Major automakers on Tuesday published higher U.S. new automobile sales in September as customers in hurricane-hit parts of the nation replaced flood-damaged vehicles, extending a rally in their shares that started when Hurricane Harvey struck southeast Texas in late August.
Experts and industry specialists had predicted hurricanes Harvey and Irma would provide auto companies with their first month-to-month gains in this year. Sales had been weak after a strong run since 2010 that reached in record sales of 17.55 million units in last year.
However others cautioned high inventory levels and record customer discounts remained a concern progressing.
The seasonally changed yearly rate of U.S. vehicles and light truck sales in September increased to 18.57 million units from 17.72 million units a year previously, notes Autodata Corp, which is dedicated to tracking market sales.
While U.S. sales increased beyond the storm zones, according to automakers and dealerships, much of the September gains followed Typhoon Harvey hit Texas. Replacing automobiles throughout the recovery in southeast Texas and Florida will boost U.S. brand-new and used automobile sales through at least November, inning accordance with market specialists.
General Motors stock increased more than 3 percent to its highest level since their 2010 post-bankruptcy initial public offering, and Ford Motor closed up over 2 percent at $12.34.
While the hurricane recovery drove purchases, “this will be a short-lived party,” stated Michelle Krebs, executive expert for online sales website Autotrader.
As much as 500,000 cars were damaged or ruined throughout Harvey and another 200,000 cars during Irma.
GM’s sales leapt almost 12 percent against September 2016 as a 43 percent boost in sales of crossovers and a 10 percent rise for pickup trucks balance out an 11 percent drop for passenger cars.
