New Car Sales Down Nationwide, Cruze Drops 33%

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – All three American automakers posted year-over-year drops in sales during November, keeping sales figures slightly behind last year’s record totals. Despite the declines, however, all beat industry analysts’ predictions

Across its four brands, General Motors’ retail sales were down just 0.1% from a year ago, with sales totaling 197,340 last month. Total sales were down 2.9% to 245,387.

Chevrolet sales totaled 167,777, a 1.1% drop from last year, with the Silverado leading sales with 46,441 delivered. The Lordstown-built Cruze saw sales drop 33.1% as 10,982 hit the streets.

Behind Chevrolet, GM’s No. 2 brand was GMC with 46,277 trucks and vans sold, a 5.8% fall. The Sierra was that brand’s best-seller with 18,136 sold. Following was Buick with 17,974 sold, led by the Enclave with 6,584, and Cadillac with 13,359, led by the XT5 with 5,623.

Ford Motor Co. saw retail sales increase 1.3% to 156,064 last month. With fleet sales — vehicles for rental, commercial and government use — factored in, the company’s sales rose 6.7% to 210,771.

For the Ford brand, total sales were up 7.3% as 201,862 vehicles were sold. Topping the sales chart was the F-series pickup line with 72,769 sold. Following was the Escape with 25,101 leaving dealership lots.

The company’s luxury brand, Lincoln, saw its sales decline 5.5% with 8,909 sold across the country. Leading the brand was the MKX with 2,619 sold.

Fiat Chrysler’s sales totaled 154,919 in November, a 4% decline from a year ago. Of the company’s four American brands, only Chrysler reported an increase in sales as 16,510 cars were sold, 2,008 more than last year. The brand was led by the Pacifica with 13,195 vans delivered to customers.

Meanwhile, Jeep sales were down 2% to 66,001 with its deliveries topped by the Grand Cherokee with 18,614. The Ram truck line was down 5% to 40,390 and Dodge sales fell 15% to 28,845. Dodge’s top seller was the Caravan with 8,550 sold.

In its monthly sales projection, Kelley Blue Book expected GM’s sales to fall 1% to 250,000, Ford Motor Co. to rise 1.8% to 200,000 and Fiat Chrsyler to fall 5.5% to 152,000.

“The strong numbers from the last two months were influenced by replacement demand in the hurricane-impacted regions of Texas and Florida, which appears to be largely satisfied at this point,” said analyst Tim Fleming nin  the Kelley Blue Book report. “Despite the lower [seasonally adjusted annual rate], this will be the second highest November on record, trailing only November 2016, so more than a few sales records could be broken this month.”

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