September sales mostly return to dismal lows; some luxury and Korean standouts
10/01/2009, 1:45 PM
By Andrew Ganz
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.
10/01, 1:57 PM
posted by:
VDubFSI
Who didn’t see this coming?
10/01, 2:08 PM
posted by:
Smegley Wanxalot
VDub, obamatards didnt see it coming.
10/01, 2:17 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
They could have hired a blind guy to throw darts and come up with more consistent results than this.
10/01, 2:30 PM
posted by:
NRG
And this is a surprise somehow????????
10/01, 2:32 PM
posted by:
NavinRJohnson
I don’t think we’ll really know the results of C4C until Oct/Nov sales are reported. Dealers were really low on inventory in September. I’ve been looking at new cars, and still a month later there are some models where there is 1-2 in a city of 1Mil+.
10/01, 2:39 PM
posted by:
Smegley Wanxalot
People really seem enamoured with the Government Motors offerings. [/sarcasm]
That BS 60 day test drive gimmick kept their drop to a mere 40% which will be worse that the industry average. Then again, it … uhhhh …. has nothing to do with the fact that no one wants the gov’t crap, right lefties?
10/01, 2:41 PM
posted by:
chuckles
Nice, Ford only down 2.1% and market-share up 2% across the board. Look out, they gain more traction every month. Dang, I keep kicking myself, should have bought stock when it was $1.16! Well, at least I got in at $5.20 I think I’ll do ok, they are turned around and will be in the black on profits mid-year. Drove my first eco boost today, what an engine!
10/01, 2:46 PM
posted by:
CADDY-V
By the numbers I see so far It looks like GM and their core brands out sold everyone else.
So there is a chance those four brands can keep them at number 2 and mabye move them back up to number 1 in the world.
10/01, 2:53 PM
posted by:
reedfast
LeftLaneNews,
Could you tell us a little bit more about VW, Audi, and Porsche?
I would like to see how German companies are doing, besides Merc and BMW.
10/01, 2:57 PM
posted by:
bcjohnso99
Marketshare is the real measure, not YoY or MoM sales.
GM sales are compared to Sept 2008 when they had a massive firesale.
I heard elsewhere that market share is stable or maybe even up.
10/01, 3:04 PM
posted by:
gehrhardt
Canadian media outlets are reporting that Ford of Canada’s sales increased by 24% compared to Sept 2008. Apparently Taurus sales are up by 201%.
10/01, 3:07 PM
posted by:
KarLoveBoy88
Oh the dumbasses at LLN… Do you really get paid to write crap news like this? I would think this was a no brainer. My grandma even know this would happen after the government cheated everyone in the cash for clunkers incentive. If anything, the auto makers should have expected it. What will be shocking is if any auto maker continued to show strong sales through the rest of the year.
10/01, 3:31 PM
posted by:
MHW
GM’s numbers are clearly not good, but if you look at the full picture there not as bad as they first appear. You have to consider the fact that GM was running Employee Pricing for Everyone at this point last year resulting in artificially high numbers for Sept 08. That said with the elimination of 4 brands GM will clearly be looking at negative numbers for some time to come. One bright spot however is that their new product sells are very strong.
10/01, 4:06 PM
posted by:
gta89mike
GM Core Brands 141,691
Toyota 126,015
Ford 109,939
Honda 77,229
Chrysler 62,197
Nissan 55,393
Domestic Big 3 313,827
Japanese Big 3 258,637
The trend continues. Not counting GM’s dead brands, GM outsells everyone and Americans buy 55,190 more Domestic Big 3 cars than Japanese Big 3. Looks like domestics DO build cars Americans want.
10/01, 4:09 PM
posted by:
DenverGuy217
Seeing Acura’s name on the top of this alphabetical list made me chuckle. SO appropriate
The ugly
Acura,
Mercury’s biggest seller is – wait for it- the Grand Marquis. Gee what’s wrong with this picture. Scary
I’m surprised that many of the numbers weren’t even lower. We’ve been to numerous dealers to look at SRXs, Equinoxs and the Lacross and came across just two of these vehicles. Both fresh of the transporter and sold.
10/01, 4:25 PM
posted by:
CADDY-V
@ DenverGuy217-
The SRX is a very hot seller.
At the dealership my friend works at they sold everyone they have got so far, and they did it the day of or the next day the SRX got on the lot.
They can’t get enough of them.They so up get checked, put on the lot and then gone.
10/01, 4:27 PM
posted by:
leftwingagenda
government motors…hurrr hurr hurrrr…
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ford-sept-sales-drop-not-as-bad-as-feared-2009-10-01
an alternative article on the same general theme, but with a different perspective and more of a financial focus…that is, if you’re not too busy beating dead horse jokes to read it
10/01, 4:45 PM
posted by:
Bosley
Leftwing, thanks for the link. Interesting, it makes an important distinction between fleet sales and personal sales. Historically some makers sold more fleet vehicles and other more personal ones. If fleet vehicles are selling better, this may prove to be a false signal as ‘regular people’ are still not buying much at all……
10/01, 6:45 PM
posted by:
A4
God damn G8, everyone knows Pontiac is dead in the water and they’re still hanging on for dear life. 1000+ sales for a dead model from a dead brand is damn good.
