Business: US Auto Sales Ease Up

-WSJ

The U.S. auto industry last year suffered its first annual sales decline since the financial crisis eight years ago. Although vehicle sales topped 17 million for the third year in a row—a first—executives are concerned the 1.8% decline could prove more than a modest blip.

 Overall the domestic car business is far healthier than the last time volumes slipped, but rising interest rates, a lack of pent-up demand and a potential decline in the value of used cars—which buyers often trade in when buying a new vehicle—could further pressure sales. 

Vehicle makers are reducing North American production in anticipation of a softer market, looking to trim dealer inventories and the supply of sedans and compact cars, unpopular at a time of low fuel prices.