April sales of light vehicles in the U.S. market dropped 4.7 percent despite the incentives given by car makers and dealers to car buyers intended to stop the longest market slump in U.S. car sales in years. Last month is the fourth consecutive month that saw sales in all car categories falling down. Truck sales volume fell 0.1 percent while car deliveries went down 11 percent.
This Is The Longest Market Slump In Years
April's diminishing U.S. car sales experienced by the largest carmakers extended the longest market slump in the industry. The last time car sales bottomed out in the U.S. was in 2009. The sharpest drops in sales were experienced by Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. Both car makers have their car sales dropped approximately 7 percent.
Stock Market Values Also Dropped
The continuing car market slump sent the industry to its fourth straight month losing streak after experiencing record sales in 2016. Values of car companies at the stock market were also negatively affected. For instance, the stock market saw Ford Motor Co. closing at its lowest levels in over four years.
Retailers And Car Parts Makers Are Also Affected
The diminishing car sales in April also affected car retailers and auto-parts makers. Analysts believe that industry players will need to cut production and boost discounts to avoid overstocking of inventories in car lots and warehouses. At least until car sales figures show some improvements in the coming months.
Car sales of General Motors also dropped in April, the first it had since January. This occurred despite the carmaker's efforts to veer-away from its low-profit fleet sales. Toyota Motor Corp. sales also dipped for the fourth straight month. Nissan Motor Co. also saw the ending of its five-month winning streak, even it concentrated on fleet sales to jack up volume sales. But Fiat Chrysler saw the worst of days by experiencing zero sales gain since August of last year.
