Last year’s sales spike courtesy of the federally-backed “Cash for Clunkers” campaign made for an interesting August for most mainstream automakers. Only higher-end luxury brands didn’t see any benefit from Cash for Clunkers, which gave buyers hefty incentives to trade in older vehicles on brand new cars.
Not all of the numbers are in yet, but here’s a sneak peak from automakers that have reported sales so far. We’ll continue to update this space as more sales figures become available.
From Detroit automakers, General Motors saw a hefty 25 percent drop off for the month; Chrysler actually came out better overall last month than it did a year ago, while Ford saw a smaller 11 percent decline.
Things were even worse in Japan, where Toyota , Nissan and Honda saw major hits in demand. All three automakers benefited greatly from the “Clunkers” incentives offered last year. Subaru , on the other hand, saw sales drop 22 percent, but still posted its second best August ever – behind, you guessed it, last year.
After months of increased sales, Hyundai and Kia finally saw their momentum wear off – at least when compared to August of 2009. Sales were still pretty strong, however, given that both brands saw the biggest demand increases as a result of Cash for Clunkers.
Luxury automakers continue to do well, potentially signaling trickle-down sales improvements in the future. Audi posted its best ever August, while Mercedes-Benz has also seen strong sales. Infiniti is seeing solid demand for its QX56 SUV and Cadillac continues to perform well on a year-over-year basis. British luxury brand Jaguar saw a healthy increase and Land Rover also continues to ride strong sales.
August’s Numbers
Acura – Up 25 percent to 11,534
Audi – Up 14 percent to 9,182
BMW – Up 2 percent to 19,540
Buick – Up 66 percent to 14,294
Cadillac – Up 90 percent to 12,689
Chevrolet – Down 18 percent to 131,952
Chrysler – Down 4 percent to 17,937
Dodge – Up 8 percent to 35,364
Ford – Down 11 percent to 144,035
GMC – Up 19 percent to 25,986
Honda – Down 33 percent to 97,195
Hummer – Down 73 percent to 205
Hyundai – Down 11 percent to 53,603
Infiniti – Up 22 percent to 9,428
Jaguar – Up 62 percent to 1,414
Jeep – Up 17 percent to 25,706
Kia – Down 19 percent to 32,465
Land Rover – Up 11 percent to 2,544
Lexus – Down 12 percent to 19,465
Lincoln - Up 9 percent to 6,428
Maserati – Up 25 percent to 161
Mazda – Down 26 percent to 19,739
Mercedes-Benz – Up 15 percent to 19,674
Mercury – Down 23 percent to 7,040
Mitsubishi – Down 37 percent to 4,293
MINI – Down 13 percent to 4,425
Nissan – Down 31 percent to 67,399
Pontiac – Down 100 percent to 7
Porsche – Up 33 percent to 2,032
Ram – Up 5 percent to 20,604
Saab – Down 40 percent to 290
Saturn – Down 100 percent to 43
Subaru – Down 22 percent to 22,239
Suzuki – Down 68 percent to 1,830
Toyota (Includes Scion ) – Down 34 percent to 128,923
Volkswagen – Down 8 percent to 22,855
Volvo – Down 24 percent to 4,441
BMW Group – Down 2 percent to 23,991
Chrysler – Up 7 percent to 99,611
Daimler – Up 7 percent to 20,133
Ford Motor Company – Down 11 percent to 157,503
General Motors – Down 25 percent to 185,176
American Honda – Down 30 percent to 108,729
Hyundai Group – Down 15 percent to 86,068
Jaguar Land Rover – Up 25 percent to 3,958
Nissan North America – Down 27 percent to 76,827
Toyota USA – Down 31 percent to 148,388
2010 YTD Numbers
Acura – Up 24 percent to 85,668
Audi – Up 25 percent to 65,439
BMW – Up 4 percent to 108,985
Buick – Up 61 percent to 101,125
Cadillac – Up 50 percent to 92,393
Chevrolet – Up 19 percent to 1,054,311
Chrysler – Up 13 percent to 140,755
Dodge – Up 21 percent to 266,744
Ford – Up 20 percent to 1,157,691
GMC – Up 26 percent to 206,101
Honda – Down 1 percent to 729,407
Hummer – Down 57 percent to 3,344
Hyundai – Up 17 percent to 363,491
Infiniti – Up 25 percent to 66,492
Jaguar – Up 13 percent to 8,781
Jeep – Up 9 percent to 178,943
Kia – Up 10 percent to 237,953
Land Rover – Up 23 percent to 19,800
Lexus – Up 11 percent to 145,490
Lincoln - Up 5 percent to 55,776
Maserati – Up 49 percent to 1,328
Mazda – Up 7 percent to 156,190
Mercedes-Benz – Up 22 percent to 144,689
Mercury – Up 2 percent to 64,873
Mitsubishi – Down 4 percent to 36,431
MINI – Down 4 percent to 29,704
Nissan – Up 13 percent to 533,004
Pontiac – Down 99 percent to 954
Porsche – Up 24 percent to 15,719
Ram – Down 6 percent to 133,698
Saab – Down 67 percent to 2,106
Saturn – Down 89 percent to 6,553
Subaru – Up 20 percent to 172,182
Suzuki – Down 52 percent to 15,331
Toyota (Includes Scion) – Down 1.5 percent to 1,018,664
Volkswagen – Up 21 percent to 172,747
Volvo – Down 12 percent to 36,966
BMW Group – Up 6 percent to 169,148
Chrysler – Up 10 percent to 720,140
Daimler – Up 15 percent to 149,134
Ford Motor Company – Up 18 percent to 1,278,340
General Motors – Up 5 percent to 1,465,389
American Honda – Up 1.5 percent to 815,075
Hyundai Group – Up 14 percent to 601,444
Jaguar Land Rover – Up 19 percent to 28,581
Nissan North America – Up 14 percent to 599,496
Toyota USA – Down 1 percent to 1,164,154
Leftlane’s bottom line
Given last year’s especially hot Clunker-driven sales, August wasn’t actually a terrible sales month overall. Sales might have been at their lowest point since February, and there’s not much reason to celebrate if you work for a Japanese mainstream automaker, but overall the industry is definitely showing signs of recovery.
The biggest good news comes from the top, where European, Japanese and even American luxury brands are experiencing some of their best months ever. It’s a pretty picture if you’re Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover or Audi.
But among dominant brands, only Chrysler, Buick and, to a lesser extent, Ford and Hyundai, have reason to celebrate. GM’s individual brands look pretty good, aside from a less-than-surprising rough patch for its volume brand, Chevrolet. That said, GM has lost considerable market share thanks to the loss of Pontiac and Saturn.
