Southfield — Toyota Motor and General Motors (GM) posted the biggest sales gains as the largest car makers in the US beat analyst estimates, helped by consumers in Texas starting to replace vehicles damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Deliveries climbed 15% for Toyota and 12% for GM in September. Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also exceeded projections, and GM forecast the industry selling rate would be the best this year. After Hurricane Harvey hurt sales in August, vehicle demand was expected to pick up, starting last month, as drivers returned to the market to replace lost or damaged vehicles. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News, on average, had predicted the industry’s annualised selling rate, adjusted for seasonal trends, to be 17.4-million vehicles in September, down from 17.7-million a year earlier, but at the fastest pace since February. "With September likely already seeing some benefit from replacement sales, we expect this boost to continue for the rest of the year, gi...
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