US Auto sales figures reach highest in five years

Automakers grabbed their best August since the 2007-09 recessions, with the U.S. monthly auto sales rising by 20 percent over the previous year. The customers are now showing more confidence in buying big items on easier credit terms.

Big sales uprights were achieved by the Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp which is already trying to recover back from last year’s earthquake and tsunami.

All the three Detroit automakers surpassed the sales figures that analysts have already predicted. Total sales for the month were at 1,285,202 units according to the data from Auto Data Corp. this showed the highest sales figures for any August since 2007 when 1.47 million units were sold across the States.

Jesse Toprak an auto analyst at TrueCar.com said that the improvement can be attributed to the feeling that hasarisen among the consumers about big purchases. He also added that the new models form Detroit and the foreign companies have provided the consumers with best options ever.

Last month’s auto sales showed the improvement in the customer mind set. It showed that the customers are spending far better than the early third quarter after the weak consumption that held the economic growth back to 1.7 percent annual pace, April to June.

According to Harm Bandholz chief economist at UniCredit Research, weaker consumer spending in the second quarter can be solely attributed to the slower car sales. So, a new rise in the car sale is good sign and shows that consumer spending could increase in summer.

The consumer spending that also accounts for about 70 percent of the US economic activity also saw a rise of about 1.7 percent.

Toyota and Honda climbs high

Toyota saw a rise in sales of about 46 percent were as Honda witnessed a rise in 59.6 percent. GM recorded a 10 percent jump in the sales as higher gasoline prices encouraged the sales of compact cars like Cruze. Average price of gasoline has roused about 21 cents per gallon in past month. Higher gas prices have encouraged the market to show an unseasonably stronger small car performance.

On the seasonally adjusted annualized rate, US auto industry showed a sale of about 14.52 million vehicles. So, far U.S. auto sales have been recorded at 14.3 million on annual basis. According to GM these figures doesn’t include the Heavy vehicles. The total sale in 2011 stands at 12.8 million units.

GM has recorded a gain of about 10 percent last month surpassing the expected figure of 2-6.4 percent as expected by analyst. GM stands at number one position in the U.S. sales followed by Ford, Toyota and Chrysler.

Volkswagen, Hyundai, Nissan

Volkswagen tuned into its best performance in August since 1973. The automaker’s sales rose 62.5 percent to 41,011 units last month.

Overall the Volkswagen’s US sales rose to about 487 percent including the sales of Luxury brands Audi and Porsche. Audi’s sales climbed to about 11,527 vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Co. sales raised by about 4 percent in August to 61,099 units as it faced some limitations with its supply.

Limited supply of Nissan Motor’s top selling Altima midsize sedan cut down the auto sales and its rose less than expected to about 7.6 percent. Nissan began sale of its redesigned Altima in July and the August sales roused by about 12.5 percent. According to Nissan several thousand orders for the Altima were lost due to lack of inventory by the US dealers.

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