December Auto Sales Round-up!

January 3 not only marked the first retail sales report of the year, but also brought the first monthly vehicle sales report. Kicking things off, General Motors GM reported a 4.9 percent increase in December sales, well above expectations, while Toyota TM reported its December vehicle sales growth at nine percent. Chrysler FIATY also came through with a solid report, showing a 10 percent increase in vehicle sales for December. Ford Motor Company F saw the smallest gain of the domestic automakers, but still reported an increase in December auto sales by 1.9 percent. Honda HMC did not come out with such strong numbers however, reporting a 26.2 percent jump in December vehicle sales, missing the estimated growth figure of 32 percent. Nissan was also among the losers, reporting a decrease of 1.6 percent for December, well below the estimated 2.7 percent gain. From over the Atlantic in Germany, BMW and Mini reported a decrease in sales of 6.5 percent, while Audi reported an increase in December sales of 17.3 percent, and Mercedes Benz reported a decline 14.2 percent for December. Overall the markets liked the reports as the First Trust auto ETF CARZ gained 0.54 percent to $29.66.