U.S. Car Sales Growth Pace Slows to 1%

Carmakers sold 1.52 million light vehicles in the U.S. last month, only 11,000 more than in July 2015, reports Autodata Corp. But it says the annualized selling rate for the month climbed to 17.9 million from 17.6 million a year ago.

Gains of 2% to 722,400 units for Asian brands and 3% to 136,200 for European marques barely offset a 1% decline by the traditional domestic brands.

Light truck sales climbed 8% to 913,100 units, accounting for 55.7% of the passenger vehicle market. Car sales slid 9% to 609,200 units.

July sales dipped for General Motors (-2% to 267,300 units) and Ford (-3% to 215,300). Volume rose 2% to 177,900 for Fiat Chrysler, according to Autodata.

Sales were mostly up for Asian brands last month. Volumes grew for Honda (+4% to 152,800), Nissan (+1% to 132,500), Hyundai (+6% to 75,000), Kia (+7% to 60,000), Subaru (+3% to 52,100) and Mazda (+2% to 27,900). Deliveries slipped 1% to 214,200 units for segment leader Toyota. Mitsubishi’s sales were flat at 7,900 vehicles.

Among European brands, volume climbed 7% to 31,800 units for Mercedes-Benz, 4% to 18,400 for Audi and 53% to 8,600 for Volvo. Sales fell 8% to 28,800 units for Volkswagen and 4% to 25,800 for BMW.