The U.S. auto consumer was out if force for February though not all manufacturers were able to benefit from the increased demand. Sales for Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU) were solid in February, as consumers apparently continued to move up from aging clunkers. Though February has historically been a so-so month for auto sales, the data out on Tuesday showed auto dealers also layered on incentives to attract people to showrooms. The reason? Analysts claim that after a massive winter storm on the East Coast, buyers stayed away in January.Ford (NYSE: F)sales surged 20% to 217,192 vehicles vs. an analyst consensus estimate for 13%, marking its best month for retail sales in 11 years. Year-to-date, Ford sales are up 9% vs. the same time in 2015. The realexcitementfor Ford was the increase in their sales of SUV's which saw their best February ever, totaling 65,016 vehicles, up 28%. Shares popped 4.64% Tuesday on the news.
Not every manufacturer was able to participate in the influx of buyers as General Motors(NYSE: GM) total sales were down 1.5% at 227,825 units, vs. Wall Street's expectation for a 5.2% increase,. GM reduced daily rental deliveries by about 16,500 vehicles, or 39%, in February. GM says it expects its fleet sales in 2016 to be about 20% of total sales, down from their historical range of 22%-24%, as the company focuses on the more lucrative retail market. Thisdidn'thurt shares though as the company popped almost 2% on the Tuesday results.
As for the other popular manufacturers,Nissan Motor (OTC: NSANY) and Honda Motor (NYSE: HMC) also had favorable numbers for February, but Toyota (NYSE: TM), fell short of expectations and Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) says they continue to struggle in the wake of itsemissionsscandal.