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Beginning Of The End? Auto OEMs Miss March Sales 'Bigly' As Stocks Tumble

Beginning Of The End?  Auto OEMs Miss March Sales 'Bigly' As Stocks Tumble

Despite continued heavy incentive spending, every auto OEM, with the exception of Nissan, missed their sales forecasts for the month of March.  The "D3" were the biggest losers of the month with GM sales up 1.6% YoY vs. estimates of +7.0% while Ford sales dropped -7.2% and Fiat Chrysler declined -5.0%.  Car sales were even worse with industry volumes down 10.6% overall versus light truck sales that were up 5.2% according to Autodata.

Car-tastrophe - GM, Fiat Chrysler Idle 7 Plants; Over 10,000 Workers Affected

Car-tastrophe - GM, Fiat Chrysler Idle 7 Plants; Over 10,000 Workers Affected

Just weeks after Ford idled four plants "due to slowing sales", GM and Fiat Chrysler announced today that they will idle seven plants across Canada and US as they work to reduce near-record high inventories amid weakening sales.

With an inventories-to-sales ratio above historical peaks (only beaten by huge spike in 2008 when sales stopped), the pain for automakers has only just begun...