US Vehicle Sales

[conwelpic]

where's the August listing?  What's up with September as a lot of vehicles are missing, July's listing was two pages, now September is less than one 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

where's the August listing?  What's up with September as a lot of vehicles are missing, July's listing was two pages, now September is less than one 

Sorry, had posted cars only, not trucks. Corrected now.

[airbalancer]

where's the August listing?  What's up with September as a lot of vehicles are missing, July's listing was two pages, now September is less than one 

You get something for nothing and you  

[conwelpic]

Sorry, had posted cars only, not trucks. Corrected now.
[/quote]

thank you very much, I appreciate it.

Its so strange on this pdf listings (both US and Canada) on the classification between a car and a truck.  For example my car, the KIA Rondo is a truck for purposes of the reports, but its just a 5 door wagon.  Any idea what criteria they use to determine between a car and a truck?

Do you have the August list? (sorry airbalancer, but I have to ask - how else to you find out?)

[Leviathan]

Chevrolet prices showing new signs of strength for American brand

<snip>
The average actual transaction price of Chevrolet products in four key segments (segments in which Chevrolet, Ford, Honda and Toyota all have entries) have been higher than that of three mainstream competitors, based on transaction data from Edmunds.com for the period September 9 – October 7.
<snip>

[Patate]

Chevrolet prices showing new signs of strength for American brand

<snip>
The average actual transaction price of Chevrolet products in four key segments (segments in which Chevrolet, Ford, Honda and Toyota all have entries) have been higher than that of three mainstream competitors, based on transaction data from Edmunds.com for the period September 9 – October 7.
<snip>

AHH you beat me to it.  I came here to post this.

[rrocket]

The average actual transaction price of Chevrolet products in four key segments (segments in which Chevrolet, Ford, Honda and Toyota all have entries) have been higher than that of three mainstream competitors, based on transaction data from Edmunds.com for the period September 9 – October 7.

So their cars cost more.  Does that mean they are profitable though or does this mean they have to ask more for their product just to break even?

[sirAQUAMAN64]

December and YTD 2009...

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Jan '10...

[Shnak]

Sorento      7,398
Santa Fe    7,204
Equinox      9,513
RAV 4         7,894


I'm kinda surprised to see the Sorento beating the Santa Fe considering all the incentives Hyundai has on their hoods these days. I suppose new vs old comes into play, but there have been at least 3 or 4 people here on this forum buying Santa Fe's in recent weeks for great deals, and not one Sorento that I recall.

Threw in the Equinox and RAV4 numbers to compare...

EDIT: The Sorento numbers are also impressive considering Kia is still considered bottom of the barrel in the states... maybe that sentiment is finally changing?

[Erik]

Couple of observations....

The Genesis Coupe is still stinking out the joint in sales. The Chevyis selling almost 4 times as many Camaros as the combined Genesis sedan and coupe sales. Although Hyundai does not release numbers of coupe vs Sedan sales, I keep checking the Hyundai fanboy forums and they still seem to feel that the sedan is making up by far the majority of sales. Genesis coupe = epic fail?

Kudos to Chevy again! The Malibu is selling at a 200K per year clip right now. No, not Camry numbers or close to, but a good showing by  good car.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Sales are climbing slowly, but transaction prices surge
Jesse Snyder
Automotive News -- March 8, 2010 - 12:01 am ET

U.S. sales are still sputtering along at about two-thirds of pre-recession levels. And unemployment is pain-fully high at about 10 percent.

So that means customers are paying less for vehicles, right? Wrong.

The average transaction price is up about $1,800 from a year ago, taking the sting out of a stubbornly slow new-vehicle sales recovery for automakers and dealers.

But analysts say the benefit to automakers of higher prices could be undermined if a fresh incentive war breaks out. Toyota, troubled by its recall crises, launched 0 percent financing last week.

U.S. dealers sold 780,463 light vehicles last month. That's up a solid 13 percent from February 2009, the worst month of the slump.

