Major automakers on Wednesday reported lower U.S. new vehicle sales for July amid steep declines in passenger cars, except Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, which said its sales climbed 6%.

Reuters reported that U.S. consumers have been shifting rapidly away from traditional passenger cars in favor of larger, more comfortable SUVs and pickup trucks, which are also more profitable for automakers.

“Every year there is a clunker of a month,” Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc, the largest U.S. auto retail chain, told Reuters. “I think July will be that month from a retail point of view.”

U.S. new vehicle sales rose in the first half of 2018, boosted in part by an overhaul of the tax system, but are expected to fall in the second half amid rising interest rates and a glut of cheaper, nearly new used vehicles.

FCA’s rise in July sales was due mostly to higher sales to consumers, above all a 15% jump in sales of its popular high-margin Jeep brand.

Sales at Ford Motor Co slipped 3.1% for July as Ford’s retail sales sank 10.4%, largely due to a 28% slump in passenger cars.

But sales of Ford’s high-margin pickup trucks jumped 10.2%.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker said earlier this year it would gradually cease production of most passenger cars in the United States. On a conference call with analysts and reporters, Ford’s U.S. sales chief Mark LaNeve said the automaker had ended production of its Focus sedan and was winding down output of the Fiesta.

August 3, 2018 by RVBusiness