Car Sales Stay Weak in May

Auto sales were very weak in the month of May, but this is a continuation of an ongoing trend. Overall sales were down 34% in the month.

Ford (F - Analyst Report) sales were off 26%, mainly due to a weak F-series sales. General Motors (GM) sales were down 29%, with weakness in the SUV part of the product line. Chrysler sales were down 47%. Honda (HMC - Analyst Report) sales were off 42%. Nissan (NSANY - Analyst Report) sales were down 33%. Toyota (TM - Snapshot Report) sales were off 41%. We suspect sales were weak in the SUV part of the product line. Hyundai continued to buck the trend and had sales down only 19%, which implies that their "return your car if you lose your job" program is having success, but is starting to be copied by others.

Summary: Get out there and buy a new car. High inventories and slow sales are the perfect backdrop to start "working the car lots." We recommend going to Honda and Chevy dealers as a start, as they have the best overall product in the market according to many metrics we monitor.