Two trends, one good and one bad, account for the higher transaction prices.

First, even though many customers are moving to smaller vehicles, they still want goodies such as leather seats. But transaction prices also are up because many financially stressed and unemployed customers are on the sidelines.

Cash for clunkers "greatly reduced inventory levels. Content is up. The model mix is better, and what credit is available is for people with higher credit scores and income," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. "It is a healthier environment than last year."

The transaction price is the amount negotiated between customers and dealers who report to the Power Information Network. It does not reflect incentives, which have dropped significantly in the past year. So transaction prices are rising even though customers are receiving fewer spiffs.

The average transaction price of $30,002 in January was $1,788, or 6 percent, higher than a year earlier, according to the Power Information Network.

Transaction prices rose even more for the Detroit 3, which desperately need higher revenues and profits. Detroit's average jumped $2,829, or 11 percent, to $29,425 in January, compared with 5 percent for Asian brands and 3 percent for European brands, Schuster said.

Driven by six new models and company efforts to cut incentives, February transaction prices soared more than $4,000 a vehicle at General Motors Co., said Susan Docherty, head of marketing.

Ford Motor Co. sales boss Ken Czubay said Ford has commanded substantially higher transaction prices since September after cash for clunkers slashed inventories and cleared out most 2009 models.

"Our prices are driven up by customers ordering more equipment, higher trim levels, and we have a more favorable model mix," he said.

Ford had to boost feature installation rates and add higher trim levels to its 2010 production schedule to adjust to unanticipated demand, Czubay previously has said.

Customers buying smaller vehicles during the recession aren't sacrificing convenience and technology features, said George Pipas, Ford's chief sales analyst.

"Even those coming out of an Eddie Bauer Explorer still want leather seats," he said.

Another reason margins are higher is automaker discipline in cutting incentives, Schuster said.

But early signs of an incentive war appeared last week, threatening the benefit of higher transaction prices.

Rivals are directly seeking the customers of recall-ravaged Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. as its February sales fell 9 percent. And Ford Motor outsold GM in February for the first time since 1998.

Toyota responded last week by launching 60-month 0 percent loans. GM matched that immediately.

But per-vehicle costs for 60-month 0 percent incentives are far greater than existing incentive spending, Barclays Capital analysts Brian Johnson and Emmanuel Rosner said in a report to investors Thursday, March 4.

Offering a 60-month 0 percent loan on a typical car would cost a manufacturer $4,657, Barclays calculates, compared with incentives of $3,346 for GM and $1,800 for Toyota last month.

Pumped-up prices
Average transaction price, U.S. vehicles
Jan. 2010 $30,002
Jan. 2009 $28,214
Jan. 2008 $28,522
Jan. 2007 $28,543
Source: Power Information Network 

February '10...

[Erik]

Toyota down about 10%. Not too terrible all things considered, but made worse by the fact that everyone else was up.

[tpl]

I am sure some "environmental activists" will say it is a good thing.  That the poor have to walk, cycle and use transit means that there will be fewer eveil cars polluting the world.

I think that it is a bad thing. Those poor people will be driving even older and more polluting vehicles than before... they sure won't be walking.

[articsteve]

MARCH U.S. AUTO SALES
Ford, Toyota soar as incentives fuel 24% industry gain

Automotive News -- April 1, 2010 - 10:47 am ET
UPDATED: 4/1/10 4:45 p.m. ET
 
DETROIT -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. posted big U.S. sales gains in March as industrywide incentives and improving consumer confidence brought buyers back to showrooms.

General Motors Co. deliveries rose 21 percent, enough to overtake Ford, which grabbed the top U.S. spot in February for the first time since 1998. Ford sales jumped 40 percent, while Toyota posted a 41 percent increase.

Total U.S. sales advanced 24 percent from the depressed levels of March 2009, when automakers were battling the weakest demand in almost three decades. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 11.7 million was lower than analysts' forecasts but still marked the year's strongest and the second healthiest since August, when the U.S. cash-for-clunkers campaign boosted sales.

