Auto makers capped a successful year by ringing up strong U.S. sales last month, with Big Three companies General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posting double-digit gains.Ford Motor Co. also said it enjoyed its strongest December for U.S. sales since 2005, but its growth lagged its competitors.
Observers had projected a robust performance from car makers in December, traditionally a strong month for auto sales. Holiday deals and incentives, along with falling gasoline prices and improvement in the U.S. job market, are among the main factors driving consumers to showrooms.
The question now becomes whether the industry can sustain this kind of growth in 2015. Auto information service Kelley Blue Book said it expects auto makers to sell 16.9 million vehicles in the U.S. this year-the highest sales number in 10 years-indicating more growth, albeit at a slower rate.
"The momentum the economy carried through 2014 accelerated in the fourth quarter," said Mustafa Mohatarem, who is GM's chief economist. "Car-buying fundamentals remain strong and we expect higher industry sales in 2015."
December also marked the highest average transaction prices on record for light vehicles, according to Kelley Blue Book, as the figure grew nearly 3% year-over-year to $34,367. The average price grew 1.6% from November.
GM said much of its 19% sales increase for December came from retail transactions, while combined pickup-truck deliveries surged 43% to nearly 87,000 units. Overall, GM said it sold 274,483 vehicles in December, compared with 230,157 a year earlier. The company said it was its best December since 2007.
Ford, meanwhile, sold 220,671 units but posted an increase of only 1.2%. Its full-year sales total was nearly 2.5 million, down slightly from 2013, as the company conducted a changeover for its popular F-150 pickup and performed a planned cut of 15% in daily rental sales.
Ford truck sales rose 4% in December, with the new F-150 becoming the company's fastest-turning vehicle at dealerships, although overall F-series sales fell slightly for the month. Car sales, meanwhile, declined 1.1%.
Chrysler said it sold more than two million units last year, giving the company its best sales year since 2006. Likewise, the auto maker enjoyed its best December sales in a decade.
Chrysler said it sold 193,261 vehicles last month, an increase of 20%, with car sales rising 19% and truck sales jumping 20%.
The Ram and Jeep brands continued to deliver double-digit growth, with 35% and 19%, respectively. The company's Chrysler brand's sales rose 53%, buoyed by growth from its 200 sedan and its Town and Country minivan.
Nissan said it sold 117,318 vehicles last month, an increase from 109,758 a year earlier. Much of the increase was due to a surge in car sales, which rose more than 12%. The company's Sentra, Altima and Leaf posted strong gains in the car category.
For the whole year, the company said it set a record with nearly 1.4 million U.S. sales, an increase of 11%.
Honda said it sold more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. during 2014, the company's second-best total.
The company's U.S. sales last month rose 1.5% to 137,281 vehicles, as growth in truck sales offset a decline in car sales.
Overall, Chrysler projected total industry sales in the U.S. at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.3 million units, while GM pegged it at 16.9 million. Kelley Blue Book had projected 16.7 million units, and Edmunds.com expected 16.8 million.