Rising sales of sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks—despite rising gas prices—helped buoy slowing car sales, according to May reports released today by automakers.
May is often the biggest month of the year for auto sellers, with Memorial Day sales driving car shoppers to dealerships to kick off the summer selling season. SUVs and pickup trucks accounted for about 67% of sales in May, according to J.D. Power, the highest level ever for May, The Wall Street Journal reports.
This balance between trucks and sedans benefited automakers like Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, whose lineups skew heavily toward SUVs and pickups, but hurt automakers like Toyota and Nissan who are known for their strength in sedans.
Ford reported relatively flat sales in May, rising 0.5%, despite an 11% increase in sales of the company’s F-Series pickups. Fiat Chrysler reported an 11% increase, fueled by a 29% spike in the company’s Jeep brand vehicles.
The Japanese automakers reported mixed results: Toyota declined 1.3%, dragged down by an 11% drop in car sales and Nissan sales dropped 4%. The bright spot was Honda, with double-digit gains in SUV sales lifting overall sales 3.1% higher. Read the full story.
