Manufacturers attribute the drop in the SAAR to fewer selling days in September and Labor Day sales being included in August sales totals. One manufacturer attributes the drop to troubles in Washington, D.C.
WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ — Fewer selling days in September and the inclusion of Labor Day sales into August results pushed down September’s seasonally adjusted annual rate to 15.28 million units after peaking in August at 16.09 million units, according to AutoData Corp.
Last month’s SAAR reading was the lowest since April of this year, when the SAAR fell to 15.19 million units. However, the research company did note an 8.1 percent increase in retail deliveries from a year ago. By category, sales of passenger cars were up 5.5 percent, while light-truck sales were up 10.9 percent. The following is a look at September sales results by manufacturer:
BMW
September sales for the BMW Group jumped 8.3 percent from a year ago to 28,874 units retailed. The best performing vehicles in September included the 7 Series, up 271.3 percent to 1,723 units; the X5 SAV, up 21.7 percent to 4,686 units; and the X1, up 17.5 percent to 1,844 units. Mini USA also reported an 8.3 increase in September, with officials touting the month as the Best September performance ever with 5,306 units delivered.
Chrysler
Chrysler sold 976 more units last month than it did last September, with sales totaling 143,017 units. The 1 percent increase was enough to deliver the group’s 42nd consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains, with the Chrysler, Dodge and Ram Truck brands all posting year-over-year sales gains. The Ram Truck brand’s 8 percent increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand during the month. The Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot, Dodge Dart and Dodge Challenger each set sales records for the month of September.
Ford
Last month, sales for the domestic automaker increased 6 percent from a year ago to 185,146 units, the best September since 2006, company officials said. The month also marked the OEM’s 11th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. Ford Fusion and Fiesta sales were up 62 percent and 29 percent, respectively, from a year ago. Sales of the F-Series increased 10 percent from a year ago to 60,456 units — the model’s 26th consecutive monthly sales increase.
General Motors
Sales were down 11 percent from a year ago to 187,195 units delivered. Retail sales were down 6 percent and fleet sales were down 27 percent vs. a year ago. Buick sales increased 6 percent, marking the marque’s 17th straight month of sales increases, while Cadillac sales were up 10 percent. Chevrolet Malibu sales were up 29 percent, while sales of the Spark were up 6 percent. Sales of the Impala increased 64 percent, while Chevrolet Tahoe sales were up 14 percent.
Honda
Honda reported a 9.9 percent decrease in sales vs. the year-ago period, with sales totaling 105,563 units. Top sellers included the Accord and Civic, which reported total sales of 25,176 and 22, 983 units, respectively. Civic sales were up 6.7 percent compared with last September, while Honda light-truck sales were up 7.8 percent year to date compared to 2012. Company officials pointed out that the Honda Ridgeline achieved its seventh straight month of sales gains in September, scoring a 9.9 percent increase from a year ago.
Hyundai
Sales for the Korean automaker fell 8.2 percent to 55,102 units sold in September. Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of national sales, attributed the decrease to consumer fear of a government shutdown, which is now in its third day, and the launch of the Affordable Care Act. Top sellers for the month included the Elantra with 19,691 units sold, followed by the Sonata with 13,872 units sold.
Kia
Kia reported sales of 38,003 units, a 21 percent decrease from a year ago. The top seller for the OEM was the Optima with 11,647 units sold. This was the 22nd consecutive month the Optima led sales for the automaker. Other top sellers included the Sorento (7,849 units sold) and Soul (7,416 units sold).
Mazda
September sales for the automaker decreased 6.9 percent from a year ago to 22,464 units sold. Sales of the Mazda6 totaled 3,168 units for the month, 126 percent increase from a year ago, while sales of the CX-5 jumped 41 percent to 6,280 units sold. Additionally, Mazda's SKYACTIV Technology accounted for 72 percent of total sales in the month of September.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi’s September sales were down 16.7 percent compared to September 2012. Sales totaled 4,001 units. Realizing year-over-year gains were the Outlander (up 64 percent) and Lancer (up 24.5 percent).
Nissan
Nissan’s U.S. sales in September totaled 86,868, a 5.5 percent decrease from the same month last year.
Nissan Division sales decreased 5.6 percent to 77,828 units sold, and Infiniti sales decreased 4.3 percent from a year ago to 9,040 units sold.
The Nissan LEAF set a September sales record with 1,953 units sold, an increase of 99 percent from a year ago. Versa deliveries increased 9.5 percent over the prior year to 8,776. Sales of Infiniti sports sedans, which include the 2013 Infiniti G Sedan, totaled 4,144 in September, an increase of 47.6 percent.
Subaru
Subaru’s September sales increased 15 percent from a year ago to 31,755 vehicles sold. It was the OEM’s best September sales month in company history. Sales of the new Forester increased 75 percent to 10,620 deliveries compared to the same month last year. The Outback was the second-best contributor with 8,143 units sold.
Toyota
Toyota U.S. sales fell 4.3 percent from a year ago to 164,457 units sold in September on a raw-volume basis. The Camry was the company’s best seller with nearly 23,500 units sold. The new Avalon posted triple-digit gains for the seventh month in a row, while the new RAV4 experienced its best-ever September with a 15.5 percent increase from a year ago. Sienna sales were up 4.5 percent, with more than 9,000 units sold.
Volkswagen
The German automaker reported 31,920 units sold in September, a 2.6 percent decrease compared with September 2012. The Jetta accounted for most of OEMs September sales, with 13,309 units sold, a 7.7 percent increase. It was followed by the Passat Sedan with 7,900 units and the Beetle with 3,554 units sold. The Tiguan experienced its best September ever with 2,406 units sold. The manufacturer’s TDI Clean Diesel models accounted for 24.4 percent of its September sales.
