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Automotive Consumer
AUTOS: Automakers Score Strong Month
August sales in the U.S. show solid gains, led by Honda, Toyota, VW and the Detroit 3, with steady sales forecast for the year.
The Acura TL helped Honda's premium division score a 73 percent gain for August over last year's earthquake-damaged August sales. (Photo: Acura)
Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., the Volkswagen brand and the Detroit 3 posted solid sales gains for August, signaling the auto industry's recovery remains on track despite sluggish U.S. economic growth and widespread consumer uncertainty.
The VW brand led the way with a 63 percent jump, its 12th straight month of increases of at least 25 percent.
Honda Motor Co. reported August U.S. sales of 131,321 units, a gain of 60 percent from 2011, when it suffered from quake-related inventory shortages. Volume at the Honda brand jumped 58 percent to 115,675 units; Acura deliveries climbed 73 percent to 15,646 units.
Toyota also continued its recovery from an earthquake-hampered 2011 with a 46 percent rise. Toyota division sales rose 45 percent and Lexus deliveries climbed 34 percent. At Scion, sales advanced 112 percent last month.
"The auto industry continued to outperform the general economy in August," Bill Fay, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
Advances at General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group ranged from 10 percent to 14 percent.
Chrysler and GM on Tuesday forecast the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for August will reach 14.6 million units, the highest since April 2008 and well above most analysts' estimates.
Chrysler's SAAR forecast includes medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Chrysler sales chief Reid Bigland attributed the company's performance in part to an "incredibly resilient" climate for auto sales.
August sales at the VW brand surged to 41,011 as the automaker continued to benefit from redesigned models in key segments, notably small and mid-sized sedans.
Toyota's 46 percent increase followed advances of 60 percent in June and 87 percent in May.
Chrysler, helped by a 21 percent gain in car deliveries and an 18 percent increase in Ram brand volume, produced a 14 percent increase.
Ford Motor reported a 13 percent increase in sales last month, with retail volume up 19 percent over August 2011. Sales rose 13 percent at the Ford division and 2 percent at Lincoln. The company said it also plans to boost fourth-quarter North American output by 7 percent – or 50,000 vehicles – over 2011 levels to 725,000.
GM, aided by Olympics advertising and a Chevrolet promotion, said its sales rose 10 percent. GM's retail sales rose 11 percent while fleet deliveries climbed 6 percent.
Nissan Motor Co. said its U.S. sales for August totaled 98,515, up 8 percent from a year ago, while Subaru climbed 36 percent. Hyundai Motor Co. said it set an all-time August sales record of 61,099 units for the Hyundai brand, an increase of four percent.
At Jaguar Land Rover, sales jumped 31 percent last month, helped by new models such as the Range Rover Evoque.
"Clearly, August was a strong auto shopping month in the United States and for Jaguar Land Rover," Andy Goss, head of Jaguar Land Rover North America, said in a statement.
Honda and Toyota are expected to be among the industry's biggest gainers as they continue to recover from inventory shortages following the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.
Civic sales rose 106 percent with 24,897 units sold last month, Honda said.
"Honda is finishing the summer on a high note," John Mendel, American Honda's executive vice president of sales, said in a statement.
August marked Chrysler's 29th consecutive monthly increase in U.S. sales, though the gains have slowed over the past two months from their torrid pace early this year. The automaker continues to benefit from new or refreshed models, notably a stronger passenger-car lineup, as well as generous incentives, fleet shipments and easing credit terms.
Chrysler said volume rose 25 percent at the Chrysler brand, 34 percent at Fiat, 13 percent at Dodge and 5 percent at Jeep. Sales of the all-new Dodge Dart compact sedan totaled 3,045 units, the automaker said.
The SAAR for August was forecast to accelerate to 14.2 million from 14.1 million in July and 12.5 million a year earlier, according to Bloomberg's poll of analysts.
