Most Automakers Post Strong September Sales Gains in U.S.

Led by General Motors Corp., the U.S. automotive industry rebounded in September with one of its most robust months of the year, as 2005 models, Labor Day weekend business and an aggressive clearance sale at GM pushed up sales.

GM, the world’s largest automaker, said Friday that its new-vehicle business rose a surprising 20% last month. Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group also fared well, posting double-digit gains, but Ford Motor Co. struggled despite incentive offers.

Honda Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 automaker, behind Toyota, also saw overall sales fall off.

Industrywide, U.S. sales were up 6% from a year earlier. That percentage is adjusted and based on the daily sales rate. There were 25 selling days last month and 24 in September 2003.

The seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate for September was 17.5 million units, compared with 16.97 million last September, according to Autodata Corp. Full-year sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.