New vehicle sales in US fell 1.3% in 2019 but still healthy

DETROIT (AP) — New vehicle sales in the U.S. fell 1.3% last year, but the numbers still passed the healthy 17 million mark for the fifth straight year.

Automakers sold 17.05 million new cars, trucks and SUVs in 2019. Although buyers spent more on vehicles, companies had to prop up sales with record discounts, according to analysts.

Following a long trend, 69% of new vehicles sold last year were trucks or SUVs, with truck sales up 2.6% from a year ago. Car sales fell once again, by 10.1%, according to Autodata Corp.

Sales at General Motors fell 2.5% for the year as a 40-day strike by the United Auto Workers union cut into inventories in the fourth quarter. Ford sales fell 3.2%, while Fiat Chrysler sales dropped 1.4%. Sales at Toyota fell 1.8% and Nissan sales tumbled almost 10%.

The Edmunds.com auto pricing site predicted that more than half the new vehicles sold last year were SUVs, passing 50% market share for the first time.

Also for the first time, Fiat Chrysler’s Ram pickup beat the Chevrolet Silverado in full-year sales as GM retooled factories to built a new version of the Silverado.

Electric vehicle sales rose almost 37% last year to just over 236,000, Autodata reported.

Tesla reported global sales on Friday without singling out the U.S. The Palo Alto, California, electric vehicle company said sales rose over 50% to 367,500.

Last year turned out to be strong as uncertainty waned in talks over a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico and progress toward a trade deal with China, said Jeff Schuster, president of global vehicle forecasts for LMC Automotive, a consulting firm.

Schuster predicted stability this year but wrote that sales could be a bit lower than in 2019.

Last year’s sales numbers defied the odds, especially because high interest rates and...