U.S. vehicles sales blew through the proverbial roof in October. Increased consumer confidence as well as low gas prices and attractive interest rates has been the triple play the auto industry had been hoping for.
The United States car industry just blew the doors off expectations with regard to sales for last month. In October, vehicle sales in the country reached a level they haven’t seen in 14 years. The huge increase in vehicle sales has been attributed to increased consumer confidence, low gas prices and extremely attractive interest rates and financing options offered by dealerships.
National sales for October came in at 1.4 million vehicles nationwide, according to The Los Angeles Times. This was a gigantic 11.4 percent increase over vehicle sales in October of a year ago. This has been the third month in a row that the auto industry has seen double digit growth. Prices have remained stable and dealer incentives have remained attractive. In addition, year end close out sales were extended by most car makers into October. Attractive and low interest rates, too, have helped to move the inventory like it hasn’t moved since 2001.
For October, Toyota posted the best month in vehicle sales it has ever had, selling over 200,000 cars and trucks. General Motors saw a 16 percent hike over its numbers for last October as it sold 262,993 vehicles. General Motors biggest division, Chevrolet, had its biggest October in sales since 2004. Ford, too, was up 14 percent over October of last year, as the company reported 213,938 cars and trucks sold for the month. Like Chevy, Ford saw its best October since 2004.
Nissan saw its American sales increase 13 percent as the company reported selling 116,047 for October. Fiat Chrysler saw its best October since 2001 as the automaker sold 195,545 vehicles in October. Even Volkswagen, still entrenched in a worldwide emissions scandal, saw their sales rise from a year ago as they sold 30,387 vehicles in October. The recent and ongoing scandal has hurt Volkswagen’s image and brand and they have stopped selling their diesel engine vehicles in the United States.
Kelly Blue Book reports that new vehicle prices remain on the rise with an average new vehicle price being $34,023 in October. That was a 1.4 percent increase from October of 2014 and a rise of 0.7 percent over September of this year.
