Louisville, Kentucky — US auto sales fell 3.7% to 16.8 million units on an annualized basis in July as a lack of industry discounts and tariff concerns weighed on consumer demand, according to analysts.
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Register Now Most major automakers reported lower sales in July, which had one fewer selling day than July 2017. An exception was Fiat Chrysler, which posted a 6% increase.
Despite the drop in annualized sales in July, Cox Automotive said it was still forecasting total 2018 new vehicle sales at 16.9 million units as "steady, long-term growth continues."
The strong US economy was countering negative concerns, analysts said.
Ford Motor Co. sold 194,026 vehicles in July, down 3.1% year on year, although it posted double-digit gains in pickup truck sales.
"We saw that much of the industry pulled back a little bit on incentives spend relative to June and we think that had some impact on the overall month of July," said Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle.
"However, when it comes to trucks, we had double-digit increases, which is a reflection of the overall economy," he added.
General Motors, the largest vehicle seller in the US, reports sales on a quarterly basis and did not release figures for July.
