March 4, 2015—Even though the cool weather kept many indoors during the month in February, car sales stayed relatively hot across the board, continuing the industry’s success from January.
All but two major automakers—Ford and Volkswagen—saw increases in car sales during February compared to numbers given for the month from 2014. A large reason Ford saw a 1.9 percent drop in sales is due largely to its inability to meet all the demand for its new aluminum-bodied F-150, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Even amid labor disputes that halted shipments at some West Coast ports, foreign automakers were able to post respectable sales numbers. Toyota saw sales rise over 13 percent, and Subaru jumped 18 percent, selling 41,358 units in February.
GM sales rose just 4 percent over the month, but for the massive domestic automaker, that means it sold approximately 231,378 units. Overall, industry sales were up 5.3 percent to the tune of $1.25 million.
Overall, the boost in auto sales are attributed to a stronger economy compared to this time a year ago, but lower gas prices are likely larger to thank. The current national average of $2.44/gallon is about one dollar less than it was a year ago.
