Chrysler, Hyundai lead industry to 8 percent advance
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November 01, 2011 01:00 AM

Chrysler, Hyundai lead industry to 8 percent advance

Sales rate is 2nd-strongest of year

David Phillips
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    Chrysler posted its 19th consecutive monthly increase in U.S. sales in October.

    DETROIT -- A streaking Chrysler Group and a record-setting Hyundai helped U.S. light vehicle sales rise 8 percent in October, keeping the industry's recovery on track amid economic uncertainties.

    Sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13.26 million units, just shy of the 2011 high set in February. Toyota Motor Sales and American Honda showed signs of recovery, posting their smallest declines since the March earthquake in Japan.

    "The relatively strong selling rate seen again in October suggests that the fourth quarter may close stronger than previously expected," Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a statement.

    "Recent bright spots in the economy may also help calm nerves and support stable vehicle sales, but risks remain and consumer confidence is still low, tempering the outlook for 2012," he said.

    It was the eighth consecutive month in which U.S. car and light truck sales surpassed 1 million units. It was also the second straight month and fifth time this year the SAAR has topped 13 million.

    The sales rate hit a 2011 low of 11.54 million units in June -- when Japanese vehicle stockpiles dwindled following the earthquake and tsunami.

    Light-vehicle sales are now up 10 percent to 10.5 million units through October. That's more than the industry sold in all of 2009, the weakest year for demand in nearly three decades.

    Chrysler's lead

    Chrysler produced a 27 percent gain in October sales and led all major automakers. Chrysler's advance marked the fifth consecutive increase of 20 percent or more and its 19th straight monthly rise.

    Hyundai, up 23 percent, and Kia, up 22 percent, continued their recent gains and remain on pace to set new U.S. sales records.

    Hyundai has sold 545,316 vehicles in the United States this year, topping an annual record set in 2010.

    General Motors was up 2 percent, well below its gains of recent months. Ford Motor Co. advanced 6 percent.

    Toyota Motor Corp. sales fell 8 percent in October, but it was the smallest decline during the automaker's six-month slide following the March earthquake. American Honda said its U.S. sales fell less than 1 percent. That was also its smallest decline during its half-year post-earthquake drop.

    The Volkswagen brand, led by the new, U.S.-built Passat, recorded a 40 percent increase. And Nissan North America's sales rose 18 percent.

    Brand details

    Ford's increase came on the strength of a 13 percent gain at the Ford division; Lincoln sales were off 11 percent.

    GM's 2 percent increase was helped by a 6 percent gain at Chevrolet. GMC, Buick and Cadillac were down.

    GM said car sales increased 4 percent, crossover sales fell 1 percent and demand for trucks, vans and SUVs advanced 2 percent.

    It was the fifth straight monthly sales gain for GM.

    TrueCar.com estimates GM's incentives averaged $3,182 per model last month, up 2.7 percent from October 2010 but down 3.3 percent from September.

    While Chevrolet Silverado shipments climbed 7 percent to 36,656, GM said its full-size truck inventory rose on a selling-day basis to a 104-day supply, from 88 days at the end of September.

    GM's current large pickup lineup is among the oldest in the segment. The automaker has been offering rebates as high as $5,000 on the Silverado and GMC Sierra in recent months.

    Despite mixed economic signals and weak consumer confidence levels, analysts had said October U.S. auto sales would reach the highest rate in at least eight months. Those forecasts turned out to be on target.

    Light vehicle sales are being aided by pent-up demand from consumers trading in aging vehicles, healthy discounts, wider credit availability, new product offerings and improved inventory among Japanese automakers.

    The Ford brand was helped by a 38 percent gain in SUV sales, led by the Explorer and Escape. Ford brand utility vehicles are up 31 percent this year.

    Ford's overall car sales slipped 8 percent compared to last year. But in October, the Ford Fiesta, Focus and Fusion each generated higher retail sales than a year earlier, offsetting lower fleet shipments, the automaker said.

    Incentives

    Chrysler said it was helped by strong demand for the Chrysler 200 and 300 sedans, the Jeep Compass and Dodge Journey crossovers, the Jeep Liberty SUV, and the Ram pickup truck.

    Among the industry's top seven manufacturers, Chrysler offered the highest average incentive last month -- $3,303 -- according to TrueCar.

    Volkswagen AG said its results marked its best October since 2001. Sales of the new Passat sedan hit 5,040 units -- the strongest month for the model since December 2005.

    TrueCar estimates industry incentives averaged $2,669 per vehicle in October, up slightly from September and almost 5 percent higher than October 2010. Honda and Toyota -- moving to draw buyers back to showrooms as stockpiles rebuild -- were among automakers with the biggest percentage increases from a year ago, TrueCar said.

    "Consumers are no longer dragging their feet on new vehicle purchases as they feel the economy is moving in the right direction, " said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar.

    Severe flooding has interrupted auto parts and vehicle assembly in Thailand and is expected to have a negative impact on U.S. supplies of Asian-brand models in coming months.

