US total vehicle sales rise in July; GM, Ford trail expectations

The United States total vehicle sales rose during the month of July, indicating a strong automobile market in the country; however, sales of major brands, General Motors and Ford missed market expectations.

The US total auto sales rose 0.7 percent to 1.52 million vehicles, data released by to Autodata Corp showed Wednesday, for a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.88 million vehicles. Autodata further said that the annualized rate for July was the highest since last November.

According to a Reuters poll of analysts, an average of 17.7 million vehicle sales was expected on an annualized basis, while another 21 economists polled by Reuters had expected sales of 17.36 million vehicles.

Further, GM reported that sales fell 2 percent to 267,258 vehicles, at the low end of expectations, while Ford posted sales of 216,479 vehicles, down 3 percent. However, together the industry eked out a 0.7 percent gain over the year-earlier July, data showed.

However, small gains were witnessed at Nissan Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Honda Motor Co., which had been predicted to drop, instead surprised analysts with a 4.4 percent jump, the biggest among the group. Hyundai Motor Co’s sales went up by 5.6 percent and Kia Motors Corp posted sales higher by 6.5 percent, beating expectations.

Moreover, each of Ford's four top-selling models lost ground, including the Explorer SUV, which dropped 22 percent. GM and Ford are the market leaders by sales volume. FCA, holding the fourth position by US sales, said its sales rose 0.3 percent, missing estimates.

According to a Reuters report, citing Citibank analyst, Itay Michaeli, sales volume is expected to fall in August in part because of fewer weekends than in July. But he emphasized that as sales plateau, they still remain historically strong.