Most automakers have reported their U.S. sales figures for the month of October, and there aren’t many surprises. Overall, GM sales fell just 1.1 percent, which might be an indication that company’s slide has mostly stopped. On the other hand, Ford and Chrysler reported drops of 13 and 12.4 percent, respectively.
Toyota sales rose just 0.5 percent — which could be taken as a sign on slowing growth, or perhaps a reflection of the overall slowing car sales in the United States. Overall, Toyota sold 189,011 vehicles, compared to GM‘s 301,317 units and Ford ‘s 215,985. Chrysler came in fourth with 159,586 sales.
BMW posted a modest gain in sales of 5.41 percent, for a total of 24,464 shipments. Nissan reported a gain of 8.8 percent to 75,095, making it the strongest performer of the top seven major automakers in terms of sales increases. Honda sales fell 0.2 percent, making it roughly even with last October at 110,624.
The Brands
When it comes to individual brands, Hummer was the worst performer, posting a decline of 33.2 percent to 5,565 units. Not far behind was Jaguar , with a drop of 27.5 percent to just 1,366 sales, and Jeep , which posted a decline of 24 percent to 31,856 units.
Saab reported a decline of 19.9 percent (2,731), Pontiac fell 17.5 percent (25,182), Buick slid 12 percent (14,231), and Saturn was off 5.9 percent (19,319). GM’s stronger performers include Chevrolet , which was basically even at plus 0.6 percent (179,825), GMC , which shot up 10.2 percent (44,456), and Cadillac , which saw a sales increase of a whopping 19.9 percent!
In addition to Jeep’s aforementioned 24 percent drop, the Chrysler brand reported a 6.6 percent slip, and Dodge sales fell 9.6 percent.
Nissan brand sales drove the company’s overall figure up the most, with an increase of 9.8 percent (74,992). Infiniti also saw a small boost, but only by 1.8 percent (9,955).
Ford brand sales were off 16.4 percent (183,188), while Lincoln sales rose a healthy 13 percent (10,299). Surprisingly, Mercury sales jumped 20.2 percent, to 12,844 vehicles. Like Jaguar, Ford’s Volvo brand also saw a double-digit decline, albeit a less severe 11 percent (7,761). Land Rover managed to increase sales by 1.7 percent (4,237). Mazda climbed 13.3 percent to 22,201 units.
Honda brand sales inched up 3.4 percent (101,913), but the Acura brand was off 22 percent, declining to 12,886 shipments.
At BMW, BMW brand sales climbed 8.3 percent (23,451), while MINI shipments fell 11 percent (3,370).
Mercedes-Benz sales continue to be strong with sales of 22,820 units — a rise of 6.5 percent, though not enough to catch up to BMW.
The Toyota and Lexus brands posted nearly equal gains of just 0.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively, for sales of 172,473 vehicles and 25,119 units.
Volkswagen brand sales rose 4.1 percent to 15,942, while premium brand Audi saw a double-digit increase of 10.9 percent (6,431).
Mitsubishi sold 9,280 cars — a 3.9 percent decline, while Suzuki saw sales increase 5.6 percent to 6,536 vehicles. Subaru sales were down by 6.5 percent to 14,979. Porsche shipments shot up 16.9 percent to a modest but appropriate 2,355 sales.
Last but certainly not least, Kia reported a sales increase of 20.5 percent — the largest of any automotive brand — to 25,185 units. Sister company Hyundai saw a decrease of 4.6 percent to 30,232.
