VW sees U.S. gains while Passat sales dip as cheap gas spurs truck buying

New cars await shipment at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant in this file photograph.

William Johnson says he can't wait until Volkswagen delivers the new sport utility vehicle it plans to starting assembling in Chattanooga in 2016.

"Maybe it will build a truck one day," said the general manager of Al Johnson Volkswagen in Dalton, Ga., on Monday.

Volkswagen of America last month snapped a string of monthly sales drops with a 7.8 percent gain in October compared to 2013. But other automakers rode lower fuel prices and strong sales of trucks and SUVs to push their October numbers even higher.

Chrysler recorded its best October since 2001, up 21.7 percent to 170,480, with key results from its Jeep and Ram brands. Nissan Group sales climbed 13.3 percent in October over a year ago to 103,117. Its Murano crossover posted a 37.7 percent gain in sales and its Frontier truck rose 25.3 percent, the company said.

VW sales have slid over the past year or so as more buyers move to buying SUVs and trucks, segments in which the German carmaker isn't especially strong. The company doesn't offer a truck in America, though it does in some other parts of the world.

Sales of the Chattanooga-made Passat midsize sedan are down 11 percent through last month, and its October mark of 6,512 was off 10.3 percent. That's the lowest monthly total since January when VW sold 6,236 Passats.

Ron Kwiatkowski, sales manager at Village Volkswagen of Chattanooga, said dealers had a shortage of Passats last month as the company transitioned from 2014 to 2015 models.

"We didn't have as many to sell," Kwiatkowski said.

VW's overall U.S. sales of 30,313 last month grew from last year on the strength of its Golf and Jetta, which recorded a 24.7 percent gain.

Kwiatkowski said Jetta had "good incentives" last month and Village Volkswagen's sales of the compact were up as well.

VW's total sales through October are off 12.2 percent from a year ago.

Nationally, industry sales rose 6 percent over last October, according to Autodata Corp., as cheaper fuel accelerated the trend toward SUVs and trucks that has been going on all year.

"Gas prices coming down added a little bit of fuel to the fire, but that fire was already roaring," Alec Gutierrez, a senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book, told the Associated Press.

Small SUVs have been the fastest growing segment in the U.S. this year, and now make up one out of every four vehicles sold, says Jesse Toprak, the chief sales analyst for the car buying site Cars.com.

But gas prices fueled sales of bigger SUVs, too. Kelley Blue Book saw renewed interested in the mammoth Hummer H1 last month, for example. Sales of the recently redesigned Lincoln Navigator eight-passenger SUV jumped 38 percent, while Chevrolet Tahoe sales rose 6 percent.

Gas prices also convinced small business owners to go ahead and buy pickup trucks, Toprak said. GMC Sierra sales jumped 12.5 percent in October. Ram pickup sales were up 33 percent.

But Austin Barrett of Chattanooga said Monday he drives a lot and gets about 32 mpg on his existing car, so he's not in any hurry to buy another.

"If gas prices went up, I'd be looking for a new car," he said.

GM, Toyota, and Honda also reported sales gains last month. Of major automakers, only Ford and Hyundai saw declines.

Nationally, sales should remain strong through November and December and close out the year at 16.5 million, up 6 percent from 2013, Toprak says. He says buyers should look for big discounts in small cars as well as full-size trucks and SUVs for the remainder of the year.

"At the moment, the picture is rosy. Sales are doing well, incentive levels appear to be higher but still in check," Toprak said. "Things are in a pretty healthy balance in the industry."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.