Sales

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Is the S in the new Mercedes S class for Shanghai?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
The new Mercedes-Benz S class makes its world premier today in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for nearly half of all S-class sales from 2010-2012.... Read More »

 

Americans, especially young, continue to drive less, report says

5:36 pm U.S. ET | May 14, 2013
Americans, in a worrisome sign for automakers, continue to drive less, with more and more younger people choosing to forgo a driver's license altogether, a major new study released Tuesday found.... Read More »

 

Autoliv targets revenue gains of 5% on China, U.S. demand

May 14, 2013 10:19 CET
Swedish supplier Autoliv is targeting annual revenue growth of 5 percent or more in the next five years based on an increase in Chinese and U.S. car sales.... Read More »

 

VW brand sales rise 5.4% in April as China demand offsets Europe drop

May 14, 2013 14:41 CET
Volkswagen Group said sales of its core VW brand rose 5.4 percent in April, powered by gains in China which helped offset weaker global markets including the U.S. and Europe.... Read More »

 

U.S. used-vehicle sales drop 6% in first quarter

4:04 pm U.S. ET | May 14, 2013
Industry-wide used-vehicle sales dropped 6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same quarter last year, according to Edmunds.com's new Used Market Quarterly Report.... Read More »

 

Audi sales in China exceed BMW, Mercedes on demand for SUVs

May 14, 2013 11:04 CET
Audi saw the fastest sales growth among German premium marques in China last month after deliveries rose 13 percent to 38,710 vehicles in China and Hong Kong, the company said today. BMW, the world's largest premium automaker, reported an 11 percent gain in core-brand sales to 30,311 units, while Mercedes-Benz said brand sales increased 11 percent to 16,241 units.... Read More »

 

GM CFO: Cadillac won't chase 'volume at all costs'

5:45 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
General Motors CFO Dan Ammann says Cadillac will steer clear of what he sees as a "volume-at-all-costs mentality" among competitors battling for the luxury sales crown.... Read More »

 

BMW global sales rise 7% in April

May 13, 2013 13:43 CET
BMW Group said today that sales of its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands rose by 7 percent to 155,419 vehicles in April, an record high for the month.... Read More »

 

Hyundai-Kia boosts fleet sales, stops 2-month skid

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
A 67 percent increase in fleet sales helped Hyundai-Kia Automotive end a two-month streak of declining U.S. sales in April, making up for a 6 percent decline in retail volume. In contrast, overall fleet sales for the seven largest automakers rose just 3 percent.... Read More »

 

Ghosn's demand: Double Nissan's U.S. sales

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12, 2013
Meager U.S. growth was Carlos Ghosn's biggest disappointment last year, and Nissan's CEO has responded by giving his team a big order: Double the brand's sales by 2017.... Read More »

 

Ghosn sees more tough times in Europe; record global sales for Nissan

May 10, 2013 13:35 CET
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that while he expects Nissan's global retail sales to reach a record this year, he doesn't see any growth in Europe before 2016.... Read More »

 

Nissan Q4 profit jumps 46%

May 10, 2013 10:54 CET
Nissan today reported a 46.1 percent rise in its quarterly net profit to 110 billion yen ($1.11 billion).... Read More »

 

LUCA CIFERRI

Europe will end 18-month sales slump with positive April

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 10, 2013
Strong April UK car sales and a solid rebound in Germany last month will help western Europe end 18 consecutive months of year-on-year declines, analysts predict. Despite this, market watchers have stopped short of saying Europe is on the verge of an extended turnaround.... Read More »

 

China passenger-vehicle sales rise 13% in April

May 9, 2013 08:49 CET
China's passenger-vehicle sales rose 13 percent in April on rising demand for new models in the world's biggest vehicle market.... Read More »

 

CHARLES CHILD

Are car salespeople, journalists all that different?

4:49 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
A strange thing happened to me here at the Digital Dealer Conference. I've concluded I could be a car salesman.... Read More »

 

Ferrari will reduce supercar sales to maintain brand exclusivity

May 8, 2013 15:49 CET
Ferrari plans to reduce sales to fewer than 7,000 vehicles this year to maintain the exclusivity of the brand. Ferrari plans to boost profitability with high-end, customized version of its vehicles while holding back on their availability.... Read More »

 

Audi April sales up 7% on China, U.S.

May 7, 2013 13:42 CET
Audi sales rose 7 percent in April to 133,500 vehicles on strong demand in China and the United States, pushing four-month sales to 503,000. It is the first time that Audi has topped a half million deliveries in just four months, the automaker said Tuesday.... Read More »

 

UK has best April car sales since 2008

May 7, 2013 11:16 CET
UK new-car sales were nearly 15 percent higher in April than a year ago, according to the SMMT, which said 2013 sales would be stronger than it previously forecast.... Read More »

 

GM China April sales rise 15% as Toyota struggles

6:19 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
General Motors reported sales growth in China accelerated last month while Toyota's sales continued to lag. GM sales climbed 15 percent to 261,870 units in April, according to figures released today by the carmaker. Toyota reported sales fell 6.5 percent to 76,400 units, the ninth drop in 10 months.... Read More »

 

Mercedes brand sales rise 12% in April on Asia, Europe

May 6, 2013 13:17 CET
Daimler said vehicle sales of its Mercedes brand rose 11.7 percent last month, powered by double-digit gains in Asia and Europe.... Read More »

 

CARRYING THE LOAD

Surge in high-profit pickups, SUVs made April big for Detroit

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
April's auto sales rate was the lowest since October, but the parade of high-margin pickups and SUVs rolling off dealership lots gave the Detroit 3 double-digit increases for the month, hefty profits and a spike in market share.... Read More »

 

Car sales growth in Germany and Spain spurs optimism

May 3, 2013 17:56 CET
Car sales rose in Germany and Spain last month, adding to signs that Europe's austerity-driven auto slump could soon bottom out. Spanish car sales increased 11 percent while registrations in Germany advanced 4 percent.... Read More »

 

Tesla hikes guaranteed residual value on Model S

4:16 pm U.S. ET | May 3, 2013
Tesla increased the guaranteed residual value of its electric Model S sedan to 50 percent after its lease-to-own period of three years. The car's guaranteed residual value had been tied to that of the Mercedes-Benz S class, which, at 43 percent after 36 months, is relatively low compared with the overall luxury segment.... Read More »

 

Sales rebate helps to boost Spanish new-car sales

May 3, 2013 12:28 CET
Spanish car sales rose 11 percent in April, boosted by a calendar effect and a sales rebate program.... Read More »

 

German car market returns to growth

May 3, 2013 12:10 CET
Germany's new car market returned to modest growth in April as sales to private customers picked up and the month had one business day more than the year-earlier period.... Read More »