Nov02
OCTOBER 2009 AUTOMOTIVE SALES BY THE NUMBERS
Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere. Source: Automotive News Data Center Note: Other includes estimates for Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus *Includes Mini and Rolls-Royce **Includes Maybach, Mercedes-Benz and Smart ***Includes Jaguar and Land Rover (through May 31, 2008) and Volvo ****Includes Saab †Includes Honda Division and Acura ††Includes Hyundai and Kia †††Tata Motors includes Jaguar and Land Rover as of June 1, 2008 ‡Includes Nissan Division and Infiniti ‡‡Includes Toyota Division, Lexus and Scion ‡‡‡Includes VW, Audi and Bentley
General Motor Co.'s U.S. sales rose for the first time in 21 months in October following analysts' forecasts of the strongest month this year not aided by government incentives.
GM advanced 5 percent and Ford Motor Co. was up 3 percent. Among the biggest Japanese automakers, Nissan North America climbed 6 percent and Toyota Motor Sales gained less than 1 percent. Subaru, Daimler AG, and Porsche were all also up.
Chrysler Group, meanwhile, plunged 30 percent as it continued to struggle after its bankruptcy. Audi and Mazda also declined. Suzuki was down 50 percent, and BMW Group trailed year-earlier sales by 19 percent.
Some automakers' percentage changes are benefiting from comparisons to October 2008, when U.S. sales fell 32 percent. As the U.S. economy plunged further into turmoil, the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate that month dropped below 11 million for the first time since 1983.
Still, last month's adjusted rate was projected to reach 10.3 million units, according to an average of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. That would put the industry above the 9.9 million mark for the first time this year except for July and August, when demand was lifted by the cash-for-clunkers program.
“People aren't all of the sudden popping champagne bottle corks, but they are feeling … more stable in what's going on,” Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, told journalists last week.
Ford's report of a year-over-year sales gain, its third in the last four months, comes a day after the automaker posted a surprise $997 million net profit in the third quarter and its first operating profit in North America since the beginning of 2005.
Sales of the Ford Taurus sedan, freshly redesigned, more than doubled and deliveries to individual customers almost tripled from year-earlier levels. The Fusion climbed 24 percent, and the Lincoln MKZ sedan advanced 27 percent.
Czubay said last week that industry sales would improve gradually throughout the coming months. After the U.S. recession and global financial crisis sent sales rates plunging below 11 million units last October, industrywide sales stayed stuck at 27-year lows earlier this year.
The federal government's clunkers incentive this summer sent demand to rates of 11.1 million units in July and 13.7 million in August. Without the benefit of the clunker program, September's rate dropped to 9.5 million units.
Other automakers
Subaru gained 41 percent in October. Subaru's sales have now risen 13 percent from 2008 levels, the biggest increase among the few companies that have advanced this year.
Audi's sales slipped 1 percent from a year earlier, when the brand set a record for October sales. Its Q5 crossover, introduced in February, sold 1,238 units last month or 17 percent of the brand's total. Audi reported a 15-day supply of that model at the end of October.
General Motors Co.'s chief sales analyst, Mike DiGiovanni, said last week the automaker had a “good chance” of posting a year-over-year sales increase in October. GM's performance marks its first sales gain since January 2008.
Last month's gain comes in comparison to October 2008, when demand fell 45 percent, the most among the top six automakers.
Chrysler's 30 percent decline comes on the heels of a 35 percent drop the previous October.
Still ‘depression levels'
Despite their predicted improvements in October, U.S. sales still languish at “depression levels,” AutoNation Inc. CEO Mike Jackson said last week in reporting his dealership group's profit. He predicted sales would total just over 11 million in 2010.
“While much improved over 2009 sales level, it's still depression levels,” he said. “But we expect to welcome recession-level sales in 2011.”
U.S. sales had averaged a 10.2-million-unit rate through September. That's down from 13.2 million vehicles last year and 16.2 million in 2007.
SOURCE: [ Automotive News ]
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