Automakers snap record sales streak

Seven-year run ends, but industry still strong

The U.S. auto industry’s seven-year sales streak has come to an end, a tally showed Wednesday.

The sales run that began after the recession in 2010 — and included two consecutive years of record sales — fell short in 2017 with sales of 17.2 million vehicles, down 1.8% compared to 2016, industry tracker Autodata reported.

The industry cooled off as Americans are keeping recently purchased vehicles longer and are embracing lower-mileage used vehicles in the face of rising interest rates, said Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist for Cox Automotive.

The auto industry is yet to complain. Even if overall sales are slightly lower, Americans are flocking to crossovers, sport-utility vehicles and pickups, which are more profitable than cars.

“Every time I thought we’ve reached the natural level of demand, SUVs continued to increase,” said Joe Eberhardt, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America.

For December, Autodata says overall sales were down 5.2% compared to the same month last year. That beat predictions from Edmunds.com, at 5.6%, and Kelley Blue Book, at 6.7%.

Facing a tough comparison over a record December 2016, most automakers were down for the month. General Motors recorded a 1.3% decline compared to the same month last year, and Ford was down 1.1%.

Fiat Chrysler fell 8.2% as it continues to reduce its reliance on sales to corporate, rental and government fleets.

Toyota’s sales fell 0.6%. Fellow Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda rose 1.9% and 0.2%, respectively. Subaru continued its hot streak, rising 5.3%.

Kia’s slump continued as the Korean automaker recorded a 20.9% decline. Sister automaker Hyundai also was expected to post a decline.

Automakers increased discounts only 1% in December compared to a year earlier, to an average of $3,459 per vehicle, according to Edmunds.

That indicates companies aren’t compromising profits for the sake of market share.

In many cases, incentives were more targeted than in the past, aimed at individual buyers, specific trim levels or various regions, Autotrader.com analyst Michelle Krebs said.

“We are seeing a much more sophisticated use of incentives,” Krebs said.

KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP Automakers sold 17.2 million vehicles in 2017, down 1.8% from 2016.