May sales drop 6.1% on weak car sales; SAAR stays strong

The U.S. auto industry recorded its biggest monthly sales drop in nearly six years in May as most automakers posted declines amid plunging demand for passenger cars.

May volume fell 6.1 percent to 1.5 million vehicles. A 2.4 percent rise in truck sales, fueled by cheaper gasoline, failed to offset a 16 percent drop for cars. Among major automakers, only Fiat Chrysler, Subaru, Kia and Hyundai managed increases in a month that had two fewer selling days than May of 2015.

Still, the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate came in at 17.46 million, on par with last year’s U.S. record unit tally of 17.47 million vehicles.

"What needs to be low is still low -- unemployment, interest rates, gas prices,” Mark LaNeve, Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. sales chief, said today on a conference call to discuss the company's May results. “And what needs to be high is still high -- the housing market, and the average age of pickups. There are still lots of reasons to believe we’ve got a really strong industry to run at.”

Ford Motor volume fell 6.1 percent, as demand for each Ford and Lincoln passenger car was down.

May marked just the industry’s eighth monthly sales drop since 2009. The 6.1 percent decline was the biggest since August of 2010, when results were compared to the sales-boosting federal “cash for clunkers” incentives designed to drive the industry out of recession.

General Motors blamed tight inventories, the difference in selling days and a continued retreat from rental fleets for its 18 percent tumble. All of GM's brands posted double-digit declines in deliveries last month.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, boosted by strong Memorial Day weekend traffic and robust Jeep demand, eked out a 0.9 percent rise.

Toyota said sales dipped 9.6 percent to 219,339 vehicles -- including a 10 percent drop at the Lexus brand. Camry sales plunged 16 percent to 36,916, helping drag down Toyota Division car sales 19 percent overall.

American Honda said deliveries declined 4.8 percent to 147,108 vehicles with car sales down 2.2 percent and trucks off 7.6 percent. The Acura brand plunged 20 percent to 13,561 vehicles.

At Nissan, volume slipped 1 percent. VW brand deliveries plunged 17 percent, the brand's seventh consecutive decline in year over year monthly sales.

Subaru also managed a small increase of 1.1 percent and has now posted year-over-year gains in U.S. sales for 54 straight months. Kia posted a slight rise in volume last month, while Korean sibling Hyundai notched a 12 percent gain. Mitsubishi's deliveries slipped 5.7 percent.

FCA streak

FCA’s May results extended its streak of year-over-year monthly gains to 74, or just over six years.

Volume jumped 14 percent to a record 90,545 at Jeep. Sale rose slightly at the Ram brand, while deliveries slipped 19 percent at the Chrysler brand, 5 percent at Dodge and 19 percent at Fiat.

While analysts polled by Bloomberg expected May volume to drop at FCA, many of the company’s dealers reported robust sales over the holiday weekend.

“Notwithstanding a challenging calendar, we managed to muscle our way to our strongest May sales in over 10 years,” Reid Bigland, head of sales for FCA in North America, said in a statement.

Audi said it set a May U.S. sales record with volume rising 1.6 percent to 18,728 cars and light trucks.

Tracking the SAAR

After topping 18 million in September, October and November last year, the SAAR has averaged 17.28 million a month through April, including March’s 16.56 million rate. The drop from 2015’s highs has prompted some analysts to say the U.S. new-vehicle market has plateaued because sales to individual customers have held steady instead of increasing in recent months.

Counting May’s results, U.S. light vehicles sales are now up just 1.1 percent for the year, casting fresh doubt on whether the industry’s winning streak can continue for a seventh straight year.

“While this year may not bring the growth the industry has become accustomed to … sales are still at record levels and economic factors point to continued strength in the near future,” said Tim Fleming, an analyst for Kelley Blue Book.

Automakers count on the Memorial Day weekend and holiday deals for a sizable portion of May business. Some of the biggest discounts in May were found on small and midsize cars and on remaining 2015-model new vehicles.

Incentives rise

Average incentives per vehicle rose 7.1 percent to $3,034 in May compared with May 2015, TrueCar estimates. Among mainstream automakers, GM dangled the highest incentives last month at $3,941 per new vehicle, followed by FCA ($3,926), VW/Audi ($3,448), Ford ($3,433), Nissan ($3,342), Kia ($2,715), Hyundai ($2,032), Toyota ($2,029), Honda ($1,635) and Subaru ($612).

At Findlay Honda Henderson, just outside Las Vegas, May was a nail biter. General Manager Scott Ramer said the month started out rocky.

“We were on track to have one of the worst months in a long time,” Ramer said. “This last week finally turned it on.”

Ramer said Tuesday the dealership sold about 250 new Hondas in May, with 33 of those sold on Memorial Day. In May 2015, the dealership sold 252 new vehicles.

The store is closed on Sundays and Ramer said customers were ready to buy on the holiday.

The CR-V, Civic and Accord -- core models for Honda and supported by special lease and finance deals -- generated strong volume for the dealership, Ramer said.

Honda also offered 0.9 percent financing for 24 to 36 months and leasing support on the Civic sedan CVT LX for military personnel and college graduate through May 31. The leasing offers were $1,999 due at signing with $179 per month for 36 months or $0 at signing and $230 per month for 35 months.

Editor's note: Some earlier versions of this story referred incorrectly to the number of months since the start of 2010 that U.S. new-vehicle sales have dropped year over year.

Nick Bunkley and Stephanie Hernandez McGavin contributed to this report.