“There's still a question of how strong is the underlying retail demand,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Edmunds.com. “As the month wore on, the sales pace dropped and at the end of the month it was pretty weak. Sales were driven by deals, but these deals only go so far.”

Chrysler Group fell 8 percent after posting its first monthly gain in more than two years in February. Chrysler, No. 5 in U.S. sales through February, last month was outsold for the second time this year by Nissan North America, which soared 43 percent.

The Hyundai brand's 15 percent increase was about half of what analysts had forecast.

American Honda was up 22 percent, in line with predictions. Subaru, the only automaker to post U.S. sales increases in each of the past two years, rose 46 percent.

While last month's SAAR was below the 12 million average forecast of eight analysts compiled by Bloomberg, it was still the fifth straight gain from a year earlier. The March 2009 pace was 9.3 million, according to Automotive News data.

Through March, U.S. sales are up 15 percent from a year earlier.

Incentive discrepancy

For the first time on record, GM's per-unit incentives were below the industry average, said Susan Docherty, vice president of U.S. marketing. GM spiffs totaled $2,800 per vehicle, down nearly $2,000 from March 2009, she said. The industry averaged $2,910.

GM incentives ranked fourth highest, behind Ford Motor, Chrysler and “an import competitor,” she said.

GM, Ford and other automakers use J.D. Power and Associates data to measure incentives, Docherty said.

But Edmunds.com's incentive measure puts GM first among all automakers with $3,519 spent per vehicle last month. That compares with an industry average of $2,742, the consumer auto site says.

Both Edmunds.com and J.D. Power measure customer cash, interest and lease incentives, along with cash to dealers for specific vehicles. But J.D. Power also includes cash that automakers give dealers for meeting sales volume objectives.

Still, that shouldn't make J.D. Power's per-vehicle numbers lower for GM, said Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell.

“We've been doing the same thing for years, and it's weird that we're coming to a point where all of the sudden we're showing a huge discrepancy,” she said.

GM retained Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands as part of its government-backed restructuring, and has shed or is shedding Saab, Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac, whose combined sales plummeted 88 percent in March.

GM released results for the four remaining lines, which each posted gains of more than 40 percent, almost an hour before issuing its complete tally.

“They haven't increased consideration for the remaining brands,” said Jim Hall, principal of the consulting firm 2953 Analytics Inc. in suburban Detroit. “Killing brands does not increase the consideration for the brands you're continuing. Obviously, they have to do that.”

Contraction

Industry sales that failed to match analysts' estimates underscored the market's contraction in the recession. Annual U.S. deliveries averaged 16.8 million last decade through 2007. The 2008 total was 13.2 million, and 2009's tally of 10.4 million was the lowest in 27 years.

Automakers were buoyed in March by rising consumer confidence and spring weather after February blizzards in the Northeast. The Conference Board's confidence index rose to 52.5 from 46.4 a month earlier as gloom over job prospects began to lift.

On March 2, Toyota began offering incentives such as subsidized leases after the automaker recalled more than 8 million vehicles globally to fix defects linked to unintended acceleration and to adjust brakes.

Competitors responded with their own discounts while avoiding the spending levels the industry rang up in March 2009 as GM and Chrysler added incentives ahead of their bankruptcy filings. Incentives are down 14 percent from a year earlier, according to Edmunds.com.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

March sales spurt, then sputter
Buyers reacted to early-month deals, then ardor cooled
Jesse Snyder
Automotive News -- April 5, 2010 - 12:01 am ET
 
Incentives helped make the Toyota Camry the top-selling U.S. car in March. Toyota sold 36,251 Camrys, more than in January and February combined.

The first two weeks of March were great. Fueled by incentives, U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 24 percent for the month from a year earlier to 1,066,339 units.

