The US is the largest auto market in the whole North America, that's why General Motors, Ford Motor, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are highly dependent on the US market for their largest chunks of revenue. Here's a closer look to the US auto sales data for July.
Total auto sales in the US stood at 1.51 million units, which was higher than the US vehicle sales of 1.50 million vehicle units in July 2015. In 2015 car sales have been at their peak, reaching the highest results with 17.4 million vehicles sold during the year. This was able to boost the confidence of automakers, but also it ignited a debate about US auto sales being at peak levels and the downturn might be really close. Honda Motor and Toyota Motor are two Japanese automakers which also have a good exposure in the country. In July, US vehicle sales remained strong and posted a SAAR of 16.7 million vehicle units in June 2016. The SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate) for 2015 was 17.5 million vehicle units. The July SAAR dates are the highest for 2016.
General Motors and Fiat Chrysler gained 12.2% and 11.4% in the third quarter, while Ford at the same period was trading in negative territory with 1.8% value erosion, as compared to the 3.8% gain seen in the S&P 500 index. Investors started to concern about Ford's ability to achieve its fiscal 2016 guidance by this Fall. We are waiting for news from Ford, to find out if the sales went right this month and of course from other brands to see if it is possible to keep the sales high for a longer time.
