Sales figures were released this past week. It appears to be a mixed bag with concerns from industry experts raising concerns for future sales declines while several brands are posting record sales. The trend seen from nearly all brands, is the shift in consumer preference from cars to SUV’s/ trucks.
BMW Group (BMW MINI) continues to lose sales; off 4.4% from 2015 and 8.4% for Year-to-Date (YTD). World-wide sales have more than off-set this trend, up 5.7% for worldwide sales. The 7-series, 2-series, and X1 all posted significant gains.
Ford was down 3% with 6% increase in fleet sales but a 6% decline in retail sales. All trucks were up with the exception of the Explorer which is still facing a YTD decline. Lincoln dropped 4.6% but remains up 10.1% YTD.
FCA was held upward by its Jeep and Ram division, both up 5%. Chrysler, Dodge, and Fiat were all down 4%, 10%, and 14%, respectively.
GM is shouting the loudest about its retail sales(up 5%) and that its continuing to cut its daily rental deliveries (-42% YTD). GMC and Buick posted their best YTD sales since 2005. The Silverado’s retail sales continues with its best ever YTD figures.
Honda/ Acura were up as a group 4.4% and posted its best July sales ever. Big increases in Honda SUV and Civic sales helped off set Acura’s decline across the board.
Hyundai/ Kia both posted July sales records with significant support by their SUV’s.
Jaguar/ Land Rover is up 51% with the increased sales coming largely from the Discovery Sport and the Range Rover Evoque.
Mercedes Benz sales in the US were up 3.6% with strong sales from the C-class, E-class, and GLE SUV. This was MBUSA’s best July ever.
Toyota/ Lexus cars were down 7.8% and 15.2%, respectively. Their trucks helped lessen the loss to 1.4% for Toyota as a whole.
VW posted a 13.6% decline while Audi posts a monthly record. VW sales were down nearly across the board with the exception being the Tiguan which was up 48.8% compared to last year.