Sales of new cars and trucks from the Detroit automakers were stronger than expected.
All three beat expectations with Chrysler showing a bigger-than-forecast 9.2% gain, Ford showing a shallower-than-forecast 5.8% dip and General Motors overcoming more recalls to eke out a 1% gain instead of a predicted drop in sales vs. last June.
The industry pace was supposed to cool due to tougher comparisons a year ago and also two fewer selling days for dealers this year.
But the "June swoon" did not materialize -- here are the results company by company:
CHRYSLER GROUP
June new-vehicle sales hit 171,086, up 9.2% from last year and the best June since 2007.
"Chrysler continues to enjoy solid growth thanks mostly to the Jeep and Ram brands," says Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. "Despite fuel prices approaching a six-year high, a large segment of U.S. car shoppers still prefers sport utilities and trucks over traditional cars, and this preference has translated into continued success and robust growth for Chrysler."
Jeep's new-to-the-lineup Cherokee compact SUV, on sale since last October, was the star, adding some 13,000 sales to the monthly count, far outweighing modest increases or decreases among other Jeep models.
Fiat brand rose 11% as growth by the larger 500L wiped out sagging interest in the 500 minicar.
Ram truck brand rose to its best numbers in 10 years, on strong showings by the full-size pickup, up 12%, and 1,131 sales of the new-to-the-line ProMaster commercial van.
Chrysler brand was down, even though its Town & Country minivan zipped 24%. The brand hopes sales of the new-design 200 mid-size sedan, just on sale since May, will continue to ramp up.
FORD
Sales in June tumbled 5.8% from a year ago, to 222,064, but better than the expected drop, thanks in part to the best June ever for the Fusion midsize sedan, up 14% to 27,064. Ford cited popularity in the import-oriented western states.
Also up was the updated Transit Connect -- Ford's ground-breaking small commercial van that's spawned an array of similar models from other automakers -- that snagged 4,573 buyers in June, up 29%. And the big, truck-based Expedition SUV and its Lincoln counterpart, Navigator, were strong.
SUV,s normally a Ford strong point, were down 8.4%. Only gainer in the bunch was the Explorer, and they just barely – up 0.4%. Even the normally reliable sales champ, F-series full-size pickup, was down, off 11%.
Dragging on results was Lincoln, Ford's perennially struggling premium brand, which fell 2.7% overall because, well, nothing was selling. Only model to report better sales this June than last was the Navigator. Ford notes, however, that for the year so far, Lincoln looks better – up 16%.
Though it looks bad, the Ford sales drop wasn't as much as analysts had forecast. Joseph Spak, auto industry analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said he predicted Ford would be down 7% and that the accepted consensus ahead of the results was that Ford would be down 6.6%.
GENERAL MOTORS
June sales barely were above a year ago -- up 1% to 267,461.
Ho-hum results, but actually a huge win for GM, says Spak, He said in a note to clients than he and his colleagues had forecast GM sales would be down a hefty 6.3%.
As important, GM's transaction prices are rising, he said.
The drumbeat of GM recalls -- the result of a promised aggressive effort to ensure there are no lingering safety issues at the company -- hasn't affected sales, experts emphasize.
"Throughout the recall crisis, car shoppers have not avoided GM vehicle pages, as one might imagine," says analyst Jessica Caldwell.
That's probably because the recalls have involved very few new vehicles, which are the ones shoppers would be considering. And, she says, "Many car shoppers don't realize which brands GM owns," so any recall stigma on the corporation isn't flowing down onto its individual brands.