After a slow start, a warm January helped US light vehicle sales finish up almost 7.14%. Wards Automotive reported that sales topped 1.14m units, yielding a seasonally adjusted sales rate of 17.64m units, the highest since July 2005.
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Hefty fleet sales played a big part in creating the best January numbers in four years but the significant increase in car sales included models not typically sold to rental companies or government agencies.
GM’s domestic brands posted a 5.8% improvement. Car sales were higher at all of GM’s divisions with the fleet-favoured Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G6 posting triple-digit gains. Chevrolet retained its title as the best-selling light vehicle brand. Truck sales were down but early sales of the new Chevrolet Tahoe, first of the new full-size GM SUVs, were encouraging.
Chrysler’s gain was just shy of 5% and was achieved by unloading lots of Sebring and Stratus sedans. Though retail volumes were mostly flat, sales of the Chrysler 300 were up 26% and the recently updated PT Cruiser posted a 45% improvement. The Charger had its best month since it first appeared on the charts last May and the Caravan topped the minivan charts again.
The Taurus is still Ford’s volume car leader but the Crown Victoria and Five Hundred chipped in to lift domestic brand results 2.6%. The Fusion posted its best numbers since its debut and its upscale sibling, the Zephyr, was Lincoln’s best-selling vehicle for the month. Despite double-digit stumbles by most of its SUV models, Ford remained the most popular truck brand and the F-Series retained its #1 sales position.
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By GlobalDataRecord January sales kept Land Rover’s star shining brightly among Ford’s premium brands. Volvo numbers were down 12.7% and Jaguar remained at the bottom of the luxury rankings as sales plunged 28.9% from January 2005.
Volkswagen celebrated as sales zoomed 28%. Audi sales were up 19.8% on big gains by the A6 and A8. The new Cayman S gave Porsche a January sales record and BMW set new benchmarks for its BMW and Mini brands. Cars were key to these results: the Touareg, Cayenne and X-Series SUVs all came up short of their 2005 marks. Bucking the trend was the M-Class which posted a 100% improvement, helping Mercedes to a 3% gain.
Honda set a new January record with solid results from both cars and trucks. Sales were up over 24% and the new Civic became the brand’s best-selling model. Acura set its own new record despite a slight drop in sales of its MDX SUV.
Up 14% overall, Toyota set new sales records in cars and light trucks, as did its Scion brand. Lexus spoiled a clean sweep as record car sales couldn’t overcome double-digit drops in its SUV models.
More January records were set by Hyundai and Suzuki. Kia sales were up 5.6% and Mitsubishi ended the month 2.8% ahead of last year.
Nissan missed its mark by 0.1% while sales dropped 7.5% at Infiniti. Weak truck sales were the culprit at both brands.
Cars were the only segment to gain share in January though minivan and SUV volumes also grew. The pickup truck was last month’s big loser, giving up the largest piece of the pie and taking a hit in units sold, as well.
The Big Three gave up another 1.34 points of total market share, coming in at just under 56%. Ford gave up the most ground at 0.74% followed by GM and Chrysler at 0.32% and 0.28%, respectively. Honda was the big winner, gaining an additional 1% of the light vehicle market, followed by Toyota, which added another 0.8% to its share.
Bill Cawthon
