AIADA: International Brands Made Gains in January
International nameplates outpaced the competition in U.S. new-vehicle sales last month, accounting for 57.4% of all transactions.
Sales of the new-for-2018 Toyota Camry grew 21.3% in January, making the Camry America’s most popular car and helping to propel a strong overall showing for international nameplates. Photo courtesy Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) released January sales figures for the international nameplate auto industry. Brands sold by America's 9,600 international nameplate franchises accounted for 57.4% of all new vehicles sold in the United States last month, up from 55.1% in December.
AutoData Corp. reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for December was 17.12 million units versus 17.44 million units a year ago. Total industry unit deliveries, including all brands and unadjusted for business days, increased 1% compared to last January. Sales were down 28% compared to December 2017, in part, theorized analysts, due to the blistering cold that blanketed much of the country in January. International nameplate brands were up 6.4% from January 2017.
"Last month, international brands outperformed the auto market as a whole," said AIADA President Cody Lusk. "Dealers of these brands are starting the year off on a high note and anticipating strong consumer interest in the first quarter, driven in part by tax reform."
International brands were led last month by BMW (up 5% from last January), Nissan (12.1%), and Toyota (17%). Toyota had its best month ever for light truck sales and saw the redesigned Camry's sales climb 21.3% to be the most popular sedan in America. Throughout the industry, light trucks continued to drive sales demand last month, rising 8% as a segment, while cars lagged, slipping 10.8%.
International auto sales in the U.S. totaled 662,412 units in January, down from 882,393 units in December but up from 622,472 units in January 2017. Asian brands occupied 47.6% of the January auto market, up from 44.7 in December. Overall, Asian nameplate dealers sold 549,805 vehicles in January, a 6.6% increase from January 2017.
European brands sold 112,607 units in January, down from 166,496 units in December, but up 5.7% from the 106,556 units they sold in January 2017. They held 9.8% of the January U.S. auto market, down from 10.4% in December.
To read AIADA's complete coverage of January's international nameplate auto sales, click here.
More Showroom
Making the Safe Choice
Kelley Blue Book has turned households with teen drivers onto safe and affordable options for their vehicles of choice
Read More →
Inventory Holds Steady
September new-vehicle inventory rose slightly month-over-month, but dealer lots are laden with MY2026 vehicles as the typical model year changeover trudges along.
Read More →
October Auto Sales Fall With the Leaves
A forecast anticipates retail deliveries are down this month as consumers continue to face cost challenges, though more are tapping long loans in order to buy.
Read More →
California Sees Quarterly Gains
California’s new-vehicle market saw a boost in hybrids in the third quarter and its first overall quarterly market gain of the year.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Prices Stay Put
Affordability pressures and model availability shaped new-vehicle sales in September, according to an analysis by Kelley Blue Book.
Read More →
EV Buyer Consideration Shifts
What drives American consumers to purchase an electric vehicle is shifting as the question moves away from Should I?' to 'Which features and experience do I want to have?'
Read More →
Year-to-Date Auto Sales Holding Their Own
A forecast through August shows that automakers have shifted strategies to keep deliveries and revenues up despite tariffs and other economic challenges.
Read More →
Slow to Robo
Ten years of polling consumers shows autonomous vehicles’ profiles have risen considerably, but even more people now want at least some level of control if they go that route.
Read More →
Dealers a Little Down
A third-quarter Cox Automotive survey finds them in a mixed mood, bummed by fallen customer traffic but encouraged by better profits, costs and EV interest.
Read More →
European EV Sales Skyrocket
The EV market on the continent held strong in July with almost 25% of new-car sales being fully electric units, a stark contrast to the U.S., where EV sales declined about 42%.
Read More →