August SAAR Increases to 16.09 Million Units, Autodata Reports

The industry retailed 1.5 million in August, according to Autodata Corp., with most vehicle manufacturers reporting all-time highs and monthly records. Sales paced at a seasonally adjusted rate of 16.09 million units, up from the 14.49 SAAR in August 2012. The following is a breakdown of August sales by manufacturer.

BMW: August sales for the German automaker increased 35.4 percent from a year ago to 30,546 units sold. Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 45.7 percent from a year ago 24,523 units sold.

Realizing big gains were the 3 Series (up 66.9 percent from a year ago to 10,357 units), the 5 Series (up 158.2 percent to 4,359 units), the 6 Series (up 67.8 percent to 760 units) and the 7 Series (up 172.6 percent to 924 units). Mini USA realized its August ever with sales of 6,023 automobiles, an increase of 5.3 percent from a year ago.

Chrysler Group: The domestic OEM achieved its best August sales since 2007, with sales increasing 12 percent from a year ago. Sales totaled 165,552 units. The Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and FIAT brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in August vs. a year ago. The Ram Truck brand’s 29 percent increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand during the month.

Chrysler Group also extended its streak of year-over-year sales gains to 41-consecutive months in August, with six models setting August sales records. They include Dodge Journey, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Dart, Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot.

Ford Motor Co.: Retail sales for the domestic automaker 20 percent from a year ago. Total sales were up 12 percent from a year ago. August also marked Ford’s best monthly retail performance since 2006.

Car sales were up 15 percent from a year ago, while utility vehicles and trucks were up 16 and 30 percent, respectively. The Ford Fusion recorded its best-ever August sales, with 24,653 vehicles sold. Small car sales, including the Fiesta, Focus and C-MAX hybrids, were up 30 percent from a year ago, with combined sales totaling 30,148 units.

F-Series sales totaled 71,115 units, up 22 percent from a year ago. August also marked 25 straight months of sales increases. It also was the second time this year F-Series sales topped 70,000 vehicles. Lincoln MKZ sales were up 10 percent from a year ago, with sales totaling 3,652 units — the models best-ever August sales month.

General Motors: The domestic automaker reported a 15 percent increase in sales from a year ago, with deliveries totaling 275,847 units. Retail sales increased 22 percent, while fleet sales were down 8 percent. Officials reported that August sales were at their highest point this year. August also marked the company’s best sales month since September 2008.

Cadillac achieved its best August sales month since 1989, with the brand reporting 38 percent increase from a year ago. GMC and Chevrolet sales were up 14 and 10 percent, respectively, from a year ago, while Buick realized its best August since 2003. The month also marked 16 straight months of sales increase, with sales up 37 percent from a year ago.

Big winners in August were the GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX, which achieved their best-ever August sales. The Chevrolet Equinox and Buick Encore also realized their best months ever, along with the Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Sonic, Cadillac XTS and Buick Verano.

Honda: American Honda set a new August record with sales of 166,432 units, a 26.7 percent increase from a year ago. The Honda Division posted sales of 149,381 units, an increase of 29.1 percent from a year ago. The CR-V sales totaled 34,654 units, breaking the model’s all-time sales record set in March 2012. Accord and Civic sales topped 38,000 units, with the Civic realizing its best August sales month since 2009.

The Acura Division posted sales of 17,051 units, a 9 percent increase from a year ago. Acura set an all-time light-truck sales record for the second straight month, with the all-new MDX realizing its best sales month ever.

Hyundai: HyundaiMotor America recorded a new record for August sales, with sales for the Korean automaker reaching 66,101 units — an 8 percent increase from a year ago. Sales of the Santa Fe (up 75 percent from a year ago), Sonata and Elantra (up 37 percent from a year ago) were up a combined 18 percent. These models accounted for 75 percent of the OEM’s total sales in August.

Hyundai also reported an all-time high for certified pre-owned sales, which were up 15 percent vs. August 2012.

Kia: The automaker recorded its best-ever August sales with 52,025 units sold, a 4 percent increase from a year ago. Sales of the all-new 2014 Cadenza exceeded the 1,500-unit mark for the second month in a row, while the Optima achieved its 21st straight month as Kia’s top seller with 15,199 units sold. The Sorento and Soul both eclipsed 10,000 units sold, with 10,568 and 10,017 units delivered in August, respectively.

Mazda: The automaker reported its best August since 2003, with sales jumping 26.4 percent from a year ago to 28,106 vehicles sold. SKYACTIV Technology-equipped vehicles accounted for 74.8 percent of all Mazdas sold in August. The CX-5 had its best month ever with 8,506 vehicles sold, an 82.3 percent increase from last year. The Mazda3 realized its best sales month since September 2012 with 11,031 vehicles sold.

Mitsubishi: The automaker reported August sales of 5,281, a 24.3 percent increase from a year ago. The Outlander Sport led sales with 2,171 units, an increase of 59.5 percent from a year ago. August also marked 12 straight months of sales increase for the crossover vehicle. Sales of the all-new 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander showed a year-over-year sales increase of more than 103 percent for the second consecutive month.

Nissan: The Japanese automaker recorded a new August sales record, with sales increasing 22.3 percent from a year ago to 120,498 units sold. Leading the way was the Nissan LEAF, which realized its best-ever sales month with 2,420 August deliveries. Altima and Pathfinder sales also set a new August record, with sales totaling 30,976 and 8,859 units, respectively.

Sales of Rogue crossovers also set a new August record with 17,273 units sold, an increase of 36.8 percent from a year ago. Sales of Infiniti vehicles totaled 11,884 units, up 6.5 percent from a year ago. Infiniti's crossover and sport utility vehicles were up 15.5 percent vs. August 2012.

Subaru: The automaker experienced its best sales month in company history with 41,061 units sold August, a 45 percent increase vs. August 2012. August was also the best-ever month for Forester sales, which totaled 13,163 units sold. Sales of the Outback totaled 10,163 units. Officials said the company is on track to achieve its fifth consecutive year of sales increases.

Toyota: The Japanese automaker realized an 18.4 percent sales increase in August, with sales totaling 231,537 units. On a raw-volume basis, Toyota sales increased 22.8 percent vs. the year-ago month.

The Camry was Toyota’s best-selling car in America, with sales of nearly 45,000 units in August. The Prius family experienced its best-ever August with an increase of 30 percent from a year ago. Additionally, the all-new Avalon posted triple-digit gains for the sixth consecutive month.

Volkswagen: For first time in the German automaker’s history, sales eclipsed 40,000 units for three straight months, with sales totaling 40,342 units in August. Despite the milestone, sales decreased only 1.6 percent from a year ago.

August was a good month for Passat sales, which totaled 10,194 units — a 3 percent increase from a year ago. Total Jetta deliveries for August were 16,280 units, up 5.4 percent from a year ago. Total Beetle deliveries for August were 4,921 units, a 42.6 percent increase versus the prior year. The Tiguan had its best August ever with 2,948 units sold. Additionally, Volkswagen’s TDI Clean Diesel models accounted for 30.4 percent of sales in August, marking the best month ever for TDI sales.