GM January U.S. sales up slightly, Ford's down

By Bernie Woodall

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales appeared to fare better than expected in January, early returns showed on Tuesday, as the industry benefited from low gasoline prices, easy credit and moderate economic growth.

Those trends, which boosted sales in 2015, helped blunt the challenges of two fewer selling days and a massive East Coast snowstorm in January.

Ford Motor Co's (F.N) U.S. sales chief, Mark LaNeve, said the last five days of the month were strong, helping overcome the snowstorm's effects. But he said the storm had pressured Ford's sales, which fell 2.6 percent.

General Motors Co (GM.N), the top-seller in the U.S. market, said its sales were up 0.5 percent.

Both GM and Ford's results slightly beat expectations of forecasters polled by Reuters.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI)(FCAU.N) and Nissan Motor Co reported sales gains and also topped expectations.

January sales were forecast to decline as much as 5 percent industrywide based on the fewer selling days and the storm. Ford estimates them at 1.14 million vehicles, down 2 percent to 3 percent.

The month now looks poised to show a strong start of what is expected to be a second straight record year.

Still, auto company shares remain pressured as many Wall Street investors say the cyclical industry will soon plateau before a decline in several years.

GM is optimistic for now.

“We believe industry fundamentals such as the age of the vehicle fleet, well-managed inventory levels, firm used car pricing, good credit availability and low fuel prices will support higher industry sales in 2016,” said Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem. “In addition, household balance sheets are strong, and the labour market continues to improve.”

GM said it expected U.S. January sales of 17.5 million vehicles on a seasonally adjusted annualised basis, compared with 17.4 million forecast in a Thomson Reuters poll of 27 economists.

U.S. sales hit a record 17.39 million in 2015, according to WardsAuto, which provides data the U.S. government uses for economic analysis.

Fiat Chrysler's sales rose 7 percent on strength in its Jeep SUV brand, whose sales were up 15 percent. It was Fiat Chrysler's 70th straight month of year-on-year monthly sales gains in the U.S. market.

Sales of Ford's F-Series pickup trucks fell 5 percent.

Among other pickup brands, sales of GM's Chevy Silverado and Fiat Chrysler's Ram both rose 5 percent. Each truck is its manufacturer's best-selling model for the U.S. market.

Nissan sales rose 1.6 percent on an 18 percent jump for pickup trucks.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)