December data show slowing growth for big US carmakers

Car sales in the US for all three of the market's biggest carmakers fell short of expectations in December, underlining how the breakneck pace of the market's recovery slowed during 2013.

US sales for General Motors, the market leader by sales, were 6 per cent down on December 2012, while Ford's sales were up only 2 per cent and Toyota's decreased 1.7 per cent.

The figures damped sales figures for the whole year, which looked set to be about 8 per cent above the figure for 2012, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales (Saar) of about 15.6m. The figure is markedly weaker than the 13 per cent growth that the industry recorded for 2012 over 2011.

However, Chrysler, the fourth-biggest carmaker by sales, enjoyed the latest of a series of strong sales results, reporting an increase of 6 per cent on December 2012 and full-year sales 9 per cent ahead of 2012.

Michelle Krebs, an analyst at car information site Edmunds.com, said reports suggested the disappointing December sales reflected the bad weather across much of the US around Christmas.

"That may cause year-end sales to be lower than expected, but shoppers may close on their intended purchases in January instead," Ms Krebs said.

Chrysler's relative success reflected the continued strong demand for both pick-up trucks and sports utility vehicles. December US sales for the company's Jeep brand were 34 per cent up on December 2012, largely because its new Cherokee sport utility vehicle, which was delayed by manufacturing problems, sold strongly.

Sales of Chrysler's Ram pick-up trucks, which were 11 per cent up on December 2012, were also strong. Some other pickups - including GM's GMC Acadia, which was 53 per cent up on December 2012, and Ford's F-series, which was up 8.4 per cent - also bucked the generally gloomy trend.

Ms Krebs said Chrysler had been lucky to have a number of "hot" products in its line-up to meet consumers' demand for tough cars for winter.

"The new Cherokee, a vehicle with more macho than other SUVs in its segment, proved to be a big winner among shoppers," she said. "The Ram continued to be a popular selection for truck buyers."

For Ford, which had been expected to post year-on-year sales gains of about 6 per cent, some of the sharpest sales falls were in its smaller passenger cars. Sales of the Focus compact car were 31 per cent down on December 2012.

Nevertheless, John Felice, Ford's vice-president for US sales, insisted that the company's 10.8 per cent sales gain for the full year showed the company had enjoyed a successful year.

"We saw strong growth across the entire Ford line-up and made significant gains in the import-dominated coastal markets," he said.

General Motors also suffered declines in its small passenger cars, as well as a 16 per cent fall in sales of its Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck, one of its biggest sellers.

Nevertheless, Kurt McNeil, vice-president US sales operations, pointed to the 7 per cent growth in sales for 2013 over 2012 as evidence that GM and the wider US auto industry had "put the last traces of the recession in the rear-view mirror".

GM's shares fell 3.28 per cent to $39.60, while Ford's rose 0.58 per cent to $15.53.

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