Kelley Blue Book Analyst Akshay Anand On February Auto Sales

http://www.benzinga.com/news/15/03/5293057/general-motors-misses-february-sales-expectations http://www.benzinga.com/news/15/03/5293272/ford-motor-posts-big-miss-for-february-sales http://www.benzinga.com/news/15/03/5293049/fiat-chrysler-falls-on-february-sales-data Kelley Blue Book Analyst Akshay Anand told Benzinga that February auto sales for General Motors Company

, Ford Motor Company

and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV

were lower than expected. Addressing the influence of weather on sales, Anand pointed out that February of 2013 also experienced bad weather in much of the United States. Rather than weather, an increase in gas prices may have had an impact along with consumer confidence. Despite a slow February, Anand was "optimistic" because products "keep getting better" and there is growing "activity in the marketplace." "There are still plenty of growth opportunities," according to Anand and he did not think February marked the begging of any downward trend. Anand highlighted GM's Encore as a positive and a "great product" with enthusiasm around the segment is also helping Encore sales. Even with a rise in gas prices, GM's large SUVs also sold well which was "a great sign." Anand added that "unless gas prices are really insane...if you need a big SUV, you're going to get it no matter what." Chevy models that did not do well in February are also pending a redesign with five new models this year so GM has "timed things perfectly," according to the analyst. Fiat Chrysler also did well in some areas, Anand said, but the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram Pickup "only had single digit growth, so that's something I'm really going to be paying attention to in March." Ram will face stiffer competition, however, with the F-150 and Titan, so it remained to be seen how it will perform over the coming months from Anand's perspective. The analyst noted that Ford's F-series "has taken a little while to get on-line" and that "retail sales were up but overall sales were down." The Explorer, however, "did really well" whereas Ford's sedans did not keep up. Kevin Riley and Brianna Valleskey contributed to this report.