Auto Sales Are Highest in 4 Years By BILL VLASIC
DETROIT — Unemployment is still high and the so-called fiscal cliff is looming, but those worries didn’t slow down the nation’s car and truck buyers in September.
Autos flew off the lot at the highest sales rate in four years, adjusted for seasonal variations, according to the research firm Autodata.
Over all, a total of 1.19 million cars, trucks and S.U.V.’s were sold in the United States during the month — a 13 percent increase from a year ago.
Japanese and German manufacturers led the sales boom, offsetting weaker results at General Motors and Ford.
The monthly sales rate equaled about 14.9 million vehicles on an annualized basis, and it was the highest seasonally adjusted rate since February 2008, according to Autodata.
Analysts said the robust pace was fed by consumers replacing older vehicles, the wide variety of new fuel-efficient models on the market and the greater availability of credit at low interest rates.
“The industry is continuing its comeback the old-fashioned way: with new products, better inventory management and historically cheap loans,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with the auto research Web site TrueCar.com.
Overall industry sales are up 14.5 percent through the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period in 2011.
Many of the gains in September came at Toyota and Honda, the two big Japanese manufacturers that suffered major product shortages after last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
“We all underestimated the strength of the Toyota and Honda brands and their customer loyalty,” Mr. Toprak said. “They have not only gained back their market share, but increased it.”
Toyota said that it sold 171,000 vehicles during the month, a 41.5 percent increase from a year ago. The company reported that sales of its Prius gas-electric hybrid cars more than doubled from last year.
Honda reported that its sales grew 30.9 percent, to 117,000 vehicles. The company benefited from high demand for its two best-selling passenger cars, the Civic and the Accord. Honda began selling a new version of the Accord in the middle of the month.
The performance of Toyota and Honda contrasted with essentially flat sales at both G.M. and Ford, partly because of tepid sales of pickup trucks.
G.M. said Tuesday that its overall sales grew by 1.5 percent during September, which the company said were its best results for the month since 2008. G.M. said it sold 210,245 vehicles; passenger cars led the way with a 29 percent gain.
But sales of the company’s pickup trucks, which are big profit producers, dropped by 20 percent during September. G.M. attributed the decrease partly to a reduction in sales to rental fleets.
A G.M. executive said the automaker was trying to keep truck inventories low as it continued to focus on introducing new cars like the Chevrolet Spark.
“Passenger cars have been the launch point for a broad and deep G.M. product offensive,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president for United States sales.
Ford said its total sales for September were down 0.2 percent from a year ago. Truck sales dropped 7.6 percent, wiping out gains made by new cars and S.U.V.’s like the Ford Fusion and the Escape.
Ford said it sold 174,000 vehicles during the month, reporting its best results in small cars, sales of which increased by 73 percent.
“Fuel economy remains one of the most important features customers want today,” said Ken Czubay, Ford’s head of United States marketing, sales and service.
Sales of the company’s top seller, the F-series pickup, grew by just 1.2 percent during September, and sales of its Lincoln luxury brand fell 3.1 percent.
One industry analyst said stock investors were betting that an uptick in housing starts would eventually fuel an increase in pickup sales.
“The most popular theme in auto land appears to be to buy companies with pickup exposure,” Brian Johnson of Barclays wrote in a research report on Tuesday.
While G.M. and Ford struggled somewhat, Chrysler continued its steady comeback from very weak sales after its government bailout and bankruptcy in 2009.
Chrysler said its September sales increased 11.5 percent from the year-ago period, its 30th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. The company said it sold 142,000 vehicles, and each of its brands had gains, led by an 18 percent increase at Dodge.
The company benefited from the introduction of its Dodge Dart compact sedan, the first high-mileage small car Chrysler has produced since it was acquired by the Italian automaker Fiat. It also outperformed its Detroit rivals in pickups with a 4 percent increase in sales of Ram pickups.
Chrysler’s top American sales executive, Reid Bigland, said the industry’s recovery appeared to be gaining steam in the latter part of the year.
“Going forward with our current product lineup, record low interest rates and a stable U.S. economy, we remain optimistic about the health of the U.S. new-vehicle sales industry and our position in it,” Mr. Bigland said.
Other carmakers reported mixed results during the month. Nissan said it sold 91,000 vehicles, a 1.1 percent decline from a year ago. Like G.M. and Ford, it was hurt by the resurgence at Toyota and Honda.
One of the hottest manufacturers during the month continued to be Volkswagen. The German carmaker, which is already expanding its new assembly plant in Tennessee, said it sold 48,000 Volkswagen and Audi brand vehicles in September, a 32.4 percent increase from a year ago.
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