New Car Sales In The U.S. Rise 6 Percent In August

Total auto sales were up 5.5 percent year-over-year to 1,582,675 units in August, fueled by heightened demand for pickup trucks and smaller SUVs, reported Michigan Live.

For the Detroit Three, Chrysler Group easily had the most impressive results, selling 19.8 percent more vehicles on an annual basis last month. GM’s sales slid by 1.2 percent, while Ford’s results edged up 0.4 percent.

For other carmakers, Nissan posted an increase of 11.5 percent in sales, Toyota’s sales grew 6.3 percent and Honda’s sales were up 0.4 percent. Volkswagen’s sales were down 1.5 percent on an annual basis in August.

Analysts said looser lending standards for new cars have helped play a role in new car sales as of late, while the seasonally adjusted annualized pace of sales last month topped 17 million.

“August was once again a strong month for the automotive industry in terms of sales,” said Akshay Anand, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book. “Between rising incentive spend, higher subprime lending, and longer loan terms, there is certainly pause for concern and reason to think the massive growth should eventually slow down.”