FCA, Nissan show US sales gains, hint at strong January

DETROIT: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Nissan Motor Co reported higher US sales for January, indicating a stronger-than-expected start of the year for the auto industry than many observers expected.

Fiat Chrysler's sales rose 7 percent on strength in its Jeep SUV brand, whose sales were up 15 percent.

Nissan sales rose 1.6 percent as the company continues to gain on its SUVs, crossover vehicles and pickup trucks, sales of which rose 18 percent. Its best-selling model, the midsize Altima sedan, showed a 16 percent decline. Fiat Chrysler shares traded in Milan rose from the minutes after its US sales were announced.

They were up 1 percent at 6.45 euros on Tuesday afternoon in Milan.

Forecasters had expected a slight decline for Nissan sales and a smaller rise for Fiat Chrysler than reported.

Before the first two companies reported, US auto sales were expected to decline between 0.5 percent and 5 percent from January 2015, due in part to two fewer selling days this year and a major East Coast snowstorm that kept many consumers away from dealer showrooms.

A poll of 27 economists by Thomson Reuters showed expectations of a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.4 million vehicles for January.

This was Fiat Chrysler's 70th straight month of year-on-year monthly sales gains in the US market.

Ram pickup truck sales rose 5 percent. Ram and Jeep are the two brands that appear to be the key to the company's future in North America after Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne announced last week that Fiat Chrysler would stop production of two sedans, the compact Dodge Dart and the midsize Chrysler 200.

The Jeep models gaining the most were the Compass and the Patriot.

They are taking a larger share of production at the company's plant in Illinois, where the Dart is also made.

Dart sales fell 42 percent in the month. The industry is coming off a record 2015, when US auto sales hit 17.39 million vehicles, according to WardsAuto, which provides data used by the US government for economic analysis.

Low gasoline prices, easy credit and moderate economic growth boosted the industry, which is expected to set another record in 2016, most analysts have said.