A historically strong September but not for GM and Ford

A historically strong September but not for GM and Ford:U.S. auto sales have been really strong this September, but it seems like this year dealership traffic appears to have lowered after more than six straight years of steady growth. Almost all the automakers: General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Honda reported declines, but Asian counterparts like Toyota and Nissan managed to register growth.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for September stood at 17.45 million units. Retail sales have eased since solid numbers were seen in the second half of last year. As such automakers are heavily spending on discounts and incentives to keep their factories operating to capacity and relying on fleet sales to boost their volumes. Here’s a comprehensive look at the performances of U.S. and other automakers. The top U.S. seller, General Motors, said that its sales dropped 0.6% to 249,795 units in September. Sales volume has been softer in the last six months compared with the previous year's comparable period. During September, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra faced declines in their sales, 15.5% and 8.5%. Moreover, the company’s pickup sales plunged. All this impacted the company’s market share which reduced to less than 17%. In contrast, Buick sales climbed 14% powered by robust sales of new Envision. Cadillac sales surged 3% on the back of strong sales of the XT5 SUV and CT6 sedan.