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U.S. auto sales surge in September at Ford, Fiat Chrysler, GM

 
An assembly line worker builds a 2015 Chrysler 200 in Sterling Heights, Mich. Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. sales jumped 14 percent in September, helped in part by another strong month from the carmaker’s Jeep brand. [Associated Press (2014)
An assembly line worker builds a 2015 Chrysler 200 in Sterling Heights, Mich. Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. sales jumped 14 percent in September, helped in part by another strong month from the carmaker’s Jeep brand. [Associated Press (2014)
Published Oct. 1, 2015

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

Kelley Blue Book forecasts a 12 percent increase in sales from September 2014 to 1.39 million cars and trucks.

Volkswagen's sales were flat, hit by its ongoing emissions cheating scandal, though its luxury Audi brand gained 16 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 was counted in September.

Ford said Thursday that it sold 221,599 vehicles last month, with its popular F-Series pickup trucks climbing 16 percent to more than 69,000.

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.

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 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.

Among other top automakers, Toyota finished with a 16 percent gain, Nissan rose 18 percent and Honda increased 13 percent.