U.S. auto sales slipped in 2017, but remain strong as new year begins

A Volkswagen employee wipes down the sides of cars as they pass her on the assembly line at the Volkswagen Assembly Plant Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. In April, VW said there's room in the market for another SUV, a five-seater, that could be a derivative of the Atlas. A Volkswagen employee wipes down the sides of cars as they pass her on the assembly line at the Volkswagen Assembly Plant Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. In April, VW said there's room in the market for another SUV, a five-seater, that could be a derivative of the Atlas.

By Associated Press January 4, 2018 5 min read

The U.S. auto industry’s historic growth streak has ended, but demand for new vehicles – especially SUVs – remains healthy as the new year begins.

U.S. auto sales fell 2 percent to 17.2 million in 2017, according to Autodata Corp. It was their first year-over-year decline since 2009, ending an unprecedented seven-year expansion.

General Motors, Toyota and Ford all reported 1 percent declines in sales last year compared to 2016. Fiat Chrysler’s sales fell 8 percent. Honda’s sales were flat, while Nissan’s rose 2 percent.

The Volkswagen brand realized the biggest sales gains of major automakers last year, rising 5.2 percent on the strength of its expanded SUV line, including the Chattanooga-made Atlas. Volkswagen said it sold 339,676 cars and trucks in the U.S. market last year, up from 322,948 VW vehicles sold the previous year.

The VW Atlas model, which was introduced last spring, sold a total of 27,119 units in 2017 and helped boost the SUV share of sales by Volkswagen in the United States to 23 percent of its vehicles delivered in all of 2017 and more than 48 percent of the sales in December.