DETROIT _ Auto sales got socked by Hurricane Harvey but the impact will be short-lived and is even expected to lead to a sales rebound in the coming months.
In August, automakers sold 1.48 million new cars and trucks, down 1.9 percent from August 2016. That works out to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.14 million, the lowest so far this year.
Sales fell 11 percent at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and 2.1 percent for Ford, but increased 7.5 percent for General Motors, which benefited from a big increase in fleet sales. Among Asian automakers, sales increased 8 percent for Toyota but fell 1.7 percent for Kia, 2.4 percent for Honda, 13.1 percent for Nissan and 24.6 percent for Hyundai.
Going into the month, the industry was expected to post its first year-over-year increase this year. But as Harvey ravaged the Texas gulf coast, regional auto sales came to a standstill, hampering overall U.S. vehicle sales for the month.
"Harvey will also depress one of the most critical selling periods of the year, spanning the August sales month close and Labor Day weekend," LMC Automotive said in a report. "In 2016, these 11 days alone accounted for 4.1 percent of retail sales, or 580,000 units, nationally."
But the impact on auto sales _ both new and used _ is expected to rebound quickly, perhaps even before the end of September.
"We expect the recovery in vehicle sales to be quick," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox Automotive. "People need transportation to get their lives back in order, and in Houston, that transportation is the automobile."
Kelley Blue Book slightly boosted its outlook for sales for the year, expecting buyers to start arriving at dealerships with checks from their insurance companies. Its analysts believe the industry is now on track to top 17 million new vehicles sold for the third straight year.
The record rainfall and flooding from Harvey probably destroyed 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles, according to Kelley Blue Book. Most of those vehicles are owned by individuals and the value of that personal property loss is likely between $2.7 billion and $4.9 billion.
Auto sales dropped for two months during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but then rebounded quickly, as people purchased new vehicles to replace vehicles damaged by the storm, said Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president of U.S. sales and marketing.
Ford dealers in Texas will need to replace about several thousand vehicles damaged by the storm, LaNeve said.
Ford, the nation's No. 1 seller of pickups, might even benefit more than other automakers. Texas accounts for about 1 in 6 pickups sold nationally. More pickups are sold just in the Dallas and Houston areas combined than in any other U.S. state, according to Automotive News.
"Houston is the fourth-biggest market in the U.S. and it's ... one that the Ford brand is very strong in. We have about 33 percent higher market share in the Houston market than we do nationally," LaNeve said. "A lot of that has to do with a very rich truck mix."
Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said the auto industry has the ability to quickly redirect inventory to its dealers in Texas.
"We are already seeing reports of dealers reopening," he said. "So it is pretty immediate on the vehicle side."
Nissan and its Infiniti luxury division are diverting more new vehicles to its 56 Houston-area dealerships, which are in various stages of recovery, said Judy Wheeler, Nissan's U.S. sales chief. "We are prepared to do whatever they need us to do" to help with the recovery.
The demand for replacement vehicles could help automakers log a strong finish to what has been a lackluster year for the industry. After two consecutive years of record-setting sales, automakers have now experienced eight consecutive months of year-over-year industry sales declines.
In August, Fiat Chrysler and Ford struggled while General Motors' outperformed expectations.
Fiat Chrysler said its sales fell in part because it deliberately cut fleet sales to daily rental companies. The company's fleet sales fell 23 percent. Still, the automaker's retail sales also fell, by 7 percent.
By brand, Fiat Chrysler's sales fell 33 percent for Chrysler, 23 percent for Fiat, 15 percent for Jeep, 2 percent for Dodge, 2 percent for Ram.
After years of growth, Jeep sales have hit a rough patch, in part because the company discontinued the Patriot when it replaced the Compass and Patriot with a single SUV. The company sold 2,658 Patriots in August as it continued to sell its old inventory, compared with 11,808 last year.
Ford said its sales fell during the month even as sales of its F-Series pickups rose 15 percent. The company sold more than 77,000 pickups in August, which is more than many automakers sell across their entire lineup.
However, sales of Ford's cars fell 8.6 percent and sales of its SUVs fell 11.2 percent in August.
While GM posted a sales gain, the company also said its fleet sales rose 24 percent for the month. By brand, GM's sales rose 12.4 percent for GMC and 11.4 percent for Chevrolet but fell 8.1 percent for Cadillac and 22.5 percent for Buick.
GM's sales have also been helped this year by a roster of new or updated SUVs. Sales of GM's new Chevrolet Equinox, for example, rose 84.5 percent in August.
Hyundai's sales fell more than most because the Korean automaker has a stronger lineup of cars than SUVs and industry sales of cars have been rapidly declining as consumer preferences have shifted to SUVs.
Toyota had a better-than-expected month as it outsold Ford for the second consecutive month. Toyota sold 227,625 new vehicles in August compared with Ford's 204,897, making it the second-most popular automaker behind GM.
Toyota's performance was boosted by the ever increasing popularity of its RAV4 crossover. Sales of the RAV4 increased 25 percent to 43,000 units.
Toyota's RAV4 has been locked in battle with the Nissan Rogue to be the most popular vehicle in America behind Ford's F-Series pickups. So far this year Toyota has sold 269,835 RAV4's while Nissan has sold 257,958 Rogues.
