Automakers in the US delivered more than 1.5m light vehicles in June, a 2.6% drop from June 2018, but generally in line with analyst estimates.
With one less selling day than June last year, June 2019’s daily sales rate rose 1.2%.
Go deeper with GlobalData
A sixth consecutive month of slowing sales has left the industry 2.4% running behind the first half of 2018. It was the first time since 2009 car companies have reported declines for such a period.
It is looking more and more likely that 2019’s total will fall below the 17m unit mark for the first time since 2014.
The seasonally adjusted sales rate (SAAR) for June was 17.29m units, up slightly from May 2019 but down very slightly from June 2018. The outlook continues to indicate a very soft landing for light vehicle sales, barring the unforeseen. The U.S. economy is still strong and unemployment continues to be low.
Manufacturers continued to hold the line as much as possible on incentives but car buyers were getting some relief from lenders. According to Edmunds, June’s average interest rate was 6%, down slightly from May and April. Loan terms rose slightly, closing on 70 months, and monthly payments were about 5% higher last month than a year ago.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataWith the recent announcements from the Federal Reserve Bank, it’s possible that interest rates could come down a bit which could make subvented financing more popular with automakers’ accountants.
One worrying trend – an estimated 5.5% of June deliveries were previously unsold 2018 models. That’s a higher rate than observed in previous years. With the 2020 models scheduled to begin appearing soon, dealers are becoming more conscious of the need to move vehicles that are already a year old off the lots.
The Japanese ceded market share to just about everybody else. Double digit deficits at Honda and Nissan and another shortfall from Toyota shaved more than a percentage point from the Japanese share.
Subaru, of course, bucked the trend, reporting its 91st consecutive months of sales growth.
Hyundai and Kia both finished the month in the black. Hyundai has learned a lesson about too many cars and over half of its June deliveries were crossovers.
Volkswagen Group handily bucked analyst projections of a decline by reporting a 5.7% gain. Sales by Audi were basically flat but the revised VW Tiguan and new Atlas continued to deliver good results.
BMW outsold Mercedes-Benz again, padding its lead among the upscale brands. German brands continued to hold three of the top four spots in the segment.
FCA delivered a real surprise in June, selling more light vehicles than Toyota, taking the third spot in the June rankings.
FCA’s achievement was all on the back of (or in the bed of) the Ram pickup which came in with a 56.4% surge in June. The Ram was the second best selling light vehicle for the first half of 2019. Even though brand sales were off by 7.8% after the first six months of 2019, Jeep continued to be the top selling brand in the largest segment of the light vehicle market.
Cars continued to lose share in the US, light trucks claimed 71.2% of sales, a gain of 2.7 percentage points. Crossovers and SUVs were the dominant players.
The real action in June was the mid-size pickup market. Sales of the smaller trucks jumped 10.3% with the addition of the Ford Ranger. It was not surprising the victim of the majority of the Ranger’s conquest sales was the Chevrolet Canyon pickup. The Toyota Tacoma remained comfortably perched at the top of the segment.
It appears smaller businesses were still comfortable with their prospects as sales of commercial vans were up 4.4% to the end of June.
Automakers were once again embracing fleet sales but it was not just to keep the plants running. By being able to keep volume up, car companies were able to make more on the retail sales because they had to offer fewer deals.
Since light trucks are generally more profitable than passenger cars, the bottom line can remain healthy.
* indicates a sales record.
Note: Monthly sales figures for General Motors are estimates.
**Volkswagen Group figures include Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen brands
Other includes estimated sales for Aston-Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren and Rolls-Royce
