Many car manufacturers saw a boost in North American sales in July this year. According to Zacks, a stock trend site, auto sales on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate were at 16.5 million units, up from 15.8 million units at the same time last year. A large sector of brands, including General Motors, Toyota, Nissan and Ford, saw an increase in individual sales in North America. Other brands that had a boost in North American July sales included Mitsubishi Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Mazda and many others. Honda, unfortunately, experienced a decline in sales.
Increase in sales for many
For some companies, like Subaru, this July marked the best-selling month in the history of the brand. In July 2014, 45,714 Subaru vehicles were sold in the U.S. This number broke the company's previous record of 44,479 sales in March 2014. The company is on its way toward its sixth successful annual sales record at the end of this year.
American automakers GM, Ford and Chrysler saw a similar spike in sales during July, also breaking records from years past. GM sold 256,160 vehicles this July, the company's best sales in that month since 2007. Similarly, Ford was able to sell 212,236 vehicles, the most since July 2006. Chrysler successfully sold 167,667 units, which is also the best sale in the month of July or the company since 2005.
Improving economy helping auto industry
So many companies are seeing a growth in sales with the help of added incentives offered to potential customers, reported Zacks. In addition to this factor, more people can invest in a new vehicle thanks to the improving economic situation, more car loans with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods. Zacks also speculated that the current high average age of cars on the road has resulted in a boost of new car sales and sales related to auto repair, such as auto parts. Growing customer confidence, a booming housing market and better employment rate are also factors that have contributed to the boost in new car purchases.
Despite this increase in sales on company levels, the overall U.S. auto sales actually were lower than what was forecasted based on demand in previous months. Across the industry, sales were up 9 percent to 1,433,016 from last year, according to Reuters, but the forecasted growth in July was set at 11 percent. Still, the industry has experienced a steady growth since its low of 10.4 million sold vehicles in 2009 up to 15.6 million cars sold in 2013, a number that continues to climb.