US Auto Sales Surge In September At Ford, Fiat Chrysler, GM

DETROIT (AP) - Major automakers booked double-digit sales gains last month in the U.S. market, helped by strong growth from key brands like Jeep and a later Labor Day holiday.

Ford saw 23 percent growth in September, while Fiat Chrysler's U.S. sales jumped 14 percent, and General Motors climbed 12 percent.

Analysts expected most automakers to report strong results, partly because of the later holiday. Labor Day is typically one of the biggest sales weekends of the year as dealers hold model year-end clearance sales. Last year, it was counted as part of August sales. This year it's in September.

Kelly Blue Book forecast a 12 percent increase in sales from a year ago to 1.39 million cars and trucks.

The U.S. market has remained a bright spot for automakers as the Chinese economy slows. China is still the No. 1 market globally.

Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that it sold 221,599 vehicles last month, with its popular F-Series climbing 16 percent to more than 69,000 trucks. Under the Ford brand, Fusion sales rose 15 percent to nearly 25,000.

Fiat Chrysler sold more than 193,000 vehicles in what the company described as its best September since 2000.

The carmaker said September Jeep sales rose 40 percent in the brand's third-best month ever. Jeep Cherokee sales climbed 38 percent to 20,224, while another popular brand, the Wrangler, rose 26 percent to 17,583.

Gains from the company's Jeep brands offset slower growth elsewhere. Sales for the company's Ram and Dodge brands climbed 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

General Motors Co. sold 251,310 vehicles in September. Total Chevrolet sales rose 11 percent, and the company said GMC's 24 percent increase represented its best September results since 2004.

"The economy still has room to grow and so do auto sales, particularly now that the (millennials) are entering the workforce and starting households," said GM's chief economist, Mustafa Mohatarem, in a statement from the company.

Shares of GM climbed 45 cents to $30.47 shortly after markets opened, while Ford rose 8 cents to $13.65. Meanwhile, broader markets slipped at the start of trading. U.S.-traded shares of Fiat Chrysler rose 19 cents to $13.40.

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