First-Half Vehicle Sales Below Record 2016 Pace

The largest companies in the U.S. auto industry reported sluggish first-half sales in 2017, according to their latest monthly reports.

In this Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, photo, a row of new Ford Fusions are for sale on the lot at Butler County Ford in Butler, Pa. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, the major automakers report sales figures for January. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
In this Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, photo, a row of new Ford Fusions are for sale on the lot at Butler County Ford in Butler, Pa. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, the major automakers report sales figures for January. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

The largest companies in the U.S. auto industry reported sluggish first-half sales in 2017, according to their latest monthly reports.

Five of the country's top six automakers reported January through June sales below those in the same period of 2016, which will likely continue to fuel predictions that full-year sales will fail to match 2016 records.

Detroit's "Big Three" automakers on Monday reported sales declines for both June and the first six months of 2017. Their primary overseas rivals reported sales increases last month, but only Nissan reported a year-over-year sales increase between January and June.

GM, which recently acknowledged that its 2017 sales would likely fall short of the previous year's total, reported a 5 percent decline in sales last month and a 2 percent decrease over the first six months of the year.

Ford's sales fell by 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively, over those windows, and Fiat Chrysler reported 7 percent sales declines for the month and the year-to-date.

Japanese counterparts Toyota, Honda and Nissan reported modest sales increases last month, but Toyota's sales between January and June remained down by 4 percent compared to 2016 levels.

Honda's numbers were flat for the year so far, while Nissan showed an increase of nearly 3 percent.

Those six companies comprised more than 75 percent of the U.S. auto market in May, according to numbers from The Wall Street Journal.

The industry overall continues to adjust to faster sales of larger trucks and SUVs at the expense of cars; Nissan's truck sales increased by 21 percent over the first half of 2017 to cancel out a 12 percent decrease in its car sales.

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