The big manufacturing news on Tuesday was that American auto sales were up 13% in September, to nearly 1.2 million vehicles. Small vehicles led the month's good performance, now making up 23% of new vehicle sales. Consumer expectations of prolonged high gas prices or increasing interest in being environmentally friendly may have contributed to the strong sales of small, fuel-efficient, and hybrid vehicles. Despite the industry's big improvement, the major automakers saw drastically different results, leading to divergence in share prices.
By percentage, the biggest winners were Japanese importers Toyota Motors
More surprising was the performance of boutique all-electric luxury-car maker Tesla Motors
Chrysler, majority-owned by Italian carmaker Fiat, turned in the strongest sales of the Detroit Three: 12% sales growth, driven by the mid-size Dodge Avenger and compact Dodge Dart. General Motors
Ford
Ford is already undergoing prolonged trouble in Europe and is behind rival GM in breaking into the Chinese market. Does weakness in North American sales mean investors should slam on the brakes? Not necessarily: September may have simply been a fluke, since Ford is currently in between models of its popular Fusion sedan, which typically makes up 12% of sales. In fact, the company's "One Ford" plan to integrate vehicle platforms, trim development costs, and break new sales territory may only just be starting to bear fruit.
One Motley Fool analyst thinks Ford's best years are still ahead. Our premium report on Ford breaks down the opportunities and risks the company faces, and it comes with a full year of analyst updates. This report is available for only a limited time, so get your copy now.