Chrysler Leads Carmakers' Stock Higher

Cars and Drivers

Published: December 3, 2014 1:45 pm

Last Updated: April 27, 2020 7:00 pm

When automakers reported their November sales on Tuesday, the big winner in terms of percentage growth was Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU), which saw total sales rise 20% year-over-year. On Wednesday the company is leading the carmakers’ stock to some solid price gains as well.

FCA, as Chrysler is now called, set a new post-IPO high of $13.54 shortly after the noon hour on Wednesday, and it could go a bit higher before the day is through. Shares were trading more than 3% higher than Tuesday’s closing price of $13.09.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) also posted a new 52-week high Wednesday of $127.81, up about 0.9%. Toyota’s U.S. sales rose just 3% in November, but the company’s Camry is the top-selling car, trailing only the top three selling pickup trucks and a compact SUV.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) makes that compact SUV, the CR-V, and sales of that little beauty rose nearly 38% year-over-year in November. Honda’s U.S. total sales rose 4.6% last month. The stock traded at around $31.00, in a 52-week range of $29.30 to $42.00.

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General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) posted a sales gain of 6.5% in November, led by its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which saw sales rise by 12% to 148,500 units. GM’s stock traded up about 1.4%, at $33.72 in a 52-week range of $28.82 to $41.85.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was the only U.S.-based carmaker to post a year-over-year decline in sales. Sales dropped 1.8% companywide, and car sales dropped 6.4%. Ford’s F-150 pickup truck sales dropped 10%, while competitors from Chrysler and GM posted big gains. The decline in car sales came mostly in the best-selling Fusion and Fiesta models, both small cars that get good gas mileage. With gasoline prices falling, U.S. drivers are turning more to compact SUVs like Ford’s Escape, which saw sales rise nearly 22% in November. Ford’s shares traded up 0.7%, at around $16.00 in a 52-week range of $13.26 to $18.12.

In the luxury car segment, Mercedes posted a gain of 2,0%, compared with a drop of 2.3% at BMW. Audi sales rose 22% to 16,640 units, less than half the total of the two leaders, but a good showing nonetheless.

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