ARLINGTON, Va.—Total vehicle sales decreased in October to 18.09 million seasonally adjusted, annualized units, but remained robust during the month after reaching a 12-year high in September.
Those areas affected by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey saw increased sales in October, NAFCU reported.
NAFCU Research Assistant Yun Cohen said sales in the hurricane-affected areas rose due to buyers completing delayed purchases and replacing damaged vehicles.
"According to J.D. Power, sales increased 5% year-over-year in the Irma-stricken Southeast region, while the Harvey-stricken South Central region saw a 3% increase," Cohen said in a NAFCU Macro Data Flash report. "While replacement demand helps to trim down some excess inventories, it still took dealers 75 days on average to sell a new vehicle, the longest since 2009."
September's rate of vehicle sales was 18.57 million annualized units. Monthly sales levels in October were up 1.2% from a year ago.
According to data published by Autodata Corp., car sales decreased from 6.8 million to 6.6 million annualized units during the month. Meanwhile, sales of light trucks decreased from 11.8 million to 11.5 million annualized units, NAFCU noted.
Four of the six largest automakers reported increases in their year-over-year sales numbers. Nissan reported the largest gains in sales at 8.4%, followed by Ford (+6.4%), Toyota (+1.1%) and Honda (+0.9%). Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sales were down 13.2% compared to last year, followed by General Motors (-2.3%), NAFCU said.
"Automakers are pressured to increase incentives," Cohen said. "According to J.D. Power, the average incentive spending per unit reached $3,901 – the highest level for the month of October. Some automakers, including General Motors and Ford, also announced production-cut plans recently in response to weakening demand for smaller cars."