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Ford Monthly Sales Outstrip Forecasts; GM Reports Decline
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Ford Motor's December sales leaped an adjusted 23.3 percent, far outpacing industry forecasts for the U.S. automaker, while sales at General Motors declined 12.8 percent, slightly worse than expected.
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Ford sold a total of 184,655 vehicles last month, up from 139,067 in the same month last year.
CNBC reports monthly auto sales on an adjusted basis that accounts for the number of selling days in the month. On that basis, analysts were expecting Ford sales to rise 8.3 percent.
Ford said that last year it posted its first full-year market share gain since 1995. December also marks the 14th time in 15 months that Ford increased retail market share, the company said.
Shares of Ford [F
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] swapped hands for as much as $11.21 Friday. The stock had not topped $11 since 2005.
The stock has gained 55 percent in a rally since early November and has more than quadrupled in value over the past year as investors bet that the No. 2 U.S. automaker would steer clear of the federal bailouts that wiped out equity in its domestic rivals.
"It surprised us that December was as strong as it was, not just for Ford but the industry, I think, surprised on the upside for the month," said George Pipas, Ford's chief sales analyst, told CNBC.
But Pipas acknowledged that 2009 was a very tough one for automakers.
"Who could have predicted such a historic year for the automobile industry? The events that transpired that we had to cover and keep our eye on this year—I'm kind of glad to put the year behind us," Pipas said.
Meanwhile, GM sold a total of 208,511 vehicles in December, down from 221,983 in the same month of 2008. The adjusted decline of 12.8 percent was worse than the 9 percent industry watchers had expected out of the automobile manufacturer.
GM said the wind-down of its "non-core brands"—Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer—is 10 months ahead of schedule. Those brands represented 9 percent of retail sales in December, compared with 15 percent in May 2009.
The world's biggest automaker, Toyota Motor, also closed December on an up note, selling 23 percent more vehicles in the United States than it did in the year prior.
Toyota [TM
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] sold 187,860 vehicles in December, up from 141,949 in December of 2008.
Also Friday, Chrysler reported December sales that fell 10.5 percent on an adjusted basis, slightly better than expectations. The embattled company sold 86,523 units, versus 89,813 a year ago.
The privately held automaker, which sold a total of 931,000 cars and trucks last year, said 2009 was its worst for sales since 1962.
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