Pent-up demand, consumer discounts, new models, fleet deliveries, more favorable credit and low financing rates are aiding light-vehicle sales. In some cases, automakers are also offering aggressive incentive programs that reward dealers for selling more cars and light trucks.
This story originally appeared at AutoNews.com.
The VW brand led the way with a 63 percent jump, its 12th straight month of increases of at least 25 percent.
Honda Motor Co. reported August U.S. sales of 131,321 units, a gain of 60 percent from 2011, when it suffered from quake-related inventory shortages. Volume at the Honda brand jumped 58 percent to 115,675 units; Acura deliveries climbed 73 percent to 15,646 units.
Toyota also continued its recovery from an earthquake-hampered 2011 with a 46 percent rise. Toyota division sales rose 45 percent and Lexus deliveries climbed 34 percent. At Scion, sales advanced 112 percent last month.
"The auto industry continued to outperform the general economy in August," Bill Fay, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
Advances at General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group ranged from 10 percent to 14 percent.
Chrysler and GM on Tuesday forecast the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for August will reach 14.6 million units, the highest since April 2008 and well above most analysts' estimates.
Chrysler's SAAR forecast includes medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Chrysler sales chief Reid Bigland attributed the company's performance in part to an "incredibly resilient" climate for auto sales.
August sales at the VW brand surged to 41,011 as the automaker continued to benefit from redesigned models in key segments, notably small and mid-sized sedans.
Toyota's 46 percent increase followed advances of 60 percent in June and 87 percent in May.
Chrysler, helped by a 21 percent gain in car deliveries and an 18 percent increase in Ram brand volume, produced a 14 percent increase.
Ford Motor reported a 13 percent increase in sales last month, with retail volume up 19 percent over August 2011. Sales rose 13 percent at the Ford division and 2 percent at Lincoln. The company said it also plans to boost fourth-quarter North American output by 7 percent – or 50,000 vehicles – over 2011 levels to 725,000.
GM, aided by Olympics advertising and a Chevrolet promotion, said its sales rose 10 percent. GM's retail sales rose 11 percent while fleet deliveries climbed 6 percent.
Nissan Motor Co. said its U.S. sales for August totaled 98,515, up 8 percent from a year ago, while Subaru climbed 36 percent. Hyundai Motor Co. said it set an all-time August sales record of 61,099 units for the Hyundai brand, an increase of four percent.
At Jaguar Land Rover, sales jumped 31 percent last month, helped by new models such as the Range Rover Evoque.
"Clearly, August was a strong auto shopping month in the United States and for Jaguar Land Rover," Andy Goss, head of Jaguar Land Rover North America, said in a statement.
Honda and Toyota are expected to be among the industry's biggest gainers as they continue to recover from inventory shortages following the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.
Civic sales rose 106 percent with 24,897 units sold last month, Honda said.
"Honda is finishing the summer on a high note," John Mendel, American Honda's executive vice president of sales, said in a statement.
August marked Chrysler's 29th consecutive monthly increase in U.S. sales, though the gains have slowed over the past two months from their torrid pace early this year. The automaker continues to benefit from new or refreshed models, notably a stronger passenger-car lineup, as well as generous incentives, fleet shipments and easing credit terms.
Chrysler said volume rose 25 percent at the Chrysler brand, 34 percent at Fiat, 13 percent at Dodge and 5 percent at Jeep. Sales of the all-new Dodge Dart compact sedan totaled 3,045 units, the automaker said.
The SAAR for August was forecast to accelerate to 14.2 million from 14.1 million in July and 12.5 million a year earlier, according to Bloomberg's poll of analysts.
Pent-up demand, consumer discounts, new models, fleet deliveries, more favorable credit and low financing rates are aiding light-vehicle sales. In some cases, automakers are also offering aggressive incentive programs that reward dealers for selling more cars and light trucks.
This story originally appeared at AutoNews.com.
The Lyonheart K
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