Ford and GM Should Benefit From Jump in Car Sales

Cars and Drivers

Published: December 18, 2024 8:15 am

As their sales slip in China, the world’s largest car market, success in their home market has become more critical for General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). Their sales in the immensely profitable Chinese market have been severely undermined by the surge in sales by the nation’s rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) companies. The two companies got good news as November retail sales data showed that U.S. car sales have jumped.

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) got a boost from increased auto sales in November.
This helped offset their struggles in China, the world’s largest car market.
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As a sign of how troubled the once immensely profitable Chinese market has become, GM wrote off $5 billion for its joint venture there. The total was based on two non-cash charges.

Census data on retail sales in November, not adjusted for inflation, rose 0.7%. The improvement included upward revisions from the two previous months. Bloomberg reports that the sales increase would have been approximately 0.2% without car sales.

A study from Ward’s Automotive Group, a car research firm, shows that November car sales were the best in three years. It appears that falling interest rates and large discounts pushed most of the improvement.

GM’s U.S. market share is nearly 17%, and Ford’s is 13%. This year, about 15.5 million new cars and light trucks will be sold in America.

The November success may be a two-edged sword. While U.S. car sales rose, incentives were a factor. A Cox Automotive report showed, “New-vehicle sales incentives climbed higher in October, jumping from a revised 7.2% of the ATP in September to 7.7% in October, an increase of more than 6% month over month.” Note that ATP stands for “average transaction price.”

While China’s prospects have faded, Ford and GM have a much better situation in the United States.

General Motors (GM) Price Prediction and Forecast 2025-2030

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