US vehicle sales fall in August; carmakers remain optimistic over the industry

Vehicle sales in the United States fell during the month of August, as some carmakers attributed the decline to a long-awaited sales decline. However, many industry players remain optimistic over the health of the economy in the near term.

US auto sales declined 4.2 percent in August, with the top three sellers, General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday reporting declines of at least 5 percent. However, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported a gain compared to a year-ago period, when sales were restated to about 11,000 fewer than originally reported.

Sales in August totaled 1.51 million vehicles, or 16.98 million vehicles at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, versus a surprisingly strong 17.88 million vehicles in July, data released by Autodata Corp showed Thursday.

In addition, GM's retail sales fell about 5 percent, in line with its wider total sales decline, while Nissan Motor Co sales were down 6.5 percent, but its Rogue midsize SUV witnessed a rise of 19 percent. Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co’s sales of its variety Accord tumbled 26 percent. Honda-brand car sales fell 10 percent overall while truck and SUV sales rose 4.5 percent.