But the pace faltered in the second half of March in part, analysts said, because the financing incentives offered didn't carry the same punch by then as cash on the hood might have.

Even with the softer second half, all automakers except Chrysler Group and Suzuki Motor Corp. gained. March's 11.7 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate was the best since December.

Led by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., manufacturers boosted incentives in March to levels approaching their all-time peak a year ago. But unlike then, when consumers spooked by the recession held on to their money, this time shoppers responded.

"The incentives are working," said George Magliano, head of North American forecasting for IHS Global Insight. "A year ago, they wouldn't have worked. Now the economy is stronger and supporting a return to the market."

There's also more pent-up demand, said analyst Jesse Toprak of the consulting firm TrueCar. "And one reason financing and leasing packages are working is that approval rates are up," so more consumers qualify for the offers, he said.

Toyota Motor Sales almost beat No. 1 General Motors Co. and outsold Ford Motor Co., February's surprise winner. And that was without many fleet sales, said Don Esmond, Toyota's senior vice president.

"We outretailed both Ford and GM by nearly 40,000 units," he said.

Toyota group sales jumped 41 percent in March, compared with a 9 percent decline in February, when Toyota's recall woes made headlines. Toyota's March financing and leasing push, which Edmunds.com calculated at a company-high $2,256 per vehicle, pushed its volume to 186,863, only 1,148 behind GM. Ford was No. 3 with 183,425.

Toyota's Esmond did not disclose retail volume, but Toyota has a smaller proportion of fleet sales than GM or Ford.


Ford: One-third fleets

Ford said fleet sales were 33 percent of its March volume. It expects that to ease to about 30 percent for the year.

"We shifted at least five points from the daily rental fleet business to the commercial business the past five years," said George Pipas, Ford's chief sales analyst. Rental fleet sales, which typically are less profitable than sales to corporate or government fleets, were only 19 percent of first-quarter volume, he said.

Ford and GM still spent more per vehicle than Toyota, but the gap is less than half what it was in March 2009, Edmunds.com said. And it said Toyota raised March incentives from February by $375, compared with increases of $16 at Ford and $10 at GM.

Meanwhile, Nissan North America again overtook Chrysler Group as No. 5 in the U.S. market. Nissan jumped 43 percent to 95,468, compared with Chrysler's 8 percent slide to 92,623.

It's the second month this year that Nissan has outsold Chrysler, but Chrysler still has a lead of almost 6,000 units for the first quarter. In 2008 Chrysler was No. 4, before American Honda Motor Co. overtook it in 2009 sales. Toyota passed what was then DaimlerChrysler to become No. 3 in 2006.

Last month American Honda gained 23 percent to 108,262. Hyundai-Kia sales rose 19 percent to 77,524. And Volkswagen Group of America sales climbed 39 percent.

Subaru, the only automaker to post gains in both 2008 and 2009, continued to grow. Its March U.S. sales jumped 46 percent to 23,785.

That keeps it ahead of Mazda; its sales rose 6 percent to 23,193. Subaru outsold Mazda for the first time in more than three decades in 2009 and has a lead of more than 1,500 units through the first three months of this year.


Incentives lose punch

Analysts say the current flurry of incentives, mostly financing and subsidized leases that take advantage of the current low cost of money, may be losing their punch faster than cash spiffs.

"Incentives were very effective early in the month but far less so by month's end," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com senior analyst.

IHS Global Insight's Magliano agreed: "We definitely lost steam as the month went along."

Even so, automakers say they'll stick with spiffs.

Bob Carter, Toyota brand sales chief, said the brand will extend its financing and lease incentives beyond the expiration today, April 5, and perhaps expand its free-maintenance offer, now given to returning customers, to new ones.

American Honda's mid-March incentives package runs until early May. Ford's U.S. sales boss Ken Czubay said Ford would hold incentives stable in April, even though Ford's long-term plan is to reduce incentives.