    » Click here for more detailed sales data

    CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY

    Click on a column header to sort table

    All manufacturers have reported
    AutomakerOct. 2011Oct. 2010Pct. chng.10 month

    2011

    10 month

    2010

    Pct. chng.
    BMW Group27,31823,26517%246,890215,70015%
        BMW division21,87319,27214%199,552176,73613%
        Mini5,4153,95037%47,05038,53822%
        Rolls-Royce3043–30%288426–32%
    BMW Group*27,31823,26517%246,890215,70015%
    Chrysler Group114,51290,13727%1,123,923910,35724%
        Chrysler Division21,24416,54728%178,795174,6502%
        Dodge33,73427,02025%379,175330,03915%
        Dodge/Ram55,57045,11023%589,776499,68118%
        Fiat1,965––%15,826––%
        Jeep35,73328,48026%339,526236,02644%
        Ram21,83618,09021%210,601169,64224%
    Chrysler Group***114,51290,13727%1,123,923910,35724%
    Daimler AG24,45319,44826%210,760189,63711%
        Maybach45–20%4453–17%
        Mercedes-Benz24,12219,07627%206,632184,43812%
        Smart USA327367–11%4,0845,146–21%
    Daimler AG**24,45319,44826%210,760189,63711%
    Ford Motor Co.167,502157,6506%1,767,2131,626,9129%
        Ford division161,408143,33913%1,696,0301,445,61117%
        Ford/Lincoln/Mercury167,502157,6506%1,767,2131,594,38711%
        Lincoln6,0946,834–11%70,93570,1201%
        Mercury–7,477100%24878,656–100%
        Volvo–––%–32,525–100%
    Ford Motor Co.****167,502157,6506%1,767,2131,626,9129%
    General Motors186,895183,5432%2,089,0441,818,88215%
        Buick11,68712,569–7%151,779126,56920%
        Cadillac11,79513,393–12%124,985118,4066%
        Chevrolet131,804124,2146%1,485,7371,298,39314%
        GMC31,60933,000–4%326,543263,50224%
        Hummer–242–100%–3,749–100%
        Pontiac–83–100%–1,045–100%
        Saab–––%–608–100%
        Saturn–42–100%–6,610–100%
    General Motors*****186,895183,5432%2,089,0441,818,88215%
    Honda (American)98,33398,811–1%958,1301,011,247–5%
        Acura11,11511,0111%100,261107,399–7%
        Honda Division87,21887,800–1%857,869903,848–5%
    Honda (American)†98,33398,811–1%958,1301,011,247–5%
    Hyundai Group90,09273,85522%950,411751,92626%
        Hyundai division52,40242,65623%545,316452,70321%
        Kia37,69031,19921%405,095299,22335%
    Hyundai Group††90,09273,85522%950,411751,92626%
    Jaguar Land Rover4,6004,2538%39,56536,2909%
        Jaguar1,3271,2953%10,64211,043–4%
        Land Rover3,2732,95811%28,92325,24715%
    Jaguar Land Rover†††4,6004,2538%39,56536,2909%
    Maserati187196–5%1,8921,55122%
    Maserati187196–5%1,8921,55122%
    Mazda18,32618,0132%209,641192,7839%
    Mazda18,32618,0132%209,641192,7839%
    Mitsubishi4,3785,111–14%70,25346,50351%
    Mitsubishi4,3785,111–14%70,25346,50351%
    Nissan82,34669,77318%856,425743,47415%
        Infiniti6,8627,930–14%79,04382,727–5%
        Nissan Division75,48461,84322%777,382660,74718%
    Nissan††††82,34669,77318%856,425743,47415%
    Porsche2,2702,647–14%24,93420,33723%
    Porsche2,2702,647–14%24,93420,33723%
    Saab Cars North America337741–55%4,9843,36748%
    Saab Cars North America‡337741–55%4,9843,36748%
    Subaru20,08122,720–12%215,631216,3340%
    Subaru20,08122,720–12%215,631216,3340%
    Suzuki1,9472,043–5%22,23119,01517%
    Suzuki1,9472,043–5%22,23119,01517%
    Toyota134,046145,474–8%1,328,5691,456,790–9%
        Lexus18,09221,091–14%153,739183,529–16%
        Scion3,9524,654–15%41,55937,88810%
        Toyota division112,002119,729–7%1,133,2711,235,373–8%
        Toyota/Scion115,954124,383–7%1,174,8301,273,261–8%
    Toyota‡‡134,046145,474–8%1,328,5691,456,790–9%
    Volkswagen38,41528,33236%360,115295,56622%
        Audi10,2258,12826%95,20681,71817%
        Bentley16212035%1,4221,07432%
        VW division28,02820,08440%263,487212,77424%
    Volkswagen‡‡‡38,41528,33236%360,115295,56622%
    Volvo Cars NA4,8993,99623%57,05412,589353%
    Volvo Cars NA‡‡‡‡4,8993,99623%57,05412,589353%
    Other (estimate)2482423%2,4662,4112%
    TOTAL1,021,185950,2508%10,540,1319,571,67110%

    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

    ***Fiat S.p.A. became the majority shareholder of the Chrylser Group on July 21, 2011

    ****Includes Volvo through July 2010

    *****Includes Saab through February 2010

    †Includes Acura

    ††Includes Kia

    †††Estimate

    ††††Includes Infiniti

    ‡The sale of Saab was final on February 23, 2010

    ‡‡Includes Lexus and Scion

    ‡‡‡Includes Audi and Bentley

    ‡‡‡‡The sale of Volvo to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group was final on Aug. 2, 2010

    Related Articles
    Honda gets brief relief between quake, Thai floods
    Inventory shortages extend Toyota sales decline
    Jeep Compass helps Chrysler climb
    Ford's 6% gain driven by Explorer, F series
    New Versa, old Sentra lift Nissan 22%
    GM stands by 2011 Volt sales target
    GM posts smallest gain of the year
    Mercedes-Benz tops BMW in October luxury race
    Mercedes tops BMW in U.S. luxury-sales race
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