* U.S. auto sales on track to post year-over-year gain
* GM, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai finish above expectations
* Chrysler sales fall 30 percent
(Adds analysts' comments, Autodata figures, GM decision to
hang on to its Opel unit)
By Soyoung Kim and David Bailey
DETROIT, Nov 3 (Reuters) - General Motors [GM.UL] posted
its first monthly sales increase in nearly two years on Tuesday
as a rebound in industrywide U.S. auto sales in October pointed
toward a gradual recovery for the battered sector.
Chrysler was the weakest of the large automakers. Its sales
plunged 30 percent in October, the day before Fiat SpA (FIA.MI)
Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne releases a five-year
turnaround plan for Chrysler.
U.S. auto sales hit an annualized rate of 10.46 million
units in October, according to industry tracking firm Autodata.
That is a level not seen in a year, except for July and August
when the U.S. government's "cash for clunkers" incentives
program sparked a surge in sales.
(here)
"In a nutshell, we can tell with confidence that we've seen
the worst already past and we are seeing relative improvements
in the market place and consumer demand," said Jesse Toprak,
analyst with Truecar.com.
However, high unemployment and weak consumer confidence
will slow the recovery, he said. "The improvement in the
automotive market for the rest of the year as well as next year
will not be as fast or robust as we thought earlier this
year."
The October sales are a key indicator because they are the
first month of U.S. sales not affected by the clunkers boom,
which provided incentives of up to $4,500, or the backlash that
followed in September.
The annualized rate of 10.46 million units was a jump from
the 9.22 million rate in September after the incentives program
had ended and inventories were decimated. It also marked a
slight decline from October 2008, the first month after the
financial markets collapsed.
Automakers said they were cautiously optimistic. GM said
the U.S. economy and auto industry were starting to show signs
of recovery and the results suggested the sector may be
stabilizing after four years of declines.
GM posted a 4 percent sales gain, Ford Motor Co (F.N) a 3
percent increase and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) a fractional
gain. All three results were better than analysts had
expected.
Korea's Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) posted a 49 percent
sales rise that blew past expectations and allowed the
automaker to take more market share from rivals.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) reported a gain of nearly 6
percent, while Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) reported a sales
decline of less than 1 percent.
"We're seeing the industry get some legs under it," GM
sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni said on a conference call.
While the sales results were viewed as positive, industry
executives continued to question the speed and strength of any
recovery given the high U.S. unemployment rate.
"We expect consumers to remain cautious as the recovery
gains traction," said Ford economist Emily Kolinski Morris.
Toyota U.S. sales chief Bob Carter said the automaker
expects a "very gradual" U.S. economic recovery.
GM GAINS MARKET SHARE
With inventories still below normal levels, automakers were
able to pull back on discounts and other sales incentives in
October. Ford estimated industrywide incentives were down 10
percent from a year earlier while it cut its own spending on
such discounts by 30 percent.
Industry tracking firm Edmunds.com estimated the average
incentive in the United States was $2,468 per vehicle sold in
October, down 7.8 percent from last year and 11.8 percent from
the previous month.
Ford, which surprised analysts by posting a third-quarter
profit of nearly $1 billion on Monday, said it gained market
share due to strong demand for cars and crossover vehicles.
Strong demand for the Fusion sedan, and versions of the
Taurus car and F-150 pickup truck helped Ford raise its share
of the U.S. market to more than 15 percent, the company said.
Vehicles from the 2010 model year accounted for 80 percent
of Ford's sales. New vehicles tend to require lower levels of
incentives to lure buyers, meaning they generate higher
profits, analysts said.
GM's sales rose year-over-year for the first time since
January 2008 and the automaker said it also gained market
share, standing at an estimated 21 percent for the month.
Late on Tuesday, GM's board opted to keep Opel, undoing
months of painstaking negotiations to sell the European unit to
a Russian-backed group led by Canada's Magna (MGa.TO).
[ID:nN03518816]
(Reporting by David Bailey and Soyoung Kim, writing by Ben
Klayman in Chicago, editing by Matthew Lewis and Patrick
Fitzgibbons)
