Overall, October was a break-even month. Light vehicle sales were down only 1% over the same period last year, 121,500 from 122,711 units. The fall season typically signifies a slowdown on car sales for everyone and 2009 will be no different... except for some manufacturers.
It would be impossible to ignore that in only one short month, Acura went from a 45% slump to a +78.9% explosion! That's right, a near 125% jump in sales. They're number for one for October. In second place for best results is Hyundai with an increase of 43%. Can anyone stop the Korean onslaught? As long as they keep their product fresh and attainable, I don't think so Tim... Subaru cannot thank Fuji enough for the new Outback and Legacy, as their numbers continue to climb (+39.3%) and I expect that the good times will keep on rolling for a while, given that the Outback has just won the title of best SUV/CUV under 35k from AJAC.
Runners-up include Mercedes-Benz going strong with a 27.8% spike in numbers and Jaguar, yes Jaguar, and Kia. The last two makers saw, respectively, 23.6% and 23.2% jumps in new car sales last month.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's Third Law is right: If there are winners, there must be losers. General Motors continues to slip with a 33.1% sales drop in October. Mini also suffers the same fate (and has for the last few months) with a deliveries depression of 21%. Volvo and smart are also feeling the crunch, as they navigate through decreases of 16.1% and 15.6% respectively.
Ford is once again on a high. Once more making money, their 20.3% rise in units sold is proof positive that this storied American car company is doing something right. The Fiesta is well on its way, the Taurus is the Best New Family car over 30k according to AJAC and vehicles like the Fusion and Lincoln MKT will surely help maintain the momentum.
Source : Desrosiers Automotive Report
It would be impossible to ignore that in only one short month, Acura went from a 45% slump to a +78.9% explosion! That's right, a near 125% jump in sales. They're number for one for October. In second place for best results is Hyundai with an increase of 43%. Can anyone stop the Korean onslaught? As long as they keep their product fresh and attainable, I don't think so Tim... Subaru cannot thank Fuji enough for the new Outback and Legacy, as their numbers continue to climb (+39.3%) and I expect that the good times will keep on rolling for a while, given that the Outback has just won the title of best SUV/CUV under 35k from AJAC.
Runners-up include Mercedes-Benz going strong with a 27.8% spike in numbers and Jaguar, yes Jaguar, and Kia. The last two makers saw, respectively, 23.6% and 23.2% jumps in new car sales last month.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's Third Law is right: If there are winners, there must be losers. General Motors continues to slip with a 33.1% sales drop in October. Mini also suffers the same fate (and has for the last few months) with a deliveries depression of 21%. Volvo and smart are also feeling the crunch, as they navigate through decreases of 16.1% and 15.6% respectively.
Ford is once again on a high. Once more making money, their 20.3% rise in units sold is proof positive that this storied American car company is doing something right. The Fiesta is well on its way, the Taurus is the Best New Family car over 30k according to AJAC and vehicles like the Fusion and Lincoln MKT will surely help maintain the momentum.
| September | Current Month | YTD | ||||
| 2009 | 2008 | 09/08 | 2009 | 2008 | 09/08 | |
| Acura | 2079 | 1162 | 78.9% | 14614 | 16873 | -13.4% |
| Audi | 1100 | 1075 | 2.3% | 9523 | 7795 | 22.2% |
| BMW | 2310 | 2190 | 5.5% | 20793 | 19.666 | 5.7% |
| Chrysler | 14215 | 15643 | -9.1% | 137238 | 193927 | -29.2% |
| Ford | 18187 | 15123 | 20.3% | 191062 | 180244 | 6.0% |
| General Motors | 18818 | 28115 | -33.1% | 218155 | 3131605 | -30.3% |
| Honda | 9224 | 10293 | -10.4% | 104133 | 134706 | -22.7% |
| Hyundai | 8415 | 5885 | 43.0% | 91057 | 71319 | 27.7% |
| Infiniti | 743 | 770 | -3.5% | 6029 | 7225 | -16.6% |
| Jaguar | 68 | 55 | 23.6% | 697 | 851 | -18.1% |
| Kia | 3603 | 2925 | 23.2% | 40009 | 33175 | 20.6% |
| Land Rover | 224 | 217 | 3.2% | 1567 | 2001 | -21.7% |
| Lexus | 1459 | 1304 | 11.9% | 13283 | 12943 | 2.6% |
| Mazda | 5612 | 6109 | -8.1% | 64294 | 75440 | -14.8% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 2199 | 1720 | 27.8% | 20386 | 17141 | 18.9% |
| MINI | 380 | 481 | -21.0% | 3608 | 4247 | -15.0% |
| Mitsubishi | 1452 | 1338 | 8.5% | 17003 | 15862 | 7.2% |
| Nissan | 5912 | 6063 | -2.5% | 62535 | 66771 | -6.3% |
| Porsche | 130 | 114 | 14.0% | 1450 | 1472 | -1.5% |
| Saab | 41 | 105 | -61.0% | 699 | 1383 | -49.5% |
| smart | 228 | 270 | -15.6% | 2272 | 3422 | -33.6% |
| Subaru | 2486 | 1784 | 39.3% | 18874 | 16890 | 11.7% |
| Suzuki | 1336 | 1316 | 1.5% | 10883 | 11804 | -7.8% |
| Toyota | 17354 | 14539 | 19.4% | 158012 | 188671 | -16.2% |
| Volkswagen | 3545 | 3662 | -3.2% | 33664 | 33588 | 0.2% |
| Volvo | 380 | 453 | -16.1% | 5433 | 5766 | -5.8% |
| Light Vehicle Sales | 121500 | 122711 | -1.0% | 1247273 | 1436342 | -13.2% |
| Passenger car | 61865 | 63507 | -2.6% | 645767 | 798582 | -19.1% |
| Light Truck | 59635 | 59204 | 0.7% | 601506 | 637760 | -5.7% |
| GM/Ford/Chrysler Nameplates | 51220 | 58881 | -13.0% | 546455 | 687331 | -20.5% |
| Import Nameplate | 70280 | 63830 | 10.1% | 700818 | 749011 | -6.4% |
| Sales History | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 09/08 |
| January | 79.2 | 86.2 | 91.2 | 102.8 | 76.9 | -25.3% |
| February | 102.7 | 97.4 | 97.0 | 111.0 | 80.2 | -27.7% |
| March | 144.5 | 151.3 | 150.7 | 150.0 | 127.5 | -15.0% |
| April | 163.2 | 155.1 | 169.0 | 175.2 | 143.9 | -17.8% |
| May | 157.6 | 168.2 | 185.5 | 184.5 | 154.0 | -16.5% |
| June | 161.4 | 157.3 | 169.2 | 159.5 | 138.5 | -13.2% |
| July | 154.8 | 141.6 | 142.4 | 149.5 | 139.9 | -6.4% |
| August | 142.5 | 153.6 | 158.4 | 147.0 | 135.4 | -7.9% |
| September | 124.2 | 135.8 | 131.8 | 134.1 | 129.5 | -3.5% |
| October | 115.2 | 118.4 | 120.9 | 122.7 | 121.5 | -1.0% |
| November | 120.2 | 123.5 | 117.3 | 105.2 | ||
| December | 117.8 | 126.3 | 119.9 | 94.4 | ||
| Full Year | 1583.3 | 1614.7 | 1653.4 | 1636.0 | ||
| Note: Sales figures above are in thousands. | ||||||