Auto Market Becomes a Hard Sell in U.S. as Chance of Record Dims
- Sales incentives, while at high level, aren’t drawing buyers
- Industry’s annual sales rate slipped to 17 million in August
U.S. Auto Sales Slow in August as Truck Sales Soften
The auto market that once invigorated the U.S. economy has become a tough sell, with every major automaker missing analysts’ estimates for August in a further sign that the industry’s six-year growth run has hit the end of the road.
Buyers are being offered the sweetest deals since the Great Recession of 2009 and yet are responding with a shrug, pushing the month’s seasonally adjusted annual sales rate down to 17 million light vehicles, according to Autodata Corp. The pattern of steeper-than-predicted declines held true for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. as well as for Japan-based makers Toyota, Nissan and Honda. Even the lone major company to report a gain, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, trailed estimates.