Toyota’s sales drop 16.5% in September

Toyota’s U.S. sales fell 16.5% in September, hurt by lower sales of Highlander and Tacoma, as well as declining demand for sedans such as Camry and Prius, the Japanese carmaker said on Tuesday.

The company’s sales fell to 169,656 vehicles last month, in the United States, from 203,100 vehicles in September a year earlier, and were the lowest since January, led by a 16.8% fall in its pickup trucks and SUV sales.

In the third quarter, Toyota’s U.S. sales fell 1.2% to 627,194 vehicles.

One big reason Toyota and other automakers are reporting lower sales this month: Because of the timing of Labor Day weekend this year, it was counted in August sales. By this year’s calculations, September only had 23 selling days.

Other automakers’ results:

Nissan: Total sales for Nissan and Infiniti brands of 101,244 units, a decrease of 17.6 percent compared to the prior year.

Mazda: Total September sales of 18,838 vehicles, a decrease of 11.4%. Year-to-date sales through September are down 11.5%, with a total of 208,167 vehicles sold in the U.S.

While higher vehicle prices and rising interest rates earlier in the year kept car shoppers on the sidelines, recent reductions in interest rates are likely to boost car sales in the third quarter. The average interest rate on a finance deal fell to 5.5% in the third quarter, more than 60 basis points lower than the first quarter, according to auto consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive.