Forecasters expect annual US auto sales record in 2015, strong 2016 ahead

Americans bought more new cars in 2015 than ever before.

The Jeep brand posted a 42 percent sales jump in December, again leading Fiat Chrysler, which sold a total of 217,527 vehicles in the month and 2.24 million for the year, a gain of 7 percent.

At GM, auto sales fell 14.2 per cent in 2015 while sales of trucks, crossovers and SUVs rose 16.3 per cent.

“Given the history that we’ve had and where we were, particularly back in 2008 and 2009 when a number of people had us completely written off, to now be stronger than ever in our entire 90-year history is a little bit counter-intuitive for people and makes being number one that much sweeter”, Reid Bigland, CEO of FCA Canada, said in an interview.

The U.S. auto industry set a sales record in 2015 as solid December gains by the biggest auto makers pushed the annual tally above the 17.4 million mark set in 2000.

Low gas prices and historically low interest rates left more money in buyers’ pockets.

Mr James said vehicle sales should remain solid in 2016, with employment rising, record wealth levels and the Reserve Bank likely to remain on the interest rate sidelines. Sales for 2015 were up seven per cent at 2.2 million vehicles.

Analysts cautioned the torrid sales pace could taper.

The growth in auto sales is expected to continue in 2016; most forecasts put sales this year above 18 million.

Automakers, including the Detroit Three, will report December and year-end sales on Tuesday.

In Canada, Fiat Chrysler Canada claimed the top spot for 2015 with sales of 293,061 vehicles, up 1.1 per cent from the previous year.

Largest US automaker General Motors (GM) reported a sales increase of 5.7% YoY, to 290,230 vehicles in December, falling below the estimated 10%.

U.S. automakers have achieved double-digit sales growth for the month of December, setting a new auto sales record for the year 2015, despite failing to meet expectations. An 8 percent retail sales increase drove overall performance, with 174,509 vehicles sold last month. One notable exception was German automaker Volkswagen, which posted a decline partly because of an emissions-cheating scandal that has curtailed the availability of certain diesel-powered vehicles under investigation in the United States and elsewhere.

The lower gas prices have also had a negative impact on the sale of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. The impressive December for the segment allowed the company to hold onto the title of America’s best-selling pickup for 39 straight years and the best-selling vehicle for 34 straight years with over 780,000 trucks sold in 2015.

“Auto sales could approach 20 million units this cycle driven by the four Cs: credit, capacity, currency and cash”, said Mr. Jonas, who follows the industry for Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc.

It was the sixth straight year of growing USA sales, the longest streak since World War II.

LAP OF LUXURY: Mercedes-Benz took the crown as the top-selling luxury brand in 2015.

Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T TM.N , third in US sales, had a gain of 11 percent. BMW and Lexus were close behind.

On Monday, Edmunds projected that leases will account for a record 29 percent of all new USA retail sales in 2015.

December’s sales rose 9 percent to deliver a 17.3 million annual pace.

Marketing, selling and administrative expenses forecast was between $6 billion to $6.2 billion and research and development expenses are estimated in the range of $4.8 billion to $5 billion.