Chrysler, Nissan and General Motors overcame economic jitters to post sharply higher sales in September, with large pickups, crossovers and new models spurring gains. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Chrysler’s sales rose 27 percent last month, while Nissan Motor Corp. had a 25 percent gain and GM generated a 20 percent increase.
Ford Motor Co. said its September sales climbed 9 percent, with strong demand for SUVs and trucks offsetting a 9 percent drop in car sales.
But lingering shortages from the March earthquake in Japan continued to hamper several automakers, with Toyota Motor Corp. down 17.5 percent, Honda Motor Co. sales down 8 percent and Subaru off 2 percent.
J.D. Power and Associates said September marked the first time that new-vehicle retail sales remained strong throughout a month since the encouraging start to 2011.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate for September retail sales is expected to come in at 10.3 million units, up significantly from a rate of 9.6 million units in August, J.D. Power said.
Chrysler said retail sales rose 50 percent last month, and GM said its retail volume climbed 19 percent.
The annual selling rate for all light vehicles is forecast to reach 13 million units for the month, Power said.
Volkswagen AG’s VW brand said sales of the new Passat and Jetta helped push its September sales up 36 percent — its biggest gain of the year. It was the 13th straight month VW brand sales have increased.
Chrysler was boosted by strong deliveries of the Ram pickup, Chrysler brand, Dodge Durango SUV and Jeep lineup. It was the 18th consecutive month Chrysler has posted a sales gain in the U.S. market.
Ram pickup demand surged 45 percent to 24,522 units.
