July Auto Sales

U.S. auto sales appear to be improving substantially in July. Overall auto sales for July were down only 12% percent, with June down 28% and May down 39%. So, it appears that the sales trend is improving substantially.

It appears that the U.S. based automakers and some foreign manufacturers are having a rebound in sales....helped by the Cash For Clunkers program. Meanwhile sales of luxury cars are still in the dumps. ales were the best they have been since the summer of 2008....with a annual run rate of over 10 million cars.

Ford is the sales winner with a 2% increase in sales over last year. GM sales were down 19%, meanwhile Chrysler sales were down only 9.4%. An interesting fact is that GM and Chrysler sales were not impacted by the bankruptcies as much as anticipated.

• Saab down 72%

• Porsche down 51%

• Mitsubishi down 50%

• Jaguar down 45%

• BMW down 32%

• Nissan down 25%
  

• Mercedes down 22%
  

• Mazda down 15%

• General Motors down 19%

• Honda down 17%

• Toyota down 11%

• Chrysler down 9%
  

• Volkswagen down 3%

• Ford up 2%

• Kia up 5%

• Hyundai up 12%
  

• Volvo up 26%

• Subaru up 34%

Ford seems to be the beneficiary of increased sales lately. It appears that the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies have sent a number of customers over to Ford. The following Ford models had material increases in sales Focus up 44%, Escape up 94%, and the Fusion was up 66%.

Other notable increases were posted by the Toyota Prius up 30%, Toyota RAV4 up 33%, Hyundai Elantra up 30% and the Volkswagon Jetta up 31%.

July sales were up at a fairly decent run rate of 11 million cars annually. So, it appears that consumers had more faith in the future to spend money on high ticket items.

SUMMARY:

This month the Cash For Clunkers program had a substantial impact on auto showroom traffic and sales. Unfortunately, the government implemented a half way program. Increasing sales for the automobile manufacturers would do more than all the government loans available.

An interesting anomaly is that sales of U.S. built cars both by domestic and foreign manufacturers appears to be increasing. Meanwhile imported luxury cars continue with the steep declines over last year.

Auto Pacific Announces Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

AutoPacific announced its 13th Annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA). The top ranked auto manufacturer for the second year in a row is Cadillac. Cadillac was ranked highest among 25,000 new car owners for 2009. This proves that General Motors is building good cars...with satisfied owners. Much of the public is till under the assumption that American cars are not made as well as the Japanese vehicles. It is simply not true anymore!

This has been a turbulent year for GM with sales down substantialy, and the auto industry in such turmoil. This year has been one of the most dismal sales years for the automobile business in recent history.

The VSA award is coveted among auto manufacturers since earning this award will result in sales in the showroom. Also, friends will ask their friends and co-workers typically ask if they like their new car....the real test is if they would buy this car again.
The manufacturer that has increased their satisfaction with their vehicles the most for 2009 is Hyundai! They have come a long way since 1986 when they started selling cars here in the U.S. They moved up eleven spots in the Overall brand satisfaction ratings earning 2009 Rising Star Award. Outlined below are the passenger cars...if anyone is interested in the light truck category go to Auto Pacific.

• Premium Luxury Car - Lexus LS


• Aspirational Luxury Car - Hyundai Genesis


• Luxury Large Car - Lincoln Town Car


• Luxury Mid Size Car - Lexus ES


• Premium Mid Size Car - Hyundai Sonata


• Mid Size Car - Ford Fusion


• Image Compact Car - Toyota Prius


• Compact Car - Mitsubishi Lancer


• Economy Car - Honda Fit


• Sports Car - Porsche 911

Summary:

The VSA is a factor that everyone buying a new car should consider. If a car earns the top honor in the Auto Pacific VSA, then it should be put on your shopping list and worth a test drive. There are still a number of other factors to consider such as the styling, drive ability, price, deal, rebates etc.

Hybrid Car Sales Tank

As I have mentioned before car sales have taken a nose dive off the deep end lately. Americans have cut back on buying vehicles of all types as the economy continues to slow down. I read an interesting article in the LA times by Ken Bensinger which is the basis for this post. Unfortunately for the automakers, due to the low price of gasoline hybrid auto sales have taken a steeper decline than regular automobiles.

Last summer when gas prices were at there peak $4, hybrid sales were hot! Now consumers refuse to pay a premium for a fuel efficient vehicle now that the average price of gas has dropped to $2. The bottom line is that it hybrids are not cost effective presently with the low price of gas. A hybrid can cost up to $9000 more than the same non hybrid vehicle, $9000 will pay for a lot of gasoline. The premium over a non hybrid vehicle can take up to ten years or more to pay for the difference in the additional fuel economy that a hybrid generates.

The average days to sell a Toyota Prius hybrid has gone from 1.6 days in July 2008 to 76.6 days in March 2009. The Camry hybrid has gone from 4.6 days to 156.2 days during the same period.

President Obama is calling on the automakers to build the cars of tomorrow, but the present business case is costing the auto companies money. Currently the auto companies complain that they loose money on every hybrid that they produce. Congress is pushing the auto manufacturers to improve mileage as a key to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil and limiting the global warming gases that autos emit.
Manufacturers from across the world are increasing their hybrid models. Here are the latest updates. Honda plans to introduce the new Insight hybrid in the next few weeks after discontinuing the Honda Civic hybrid in 2008. Hyundai and Audi plan to deliver their first hybrids sometime in 2010. Toyota has the new Prius coming in the next few months along with a new Lexus hybrid.

Since the big three U.S. automakers have testified before congress, the biggest push will be coming from the American manufacturers. Ford plans to follow its high mileage Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids (see Feb. 6th post Can Detroit Build Hybrids?) with a battery powered van in 2010 and a family of hybrids in 2012. Chrysler has committed to eight new hybrids or electric cars by 2015. Meanwhile, GM indicates that 26 of the 33 cars they sell in 2015 will be some type of hybrids, including the Chevrolet Volt, a plug in hybrid due out next year. I have a future post coming on the Chevrolet Volt, which is a game changer for GM and the auto industry.