Fleet Gains Keep Sales Pace Above 17 Million

Automotive News, Oct. 7, 2019 — The numbers looked ugly, but U.S. auto sales weren’t really that bad in September, considering hefty fleet volumes and a shift in the calendar.

The industry’s seasonally adjusted, annualized selling rate came in at an estimated 17.16 million, according to the Automotive News Data Center. That would be the fourth-highest level of 2019 so far and the strongest of the third quarter, even though volume declined for the first time since June, with September sales falling 12 percent to 1.3 million.

Total sales in the third quarter were effectively flat, at 4.3 million.

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