Commercial and daily rental sales were robust in August, while sales to government agencies slumped. 
 -  Photos courtesy of manufacturers.

Commercial and daily rental sales were robust in August, while sales to government agencies slumped.

Photos courtesy of manufacturers.

Nine manufacturers sold 9.9% more vehicles to commercial fleets in August than a year ago, and year-to-date sales remained robust, especially of trucks, vans, and SUVs. This follows a sales surge in July of 29.8% from 2018.

For the month, sales reached 69,229 vehicles. Most of those vehicles came in the truck category, which saw a 12.9% increase to 64,199. Sales of passenger cars fell 17.9% to 5,030, according to Automotive Fleet data.

Through eight months, sales paced 9.1% higher to 554,050 vehicles, including an 11.9% increase in truck-category sales to 499,162. Car sales have declined 10.8% to 54,888 for the year.

Sales to government fleets from five manufacturers declined 15.3% to 21,011 units. Truck-based sales fell 13.4% to 18,507, while car sales fell 27.1% to 2,504 vehicles. For the year, sales to agencies are 3.8% lower than 2018 with 178,002 units. Sales in the truck category fell 1.7% to 151,151, while car sales have declined 14.2% to 26,851.

Sales into daily rental increased 44.7% to 116,412 in August with a 35.4% increase to 74,465 in truck-based sales and a 64.9% increase to 41,947 in car sales. So far this year, daily rental sales have increased 8.2% to 1.28 million. Of that, truck-based sales increased 9.1% to 795,755, while car sales have increased 6.7% to 489,325.

For all three segments, fleet sales in August increased 22.8% to 206,652 with a 17.9% increase to 157,171 in the truck category and a 41.4% increase to 49,481 in car sales. For the year, the three fleet segments have increased 7.3% to 2.01 million. Sales of trucks, vans, and SUVs have increased 8.8% to 1.44 million, while sales of cars have increased 3.5% to 571,064.

About the author
Paul Clinton

Paul Clinton

Former Senior Web Editor

Paul Clinton covered an array of fleet and automotive topics for Automotive Fleet, Government Fleet, Mobile Electronics, Police Magazine, and other Bobit Business Media publications.

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