* Auto sales rate at 14.94 mln, highest since March 2008
* GM, Ford see soft truck sales; Toyota up 41.5 pct
* Cheap financing, consumer confidence fueling sales
By Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall
DETROIT, Oct 2 (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales last month posted
their best showing in 4-1/2 years, helped by cheap financing,
rising consumer confidence and a major rebound by Toyota Motor
Corp.
The September sales pace was 14.94 million vehicles as
calculated on an annualized basis, exceeding analyst estimates
of 14.5 million, according to Autodata Corp. This was the
highest rate since March 2008, about four months after the start
of the 2007-2009 U.S. recession.
U.S. auto sales last month rose 13 percent to 1,188,865 new
vehicles. Analysts, on average, had expected an increase of less
than 9 percent.
General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co said rising
home prices and a drop in jobless claims encouraged American car
shoppers to buy new vehicles.
The wider availability of cheap financing also spurred
sales. About one-third of Toyota buyers who financed their
purchase last month received a no-interest loan, according to
industry research firm Edmunds.com. Toyota’s proportion of
no-interest deals was higher than any other automaker.
“The money is so cheap now,” said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com
analyst. “Higher resale values and cheap money has been enabling
automakers to offer some of the most attractive leasing programs
we’ve seen in years.”
About 80 percent of new vehicle transactions are financed,
said R.L. Polk analyst Tom Libby.
The interest rate on a 48-month new car loan was about 3.19
percent last month, down from 4.39 percent in September 2011,
according to Bankrate.com.
That rate was about 7.45 percent in May 2009, during the
depths of the downturn that pushed GM and Chrysler Group LLC to
file for government-funded bankruptcies three years ago.
During the recent recession, which officially lasted until
June 2009, U.S. consumers delayed big-ticket purchases, pushing
the average age of vehicles on the road to a record high.
That pent-up demand has fueled auto sales growth this year
as cars and trucks on the road push past the point of repair and
consumers’ economic prospects improve.
“I think in general with the economy chugging along at about
1.5 percent to 2 percent that we are gradually seeing people
come back,” said Ford chief economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick.
SMALL CARS SURGE, TRUCKS LAG
GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said sales of its mini,
small and compact cars nearly doubled last month. Ford’s small
car sales rose about 73 percent, while fuel prices rose.
But both automakers said pickup truck sales in September,
when those sales typically strengthen, were softer than in years
past. Both GM and Ford said trucks made up about 12 percent of
sales last month, down from 13 percent in September 2011.
“There has been a fundamental shift of truck to car that
we’ve been seeing for the past few years,” said Chevrolet’s
sales chief, Don Johnson, adding that September’s results
represented a continuation of that trend.
“Consumers, because of the price of fuel, have definitely
shifted over the last couple of years to a stronger mix on the
car side,” he said.
Ford shares ended 1.4 percent lower at $9.79 and GM shares
gained 2.6 percent to close at $23.68 on Tuesday.
GM POSTS SMALL GAIN, TOYOTA SURGES
GM sold 210,245 cars and trucks last month, up 1.5 percent
from a year earlier. Ford sold 174,976 cars and trucks last
month, on par with its results from a year ago.
Chrysler, the U.S. automaker majority-owned by Italy’s Fiat
SpA, showed a 12 percent jump in sales to 142,041.
Toyota said vehicle sales rose 41.5 percent to 171,190 last
month, while Honda Motor Co sales rose about 31 percent
to 117,211.
The outsized gains from Toyota and Honda reflect their
recovery from inventory shortages last year after the March 2011
earthquake in Japan.
Volkswagen of America, the U.S. arm of Volkswagen AG
, sales rose 34.4 percent.
Nissan Motor Co’s sales fell 1.1 percent to 91,907
vehicles, hurt by higher fuel prices as well as inventory
shortages of its Altima midsize sedan, said Al Castignetti, U.S.
sales chief for the Nissan brand.
