U.S. auto sales improved for the month of January with the exception of Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), which experienced major losses of 16 percent in sales for January as a result of the recall that forced them to discontinue sales of over half its car stock.
Sales fell beneath 100,000 for the first time in over a decade while Ford Motor Co and other competitors reported sales gains of 25 percent from January of 2009. Sales at General Motors Co. rose 14 percent as compared with last year.
Ford also made gains, hitting roughly 700,000 in sales for January, up nearly 4% from a year ago.
Consumer confidence is on the rise as reports of economic growth and reduced unemployment fanned the flames of the market. Whether some of the positive sales numbers also came from the other companies poaching from buyers discouraged by the Toyota has not been proven.
What is known is that for the auto industry as a whole some of the strength of the results can be negated by fleet sales to rental and commercial operators, which are characteristically less profitable than those to individual consumers. This explains why retail sales slipped modestly for carmakers while fleet sales were on the rise.
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