Ford Bullish on U.S. Means Highest Auto Sales Since 2001
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U.S. passenger vehicle sales will probably rise for an unprecedented sixth straight year in 2015 and may exceed 17 million for the first time since 2001, Ford Motor Co. said, indicating that the auto industry will keep growing next year.
Deliveries of new cars and trucks will rise to 16.8 million to 17.5 million, including about 200,000 medium- and heavy-duty trucks, Ford said in investor presentations yesterday. U.S. light-vehicle sales haven’t exceeded 17 million since 2001, when automakers, led by the former General Motors Corp., lured consumers to dealerships with no-interest loans that sapped profits even as factories kept humming.