Cars and Drivers

Blizzard Hurt January Car Sales, but Fiat Chrysler Thrives

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: January 28, 2016 6:55 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 2:27 pm

The blizzard that shut down parts of the states from Kentucky to Rhode Island affected cars sales, according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB). The event barely hurt Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) sales as the manufacturer posted another strong month in January.

Total U.S. car sales dropped 2.5% this month, according to KBB forecasts, to 1,120,000. Fiat Chrysler sales rose 0.7% to 146,000. The company owns the Fiat, Chrysler, Ram, Dodge and Jeep brands. Its sales have been helped by the popularity of its sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickups, particularly Jeep and Ram products.

All other manufacturers posted losses in sales compared to January 2015. Volkswagen posted the biggest drop, down 5.1% to 37,000. As the emissions scandal lingers, it is amazing the German company did so well.

The number one manufacturer in the United States, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), suffered a sales drop off of 2.9% to 197,000. GM owns the Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac brands.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), which owns the Ford and Lincoln brands, barely held its lead over Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), which owns Toyota, Scion and Lexus. Ford’s sales were off 4.8% to 169,000. Toyota’s were off 3.7% to 163,000.

Tim Fleming, KBB analyst, reported:

This month’s new-car sales were impacted by the historic blizzard Jonas that covered much of the East Coast in snow late in January. Since the blizzard hit densely populated areas during a weekend, when dealerships see the most foot traffic, Kelley Blue Book anticipates sales to dip slightly; however, any lost sales will likely be postponed until February. January is typically the slowest month of the year for automotive sales, as consumers recover from the holiday season and pull forward many purchases into December to take advantage of available year-end deals.

What appears to be a difficult month apparently will be cured in February.