…and Crossfire, what the ****?
10/01, 8:18 PM
posted by:
chevydealer09
OPEN LETTER to MARK LANEVE, aka the biggest idiot at GM besides Fritz…
“tougher month then anticipated”…….you are so stupid, Mark. The reason your sales are going down dramatically, as are Chryslers, is the simple reason you have cut your dealer network…..all of your terminated dealers have not been able to order product since april, and are now out of units. Your loss of sales are a direct result of you not having your full dealer stable putting out your product. THIS, September, was the first month that you would have felt this reaction to your action. Mark my words, it’s only going to get worse. People won’t drive 45mins to an hr to buy your product, or get service work done. YOU better recognize, Son.
10/01, 10:42 PM
posted by:
lemonade
interesting numbers gta90mike. Thanks for the breakdown.
10/01, 10:53 PM
posted by:
lemonade
@chevydealer09:
By my guess, C4C pulled ahead at least 90 days worth of sales so August is a compression of what you would have seen in Sep, Oct & Nov. On the slightly upside, this gives the General 90 days to stock your showroom full at which point sales will normalize (I hope). Hang in there my friend.
10/01, 11:18 PM
posted by:
JakeK66
A4, I still see some new Crossfire Roadsters at the dealer by my house… Still asking too much for them, given they are 2+ years old. I did look at a coupe last year at this time and, if I didn’t hate black, it was a steal at $20,000 – for a NEW Mercedes coupe. It’s still probably in my top 5 designs ever, but only as a coupe. Really, it’s going to be a cult classic in 10-15 years, I’d buy one used for $10-15k and just sit on it if I had the cash.
Look at the Koreans!!! WTF!
Denver, I applaud you going out and looking at those three models. I drove a Equinox, though, and came away feeling like it was a GM product – not good – but it looks nice. The Lacrosse I was in was near-base save the convience package and was freakin’ amazing. The best looking interior on a car sub-$50k today – the Chinese really do know how to design a interior! It’s outside was also well done and nothing about it made me think cheap, sort of the way I felt with the original Aurora. It’s a special car.
10/01, 11:36 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Wow, the Aurora. Talk about a stereotypical example of what lead GM to the brink of oblivion. Just how much do you think was invested in that gem to be one and done?
10/02, 9:25 AM
posted by:
Smegley Wanxalot
Jake, I’ve seen a couple LaCrosses around, both gray. It seemed less impressive in person on the exterior. Almost common looking, nothing special. Cant speak for the interior though – it does look great in pics.
10/02, 10:31 AM
posted by:
RaineMan
Hey! There are still plenty of Silverados and Tahoes on GM’s lots to go around. They still can’t give those gas-guzzling behemoths away.
10/02, 1:03 PM
posted by:
DenverGuy217
Jake – I agree with you on the LaCrosse. The only one I have seen so far was around $32k and in white. Never a color I like on a vehicle. The car looked great. It had substance and class. I can easily see it up against the Lexus ES. Loved the interior.
10/02, 1:08 PM
posted by:
reedfast
wow, anybody notice porsche is up! how did that happen
10/02, 1:34 PM
posted by:
ricky_b
Looks like Ford is figuring out how the buck the trend but GM and Chrysler are looking shaky. Buick was down 33%, even with the introduction of the new LaCrosse, Chevy down 40% even with the success of the Camaro, and an overall GM drop of 45%. Chrysler was no better with the brand down 62% and the company overall down 42%. Scary.
Not that they have anything I’m currently interested in, but the Koreans seem to be the ones out to take over. Hyundai is now the 7th largest brand in the US. followed by Kia as 8th.
10/02, 9:02 PM
posted by:
chevymanc6
Good point, gta89mike. But you gotta admit the fact that that American car sales are not that much higher than the foreign cars. So apparently there are still a lot of Americans that are not smart enough to make the right choice and buy an American car. But I’m happy to see GM sales starting to improve.
10/04, 4:57 PM
posted by:
fishsticks
Market share changes
GM 2009 Share: 20.8 from 2008: 29.1
Ford 2009 Share: 14.7 from 2008: 12.1
Toyota 2009 Share: 16.9 from 2008: 15
Chrysler 2009 Share: 8.3 from 2008: 11.1
More here: http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html#autosalesD
See the tabel labeled “Sales and Share of Total Market by Manufacturer”
The more interesting numbers will be for October which will have the C4C washed out and the inventories should be replenished.
@MHW
As for comparing GM’s 2008 and 2009 numbers both are “gimmick-ed”. Last year was employee pricing and this year its the “60 Money Back” guarantee. This, unfortunately, does not look good for GM. I hope their numbers start to recover.
In two years expect Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, maybe Saab, and even Jaguar to be gone from the US market unless sales really start to rebound.
As I have discussed previously (and many others too) – C4C was a big waste of taxpayer money. It only temporarily distorted the market and we are now back on or even below trend now. Just remember, money from the government had to be taken from someone else. Programs like this will never “jump start” the economy.