General Motors [GM.UL] posted its first monthly sales increase in nearly two years on Tuesday as a rebound in industrywide U.S. auto sales in October pointed toward a gradual recovery for the battered sector.
Chrysler was the weakest of the large automakers. Its sales plunged 30 percent in October, the day before Fiat SpA
U.S. auto sales hit an annualized rate of 10.46 million units in October, according to industry tracking firm Autodata. That is a level not seen in a year, except for July and August when the U.S.
government’s cash for clunkers incentives program sparked a surge in sales.
( http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/US_AUTO1109.gif) In a nutshell, we can tell with confidence that we’ve seen the worst already past and we are seeing relative improvements in the market place and consumer demand, said Jesse Toprak, analyst with Truecar.com.
However, high unemployment and weak consumer confidence will slow the recovery, he said. The improvement in the automotive market for the rest of the year as well as next year will not be as fast or robust as we thought earlier this year.
The October sales are a key indicator because they are the first month of U.S. sales not affected by the clunkers boom, which provided incentives of up to $4,500, or the backlash that followed in September.
The annualized rate of 10.46 million units was a jump from the 9.22 million rate in September after the incentives program had ended and inventories were decimated. It also marked a slight decline from October 2008, the first month after the financial markets collapsed.
... contd.
Epaper
Newsletter
Stocks
Weather
Horoscope
