Most major automakers have now reported their September sales and, with a handful of surprising high points from the luxury segment, plus the demand increases we’ve come to expect from Korean automakers, sales are mostly down across the board in the wake of August’s record-breaking numbers.
Last month, Hyundai , Kia and Subaru experienced their best ever sales months in the U.S. and a handful of other automakers also saw strong months for the first time in nearly a year thanks to the Cash for Clunkers program. Though more than 200,000 new cars were sold as a result of that program, sales dropped substantially in September.
It’s important to keep in mind that the sales figures are to be compared to September 2008′s numbers. From now on, we’ll be updating our “The good,” “The bad” and “The ugly” sections alphabetically, so make sure to check back here throughout the day today for the latest updates.
The good
Audi ’s A3, A5 and R8 all posted sales increases, but all are lower volume vehicles for the brand. The high-volume A4 saw a 15.7 percent drop, although the brand finished the month less than 5 percent lower than the year before.
BMW saw a surprising 2.1 percent increase in demand compared to last year – due in part to particularly weak September 2008 sales. The company says it remains concerned overall about the market, however.
Cadillac ’s redesigned SRX was a hit: 2,866 units were sold, representing a 238 percent increase.
Chevrolet sold 7,961 Camaros, again handily outselling Ford ’s Mustang by about 3,000 units. The automaker’s new Equinox continues to perform well – it posted a 93.7 percent increase in sales. And at the opposite end of the spectrum, the large Suburban saw a 23 percent increase in sales to 5,338 units. Otherwise, demand was soft for the bowtie brand, which was hurt on the lower end of its lineup by limited inventories.
Chrysler never fails to surprise us: The Crossfire, which ceased production in December 2007, sold 127 units, a 12 percent increase over the same period in 2008.
Ford Motor Company saw its overall market share – including all of its brands – increase about 2 percent for September. The automaker says it is pleased with sales for the new Taurus sedan and that the F-Series posted its second consecutive monthly sales increase (3.5 percent). The automaker also says that its EcoBoost powertrain demand is “outstripping projections.”
Ford’s Fusion saw a 9 percent increase in demand, which helped year-to-date sales hit 134,600 – a 14.5 percent overall increase compared to last year. More than 5,000 Taurus sedans were also sold, representing a 60.1 percent increase over the old model.
Overall, General Motors sold 156,673 vehicles, representing a 44.9 percent drop compared to the year before.
Honda saw a 0.5 percent increase in demand for its Pilot SUV – the only increase in demand for any of the automaker’s vehicles.
Hyundai posted an impressive 27 percent increase in sales, which represents the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year gains in market share. The automaker’s Accent, Elantra, Santa Fe, Tucson and Genesis all posted month-over-month gains.
Infiniti saw increased demand for its G coupe and sedan and QX56 (a 52.1 percent increase!).
Jeep ’s Grand Cherokee saw a hefty 23 percent sales increase, while Commander and Wrangler sales remained more or less stagnant – and that’s good news in this market.
Kia followed in parent company Hyundai’s footsteps by posting a solid 24.4 percent gain over last year’s numbers. Strong numbers for the Optima and Forte pushed sales to over 20,000 units. That’s half of last month’s Clunker-boosted figures, but still an impressive figure for the automaker.
Lexus saw a rare increase in sales thanks mostly to an increase in demand for the redesigned RX crossover. Sales were up 70.3 percent.
Lincoln sold 455 MKTs in the crossover’s first month on the market.
Mini saw a 9.7 percent increase in sales – a surprise given the end of the Cash for Clunkers program.
Mercedes-Benz ’s redesigned E-Class posted a 28.4 percent gain in sales, while its G-Class SUV sold an extra 10 units – up to 46 – to post a 27.8 percent increase.
Mercury’s figures were hurt most by the now-discontinued Sable; without a vehicle to replace it, buyers seeking a big Merc were forced into the Grand Marquis, which actually saw a 34.2 percent increase in sales.
The Maxima was a hot seller for Nissan last month. Sales were up 18.1 percent to 5,901. The automaker’s Z-cars, which include both the outgoing 350Z and the new 370Z, sold 802 units – a 53.1 percent increase. Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra sales were all up substantially, too.
Volkswagen saw a small increase in sales thanks to healthy Jetta, cc and Routan sales.
Volvo ’s sales were up 16.3 percent thanks to surprisingly healthy demand for the S40 and V50. The models saw increases in demand of 114 and 213.4 percent, respectively. Sales are still down about 22.2 percent year-to-date, however.
The bad
Chrysler’s sales still struggle. While inventories depleted by Cash for Clunkers are partially to blame, sales didn’t pick up much late in the month. Its volume models, 300, Town & Country and Sebring, saw drops of 20, 61 and 73 percent, respectively.
Dodge ’s Caliber, which was a victim of depleted inventories, saw sales drop 89 percent as dealers struggled to find vehicles to sell.
Honda saw a 51.6 percent drop in sales for its Fit compact hatchback thanks mostly to weak inventory levels.
The Jeep brand saw sales of the Compass dwindle to just 101 units (compared to 993 in the same period last year).
Mercedes-Benz might have posted its second-best month all year, but only one volume model showed a year-over-year gain in sales.
Pontiac G8 inventories are starting to get low – the model had been a hot seller for much of the summer, posting an 82.4 percent increase in demand year-to-date, but just over 1,000 were sold in September, representing a 39.1 percent drop in sales.
Maybe Roger Penske made the right decision: Saturn sales were way off across the board. Its volume sedan, the Aura, managed just 1,270 sales and just 405 Outlooks made their way into new garages.
The ugly
Acura , down 30.3 percent to 7,259.
Audi, down 4.9 percent to 7,209.
BMW, up 2.1 percent to 15,047.
Buick , down 33 percent to 9,455.
Cadillac, down 8.8 percent to 11,339.
Chevrolet, down 40.7 percent to 102,538.
Chrysler, down 61 percent to 9,046.
Dodge, down 43 percent to 35,864.
Ford, down 4.1 percent to 98,516.
GMC , down 53 percent to 18,359.
Hummer, down 81.5 percent to 426.
Hyundai, up 27 percent to 31,511.
Infiniti, down 15 percent to 6,610.
Jeep, down 19 percent to 17,287.
Kia, up 24.4 percent to 21,623.
Lexus, up 7.3 percent to 17,939.
Lincoln, down 21 percent to 5,980.
Honda, down 22.5 percent to 69,970.
Mazda , down 12 percent to 14,234.
Mercury, down 16 percent to 5,443.
Mercedes-Benz, down 9.6 percent to 16,985.
Mini, up 9.7 percent to 4,128.
Mitsubishi , down 36.1 percent to 4,712.
Nissan, down 5.8 percent to 48,783.
Pontiac, down 52.5 percent to 11,079.
Porsche , up 8 percent to 1,581.
Saab , down 72.6 percent to 484.
Saturn, down 83.8 percent to 2,993.
Smart, down 54 percent to 814.
Subaru , up 0.7 percent to 14,593.
Suzuki , down 54 percent to 1,861.
Toyota , down 19.1 percent to 108,076.
Volkswagen, up 1.5 percent to 17,358.
Volvo, up 16.3 percent to 4,716.
