Fiat Chrysler, Toyota beat 3Q forecasts: Auto sales update

U.S. new-car sales are showing improvement in the latest quarter after a pandemic-induced slump earlier this year. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Toyota Motor Corp. both reported better-than-expected results for the quarter.

Total new light-duty vehicle sales probably ran at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 15.7 million in September, down 1.6 million from a year ago, according to researcher J.D. Power. Retail sales, which exclude deliveries to fleet buyers such as rental-car companies, probably grew year over year in September, the first time that’s happened since February thanks to a couple of extra selling days on the calendar.

Sales have rebounded after touching a multi-decade low of 8.7 million vehicles in April, when factories were idled and buyers across the country were quarantined at home. But deliveries are still lower than a year ago as recession-wary buyers trickle back into showrooms.

Most automakers stopped reporting monthly deliveries last year, so the third-quarter results are the first peek at sales trends since early July. Ford Motor Co. and Tesla Inc. aren’t expected to release their quarterly numbers until Friday.

Here are highlights from the automakers that are reporting results for last month:

Chrysler’s Minivan Might

Fiat Chrysler sales fell 10% in the quarter -- above analysts’ forecast for an 11.4% drop -- to 507,351 vehicles. The company cited robust retail demand, which compensated for lower fleet sales to commercial and rental customers.

Sales of the profitable Jeep brand fell 9%, with deliveries of every model lower except the Gladiator pickup -- due in part to inventory shortages.

“Jeep and Ram are hot and we continue to prioritize deliveries to our dealers, who are asking us to ship as many vehicles as we can build," Jeff Kommor, Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. sales chief, said in a statement.

The only brand that ticked higher in the quarter was Chrysler, thanks to strong sales of the Pacifica minivan. The people-mover’s deliveries soared 32% in the quarter to 28,696 units.

Toyota Hybrid Heft

Hybrids continue to provide a boost to Toyota, with September sales of its electric-gas vehicles up 35% and accounting for almost one-fifth of the company’s total. For the quarter, deliveries fell 11% to a better-than-expected 558,449 vehicles.

The Japanese automaker said overall sales in September rose 16% to 197,124 vehicles and that its was the first month the Toyota brand exceeded a pre-Covid sales plan. Lexus sales surged 31% to 24,754 cars and SUVs.

Hyundai Retail Strength

Retail sales rose every month in the third quarter for Hyundai Motor Co., even as total deliveries fell 1% for the three-month period to 170,828 vehicles. Fleet sales plunged 67% in September.

But that drop was largely offset by demand for popular SUVs like the South Korean automaker’s newish mid-size Palisade, which more than doubled to 7,741 units.