Last week brought some relief for the auto sector which was trashed by losses incurred in the prior week. More positive news came from the U.S. regulators, who reduced the estimated number of vehicles affected by defective Takata airbag inflators. Although U.S. light-vehicle sales for August dropped marginally due to the inclusion of the Labor Day weekend in September, sales on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (“SAAR”) basis recorded improvement.

Meanwhile, Tesla Motors, Inc. TSLA finally announced the delivery date for the long-awaited Model X and started offering interior and paint options to customers for the Model X Signature limited edition. The company also revealed that Model 3 is expected to be launched next March. Further, Toyota Motor Corporation TM and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. HMC reported their production data for July.

(Read last to last week’s recap here: Auto Stock Roundup for Aug 27, 2015)

Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories

1. U.S. light-vehicle sales dropped 0.7% year over year to 1.51 million units in Aug 2015. Sales on a SAAR basis surged to 17.81 million units in Aug 2015 from 17.3 million units in Aug 2014. The sales volume was driven by low gas price, an improving employment rate as well as the easy availability of credit with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods.

However, the inclusion of the Labor Day weekend in September this year compared to August last year, resulted in a year-over-year decline in August sales figures. Among the six major American and Japanese automakers, Ford Motor Co. F recorded the maximum year-over-year improvement in Aug 2015. Meanwhile, General Motors Company GM led in absolute figures for the month (read more: U.S. Auto Sales Down in August, SAAR Rises to 17.8M).

2. U.S. federal regulators have significantly reduced their estimated number of vehicles affected by defective Takata airbag inflators. Per an official of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, around 19.2 million vehicles in the U.S. have these faulty inflators. Of these, around 4 million vehicles have the defective inflators on both the driver and passenger side airbags. Thus, the estimated tally of the flawed Takata airbag inflators in the U.S. is 23.4 million units.

These estimates are significantly lower than the prior projection of nearly 30 million defective airbag inflators. The overestimate is being attributed to double counting of vehicles in previous estimates as well as the mistaken inclusion of some vehicles that were sold outside the U.S. Business of 11 automakers, including Honda, BMW, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. NSANY, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., have been affected by the malfunctioning airbag inflators (read more: Faulty Takata Airbag Vehicle Estimate Cut by US Regulators).

3. Tesla will start the delivery of the much-anticipated Model X on Sep 29, 2015. The company has started offering reservation holders the options for paint color, wheel size, interiors and addition of accessories for the limited edition Model X Signature Series. The Model X Signature, priced at about $132,000, is the most luxurious version of the Model X line (read more: Tesla's Model X Signature Gets Ready for Launch). Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk also revealed that Tesla will unveil and start taking orders for the Model 3 sedan in Mar 2016.

4. Honda’s worldwide production volume for Jul 2015 was 389,270 units, up 7.1% from Jul 2014. The production volume was a record for the month of July. Production outside Japan increased 17.7% to 328,026 units, which too was a record high for July. Meanwhile, production in Japan plunged 27.9% to 61,244 units in the month — marking the twelfth continuous month of decline (read more: Honda's July Production Down in Japan, Up in Other Regions).

5. Toyota reported a 2.8% year-over-year reduction in worldwide production to 863,750 units in Jul 2015. The decline resulted from a 6.5% plunge in production in Japan to 363,872 units. However, production outside Japan increased 0.1% to 499,878 units (read more: Toyota Production Down 2.8% Y/Y in July, Japan Disappoints).

Performance

Over the week, most auto stocks recorded an improvement from the dismal performance in the prior week. Tesla gained the maximum, driven by several positive developments. Meanwhile, Honda, with a marginal 0.9% loss, led the list of losers.

Meanwhile, General Motors was the worst performer over the last six-month period with 22.7% loss. Tesla emerged as the biggest gainer over this period.

What’s Next in the Auto Space?

On Sep 8, 2015, Toyota will hold the world premiere of the 2016 Prius. Some automakers will release their China auto sales data for August in the coming week.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
FORD MOTOR CO (F): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
HONDA MOTOR (HMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
TOYOTA MOTOR CP (TM): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NISSAN ADR (NSANY): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
GENERAL MOTORS (GM): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
TESLA MOTORS (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research