Minus Mercedes-Benz, automakers issued their sales reports for August. Big winners include Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Nissan.
August Sales were favorable throughout the auto industry, keeping manufacturers on pace to meet its projected SAAR of 14.5 million units for the year. Chrysler led the way in sales gains, with most manufacturers reporting solid sales for the month.
BMW: The German car manufacturer reported disappointing sales totals for August, with its 22,553 vehicles sold representing a 5.7 percent decrease from a year ago. Year to date, though, the BMW Group’s totals are 7.6 percent higher than last year with 208,268 sales in the first eight months of 2012 vs. 193,565 in that same period of 2011.
Chrysler: The domestic automaker reported its best August sales in five years and the 29th consecutive month of YOY sales gains. The Chrysler Group sold 148,472 units, up 14 percent vs. last year’s 130,120 units. Dodge, FIAT, Chrysler and Jeep brands each produced record-setting retail sales in August vs. one year ago.
Ford: Ford Motor Co. motored out to a 13 percent increase in August sales vs. a year ago behind a 19 percent gain in retail sales among cars, utilities and trucks. The domestic manufacturer’s sales increase of 197,249 vehicles in August was driven by sales of the Ford Escape and Ford Fusion models, both of which realized their best-ever August sales.
Sales of the Ford Escape totaled 28,188 units, a 37 percent increase vs. one year ago, while Fusion sales were up 21 percent in August. Focus sales increased 35 percent, which sales of the F-Series were up 19 percent.
General Motors: Sales increased 10 percent vs. one year ago, with 240,520 units sold. August was the best retail month of the year for GM. Chevrolet passenger-car sales rose 25 percent, with the Spark, Sonic, Cruze and Volt each reaching new sales milestones in August.
Honda: Combined, Acura and Honda divisions realized their best August in two years. Each division raked in impressive sales for August, making for a 59.5 percent boost in sales from August 2011. Honda reported 115,675 units sold, up 57.9 percent vs. August 2011. Acura sales came in at 15,646 units, a 72.8 percent rise over a year ago.
Hyundai: Hyundai Motor America reported an all-time record for August sales, with 61,099 units retailed, 4 percent higher than in August 2011. The manufacturer’s totals also marked the carmaker’s sixth straight month of breaking the 60,000-unit mark.
The Azera accounted for 959 units sold, a 977 percent gain vs. August 2011. Sales of the Elantra and Tuscon climbed 19.5 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Making for the lowest fleet sales in the industry, Hyundai’s fleet sales were at 7 percent mix for August and nine percent mix for the first eight months of 2012.
Mazda: The company’s North American Operations reported a sales decline in August. The carmaker reported sales of 22,234 units, down 1.8 percent from the year earlier. So far in 2012, the company’s sales are up 11.8 percent DSR vs. one year ago, with Mazda reporting 185,349 units sold year to date.
The Mazda CX-5 posted its best-ever sales totals of 4,665 units for August, while sales of the Mazda3 climbed to their highest level since 2009, with 11,120 models sold.
Mitsubishi: The Japanese manufacturer posted a 46.8 percent decline in sales from last year, with 4,249 units sold in August 2012. The Outlander Sport continues to be the carmaker’s best seller, the company reported.
Nissan: The Japanese automaker reported 7.6 percent increase in vs. August 2011. Vehicles retailed reached 98,515 units, compared to 91,541 a year earlier. Monthly car sales climbed 8.1 percent to 63,012 units vs. 58,308 in the same month last year. Truck sales also rose 6.8 percent from a year ago to 35,503 units.
The Nissan division accounted for 87,360 vehicles sold vs. 82,517 last year, while Infiniti sales climbed 23.6 percent from a year ago to 11,155 vehicles.
Toyota: The domestic carmaker realized a 40.2 percent boost in August sales vs. a year ago on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis, with 188,520 units sold. On a raw volume basis, unadjusted for August 2012’s 27 selling days, Toyota Motor Sales reported a 45.6 percent increase in sales from one year earlier.
Toyota division captured 164,283 sales, up 42 percent on a DSR basis from 2011. On a raw monthly basis, the division’s sales were up 47.5 percent. Scion realized a 111.6 percent increase on a volume basis over August 2011, with sales reaching 7,722 units.
Lexus reported sales of 24,237 units, up 28.9 percent from one year prior on a DSR basis. Volume-wise, Lexus’ sales were up 33.9 percent compared to one year ago.
Hybrid sales increased 110.1 percent, compared to the same period last year with 28,960 vehicles sold. Toyota division posted 25,400 of the hybrid sales, and Lexus reported 3,560 hybrids sold for August 2012.
Volkswagen/Audi: Volkswagen of America’s realized a 62.5 percent increase in August sales, with the company reporting 41,011 units sold vs. 25,232 last year. The Passat’s sales jumped to 10,090 in August compared to 314 units sold one year earlier. Total Jetta sales, including the Jetta Sedan and Sport Wagen, led the manufacturer’s volume sales with a total of 15,446 units, up 6.5 percent from the 14,500 units retailed one year ago.
Year to date, the German automaker boosted its sales totals by 37.6 percent with 286,750 units sold, up from last year’s 208,423 units sold in the first eight months of 2011.
Mercedes-Benz has yet to report its August totals. Check back at www.fi-magazine.com for updates.
