IRVINE, Calif. -

Sales for a couple domestic nameplates fell a bit this past month due in part to winter weather sweeping through most of the East Coast and Midwest. Both Ford and General Motors suffered a bit of a decline in February, but spring is just around the corner — and it will likely bring a stronger car sales market with it. Over at GM, U.S. sales fell 1 percent to 222,104 vehicles sold last month, compared to the same period of 2013.  

That said, this past month’s inventory reduction bodes well for future residuals.  

Though GM sales might be lagging as the new year starts, Eric Ibara, residual value analyst at Kelley Blue Book, voiced positive predictions for the automaker’s spring season:

“While extreme winter weather can definitely impede car sales, customers will likely return to the showrooms once spring arrives.  Therefore, it is expected that factories will continue to produce vehicles in anticipation of the imminent higher sales,” Ibara explained.

He also noted, that even though GM didn’t ramp up sales this past month, inventory reduction is still good news for the manufacturer. With new-car inventory high, sitting at 114 days supply for GM, the automaker has been pushing incentives and discounts to cut supply down to more normal levels.

“However, any miss on any one of a number of assumptions can result in a spike in inventory, which could necessitate higher incentive levels. From a residual value perspective, manufacturers must stay vigilant at times like this to ensure they synchronize their production with customer demand. With this in mind, although GM didn’t grow sales in February, the fact that they reduced their inventory is a big win,” Ibara continued.

As for Ford, the Blue Oval reported a drop of 6 percent year-over-year in new sales in February, but Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, noted new models might ramp up consumer interest in the coming months.

“February’s cold weather limited Ford’s overall sales, pulling down retail and fleet activity for several car models even as its best-selling F-150 truck hit an eight-year high. The inconsistent nature of February’s numbers, with trucks, crossovers and SUVs generally doing well, confirm the ongoing demand that exists in the marketplace,” said Brauer.  “Ford has enough new or refreshed product, either in showrooms already or soon to arrive, to suggest the automaker’s sales will lift as spring temperatures climb in the coming weeks and months.”

Though GM and Ford lagged a bit in new-car sales, Chrysler touted double-digit gains.

Chrysler had the best performance to report out of the domestic companies, with sales rising by 11 percent to 154,866 vehicles. This performance marks the best February sales for the company since 2007.