But easing incentives will be hard to do because market shares are in flux, analyst Magliano said. "This is really a very fluid market," he said. For an automaker looking to buy share, "there is a tremendous amount of opportunity out there."

March gladness
Results for the top 6 automakers, ranked by March sales
  Change
1. GM 21%
2. Toyota 41%
3. Ford 40%
4. Honda 23%
5. Nissan 43%
6. Chrysler –8%

March '10...

[articsteve]

Toyota sees dangers but won't dump spiffs
Mark Rechtin
Automotive News -- April 5, 2010 - 12:01 am ET

NEW YORK -- That 41 percent sales surge Toyota reported in March, in a market up just 24 percent, reflected an un-Toyota-like incentive push that -- for now, at least -- the company has no plans to halt.

Said Toyota Division boss Bob Carter. "Dealers needed a shot in the arm. I have to restore sales, and I have to do it now. I'm not going cold turkey in April."

But he said heavy incentives can inflict long-term damage on residual values, so the spiffs Toyota is offering now will end eventually. Said Carter: "Long-term, I have to rebuild the brand. It's bruised."

Toyota Motors Sales U.S.A.'s sales were down 9 percent in February after the unintended-acceleration crisis that erupted in late January. On March 1 the company introduced incentives that included maintenance at no additional cost, subsidized leases and 0 percent financing over five years. The program was scheduled to end today, April 5. Toyota is not expected to announce any changes formally until Tuesday, April 6.

So far the spiffs have worked wonders. Carter said dealers are reporting not just a return of Toyota loyalists but significant conquest sales as well.

"It does look like there was a solid percentage of conquest trade-ins for Toyota," said Jesse Toprak of consulting firm TrueCar Inc. "However, it's likely that the unusual incentives attracted non-Toyota loyalists at decent percentages, therefore the conquest numbers would be skewed in March."

Toprak expects conquests to decline somewhat, "unless they decide to further sweeten their incentives."

Carter and Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales COO, say the worst of Toyota's sales troubles are over.

According to TrueCar, Toyota spent nearly 50 percent more per car on incentives in March than in the same month last year. Still, Toyota's average of $2,318 in spiffs per unit was far below the Detroit 3 brands. TrueCar says Chrysler spent an average of $3,491 in incentives in March, General Motors Co. spent $3,351 and Ford Motor Co. spent $2,826.

Carter predicts the subvented-leasing push won't come back to bite Toyota dealers in the form of depressed residuals.

"A 3-year-old used car under 40,000 miles is our bread and butter, and we're building those cars right now," he said. "We'll be in a 15 million-unit industry [in 2013], but the used cars will have been made in a 10 million-unit industry, so people are going to be screaming for them."

Mike Sullivan, a multiline dealer with Toyota stores in Hollywood and Santa Monica, Calif., said March was one of his best months ever. Both stores reported near record sales of the Prius, a vehicle at the center of the recall frenzy.

"It feels like a big summer month," Sullivan said. "We are taking people out of their existing cars and lowering payments. They tend to know the deals and promotions. Pre-owned remains strong, and we are getting great trades. My little showroom in Santa Monica won't take much more."

[carcrazy]

Genesis (sedan) doesn't seem to be the hit many had anticipated and I assume the number (2145) includes both the sedan and the coupe, most of them being coupe.

Veracruz (607) is another apparently failed attempt to take on a luxury vehicle (RX350).
Most of the large mainstream SUVs are selling in thousands of units.

[initial_D]

March gladness
Results for the top 6 automakers, ranked by March sales
  Change

1. GM 21%
2. Toyota 41%
3. Ford 40%
4. Honda 23%
5. Nissan 43%
6. Chrysler –8%

Something does not look right there.

[Erik]

Genesis (sedan) doesn't seem to be the hit many had anticipated and I assume the number (2145) includes both the sedan and the coupe, most of them being coupe.

In the Hyundai fanboy forums, the thinking seems to be that the Sedan is outselling the coupe, not the other way around.