanese giant, with the most balanced portfolio in the business, sold 181,000 vehicles. American Honda (121,000 up 5.8%) and Nissan North America (103,117 up 13%) also had a good month.

In the closely followed Top Ten Seller list were five offshore brands and five domestic ones. Placing fourth behind the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups, the Toyota Camry regained its lead as the top-selling car in the U.S. The Honda Accord outsold it in August and September. The Accord slipped to the sixth position behind the Honda CR-V, which was up 29.7% over October 2013. The Toyota Corolla also strong in October finished in the seventh. Next came Ford Escape, Chevrolet Cruze, with Honda Civic in tenth place.

AutoData says 235,690 cars were built by Asian brands in North America during October or 39.5% of all cars sold in the U.S. Asian brands also sourced 176,028 trucks from these transplants for 25.7% of all U.S. truck sales. European brands built 25,613 cars or 4.3% of total U.S. car sales) and 11,548 trucks or representing 1.7% of total U.S. car sales at their North American facilities.

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