GM, Ford sales drop; Chrysler flat; Honda, Toyota break records
January auto sales numbers are in, and as always the results are a mixed bag. Sales at GM were off 20 percent, and Ford wasn't far behind, posting a 19 percent decline. Chrysler Group reported an increase of one percent, driven by a strong Jeep brand. Toyota reported record sales, as did Honda, Audi, and Mercedes. VW brand sales were up 2.3 percent. Mitsubishi and Kia both soared 25 percent.
General Motors
GM's U.S. deliveries totaled 247,464 vehicles, down 19.7 percent on a sales day adjusted basis, from sales of 296,003 in January 2006. Car sales were down 26 percent, while truck sales were off 15 percent.
Buick, Hummer, and Pontiac posted the largest drops of 32.8 percent, 26.7 percent, and 38.5 percent, respectively. Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Saturn also posted declines -- 10.5 percent, 17.9 percent, and 22.2 percent, respectively.
Saab was the only GM brand to report an increase in sales -- up 3.3 percent from January 2006. [Full data].
Ford
Ford Motor Company's January U.S. sales declined 19 percent compared with a year ago. The company says this drop is largely a result of a planned reduction in sales to daily rental companies. Sales to daily rental companies were cut by 65 percent.
Ford brand sales dropped 22.1 percent -- the biggest drop in the Ford family. The second largest decline belongs to Jaguar, which sold 12.9 percent less vehicles this January. Volvo, Land Rover, and Mercury reported 11.7 percent, 7.0 percent, and 1.4 percent declines, respectively.
The only Ford brand to report an increase in sales was Lincoln -- up 2.7 percent.
Ford's total car sales fell 32.5 percent, while truck sales only fell 9.7 percent. [Full data]
DaimlerChrysler
Chrysler Group reported sales for January 2007 of 156,308 units; an increase of 1 percent compared to 155,465 units. The numbers were its strongest in six years.
The Jeep brand rose 19 percent year-over-year, posting sales of 35,361 units. Dodge sales were up slightly, rising 3 percent to 79,461 units. Chrysler brand sales fell 18 percent, with even the popular 300 sedan declining 35 percent. [Full data]
Sales at Mercedes-Benz totalled 17,069 new vehicles for January 2007, up 36.9 percent from last January, making this the best January sales in the company's history. Seven out of eleven mainstream models increased in sales. [Full data]
Toyota
Toyota today reported best-ever January sales of 175,850 vehicles,
an increase of 5.1 percent over January 2006.
The Toyota Division posted best-ever January sales of 153,732, up 4.7
percent. The Lexus Division reported best-ever January sales of 22,118
units sold, an increase of 8 percent.
Scion reported January sales of 9,004 units. The tC sports coupe led
the way with January sales of 4,413 units. Scion xB posted sales of 2,833
units for the month. [Full data]
Honda
Honda posted a new January record for total vehicle sales of 100,790,
eclipsing the 2006 record of 98,394. Honda Division posted record January sales of 87,773, up from last year's record of 84,413, and was supported by record light truck sales of 41,427. [Full data]
Propelled by sales of the new MDX SUV, Acura sold a January record of
5,951 light trucks, up 48.7 percent versus last year, the division
announced today. The previous record of 4,165 was set in January 2004. [Full data]
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced January 2007 sales of 16,610 units, a 2.3 percent increase over the January 2006 total of 16,237 vehicles. This figure represents the best January sales performance since 2003 for the Volkswagen brand. [Full data]
Audi sales totaled 6,399 vehicles, a 5.2 percent increase over the previous year, and the best January in the company's history. [Full data]
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi reported January sales of 9,383 units, up 25.6 percent from last January's total of 7,463. It was Mitsubishi's best January since 2004 and the largest single month percentage increase in four-and-half years (July 2002).
Outlander sales were 1,918 units, up 166 percent from last year's
January volume. Eclipse coupe sales were 2,129, up 37 percent from a year
ago.
Eclipse Spyder closed at 306 units, more than five times the sales in January of 2006. Lancer closed at 1,684 units, up 15 percent from last January volume. Galant sales were 1,654, an increase of more than four percent.
Kia and Hyundai
Kia announced its best January sales ever of 22,524 units, a 24.4-percent
increase over the same period in 2006. The Sedona was the leading seller at
6,947 units, a 26.7-percent increase over the same period last year. The
all-new Rondo continued its ramp-up, with 478 units sold, a 16.9-percent increase over last month.
Sister company Hyundai announced sales of 27,721 units for the month of January. Sales were down 8 percent from Hyundai's record January sales in 2006. The all-new 2007 Santa Fe and Accent showed strong gains over the previous year, posting 89 percent and 80 percent increases respectively. [Full data]