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U.S. NEWS Thursday 2 February 2017

US Financial Front:

Auto sales start 2017 in low gear; improvement expected

DEE-ANN DURBIN were up 3 percent. Volk- 16 percent, hurt by low gas
AP Auto Writer swagen’s sales jumped 17 prices.
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto percent as the sting from — Nissan Motor Co.’s sales
sales lagged in January its diesel cheating scandal rose 6 percent to 112,319.
as buyers recovered from began to fade. Nissan brand sales were up
holiday spending sprees, Winter weather and holi- 3 percent while luxury Infin-
but the slowdown won’t day debts typically keep iti sales jumped 36 percent
last long. January is typi- buyers away from car thanks in part to the new
cally the weakest month of dealerships in January. Q60 coupe. Nissan car
the year for U.S. auto sales, This year, the hangover sales dropped 9 percent
and last month appeared was even more acute. Jeff but truck and SUV sales
to live up to that reputa- Schuster, senior vice presi- were up 24 percent, fur-
tion. Sales fell 2 percent to dent of forecasting for the ther evidence of consum-
1.1 million, according to LMC Automotive consult- ers’ growing preference for
Autodata Corp. General ing firm, said automakers bigger vehicles.
Motors, Toyota and Ford also offered hefty deals in — Honda Motor Co.’s sales
all reported declines. But November and Decem- This Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, photo shows Chevrolet cars on a rose 6 percent to 106,380.
there are lots of factors that ber, pulling January sales dealer lot in Pittsburgh. Automakers released vehicle sales for Sales at Honda’s luxury
should juice demand in the forward. January, on Wednesday, Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Acura brand dropped 10
coming months. Consumer “Most of this is payback percent but Honda brand
confidence is strong, gas from a really strong close to 195,909. GMC brand sales 11 percent to 152,218. The sales were up 8 percent.
prices are low and there 2016,” said Schuster, who were up slightly but Buick, company’s Jeep, Chrysler, The company’s best-seller,
are good deals on new expects sales to rebound Cadillac and Chevrolet Dodge and Fiat brands all the CR-V small SUV, saw
vehicles with cool technol- the rest of the year. all saw declines. GM sold saw declines. Alfa Romeo a whopping 52.5 percent
ogy. Tax refunds will also The deals spilled into Janu- 1,162 Chevrolet Bolts in sales were up thanks to sales increase as a rede-
spur demand. While sales ary. As demand slows after January, one of the first the new Giulia sedan while signed version hit show-
aren’t expected to top last seven straight years of sales months the new all-electric Ram sales rose 5 percent rooms.
year’s record of 17.55 mil- increases, automakers are car was on sale. Sales of its on demand for trucks and — Hyundai Motor Co. said
lion, they’re still forecast to increasingly desperate best-seller, the Chevrolet commercial vans. SUV sales its sales rose 3 percent to
come in at historically high to make a sale. Incentive Silverado pickup, dropped were a continuing strength; 46,507, a January record
levels. One X-factor is Presi- spending averaged an es- 6 percent. sales of the Jeep Grand for the company. Climbing
dent Donald Trump. Prom- timated $3,635 per vehicle — Ford Motor Co.’s sales Cherokee SUV were up 24 sales for the company’s
ised tax cuts and infra- in January, up 21.6 percent dropped 1 percent to percent for the month. new Genesis luxury brand
structure spending could from a year ago, said ALG, 172,612. Ford brand sales — Toyota Motor Corp.’s helped, as did SUVs. Sales
increase demand for new an automotive forecast- were off 2 percent but sales dropped 11 percent of the Hyundai Santa Fe
vehicles. But his threatened ing firm. Car shopping site Lincoln luxury brand sales to 143,048. Sales of the SUV jumped 53.5 percent.
taxes on vehicles imported Edmunds.com said 10 per- jumped 22 percent on Camry sedan, the com- — Volkswagen brand sales
from Mexico could make cent of all new car loans in strong sales of small SUVs. pany’s perennial best-sell- rose 17 percent to 23,510.
some new cars more ex- January had zero-percent Sales of Ford’s best-seller, er, plummeted 24 percent Volkswagen likely got a
pensive. Mexico exported financing. the F-Series pickup rose after Toyota showed off a bump from diesel owners
nearly 2 million vehicles to Automakers said: 12.5 percent as new heavy- new version that will go on who sold their cars back to
the U.S. last year. — General Motors Co.’s duty trucks hit the market. sale later this year. Sales of VW as part of a nationwide
“If prices go up there has sales fell 3.8 percent to — Fiat Chrysler’s sales fell the hybrid Prius were down settlement. q
to be some sort of impact,”
said Alec Gutierrez, an an-
alyst with Kelley Blue Book. ADP: Hiring rebounds at small businesses in January
“This is a price-sensitive in-
dustry.”
Sales at General Motors fell The Associated Press month in 2016. ADP count- from December’s 151,000. have encouraged them
3.8 percent from last Janu- (AP) - Small business- ed the number of jobs at its The figures suggest that to take some more of the
ary, while Ford’s sales were es more than tripled their small business customers, employers are hiring again risks they’ve been avoiding
down 1 percent. Toyota number of new jobs in those with up to 49 staffers. after scaling back their since the recession, includ-
and Fiat Chrysler both saw January, adding 62,000, Small businesses were part payroll expansion in the ing expanding their staffs.
11-percent declines. according to payroll pro- of an overall trend of stron- second half of last year. Many owners have said in
Honda and Nissan both vider ADP. That’s up from ger job growth last month. The arrival of the Trump surveys they’re not willing
saw 6-percent sales gains 18,000 in December, and ADP reported that busi- administration, which to hire unless their revenue
thanks to strong truck and in line with the average nesses of all sizes added was welcomed by many is strong enough to justify
SUV sales. Hyundai’s sales of more than 62,000 per 246,000 jobs last month, up small business owners, may the added expense.q