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Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller October 2, 2020
• Monthly increases spread across product lines.
The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles rose 7.5% during September (-4.7% y/y) to 16.36 million units (SAAR) from 15.22 million in August. September sales were the highest in six months, up 87.2% from the April low of 8.74 million units.
Auto sales increased 7.2% (-16.9% y/y) last month to 3.88 million units, still well below their peak level of 7.71 million unit sales reached in 2014. Purchases of domestically-produced cars rose 5.3% (-18.3% y/y) to 2.77 million units following a 4.0% August rise jump. Sales of imported cars surged 12.1% m/m (-13.3% y/y) to 1.11 million units.
Sales of light trucks improved 7.9% (-0.1% y/y) during September to 12.48 million units, the highest level since February. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks rose 7.4% (-1.1% y/y) to 9.87 million units after three months of strong gain. Sales of imported light trucks improved 8.3% (4.0% y/y) to 2.61 million units after falling 1.6% in August.
Trucks' share of the U.S. light vehicle market was little-changed at 76.3%.
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market held steady last month at 22.7%. Imports' share of the passenger car market strengthened to 28.6% from 27.3%. Imports share of the light truck market similarly improved slightly to 20.9%.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
Light Weight Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Million Units) | Sep | Aug | Jul | Sep Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 16.36 | 15.22 | 14.60 | -4.7 | 17.06 | 17.32 | 17.23 |
Autos | 3.88 | 3.62 | 3.51 | -16.9 | 4.82 | 5.40 | 6.17 |
Domestic | 2.77 | 2.63 | 2.53 | -18.3 | 3.53 | 4.05 | 4.58 |
Imported | 1.11 | 0.99 | 0.98 | -13.3 | 1.29 | 1.36 | 1.59 |
Light Trucks | 12.48 | 11.57 | 11.09 | -0.1 | 12.24 | 11.92 | 11.07 |
Domestic | 9.87 | 9.19 | 8.64 | -1.1 | 9.70 | 9.44 | 9.00 |
Imported | 2.61 | 2.41 | 2.45 | 4.0 | 2.54 | 2.48 | 2.07 |