Total light vehicle sales last month came in at just over 1.4m, 9.1% ahead of June 2012. That works out to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of 15.96m, the highest since November 2007, the same month SAAR was last above 16m.
The Detroit automakers all reported improved sales with Ford’s 13.4% gain leading the way. As a group, the Americans picked up 0.1% of market share, rising to 46.8% of total sales.
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Full-size pickups continued to drive sales. In June, 24.0% of the total Chrysler, Ford and General Motors tallies were pickups, up from 20.8% last June.
General Motors’ retail sales were up, led by the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and the Chevrolet Cruze, which supplanted the Ford Fusion as the best-selling American-badged car for the month. The only GM division to miss its mark was Buick which was weighed down by slow sales of the LaCrosse and Regal.
Ford highlights were the Edge, up 32.4% and F-series pickup, which helped the blue oval achieve the largest sales gain of the Detroit automakers. One interesting trend can be seen in sales of Ford’s dedicated police vehicles: the Explorer-based Police Interceptor Utility is clearly outselling the Taurus-based Police Interceptor sedan. The capacious boot of the Crown Victoria is being replaced by an SUV.
Chrysler posted its 39th consecutive month of improved sales. New to the report is the Fiat 500L MPV: Fiat dealers now have two vehicles to offer. A 32.9% sales jump propelled the Jeep Grand Cherokee past the Ford Explorer for the month. Dodge Dart sales seem to be slowing dramatically: they’re down 13.6% from May 2013 while Chrysler Group sales were down just 5.9% and total industry sales fell just 2.8%. A refreshed powertrain can’t come soon enough for the smallest Dodge.
The Japanese automakers picked up almost a whole point of market share as most reported improved sales. Nissan set another monthly sales record while Mazda had its best June since 2007. Subaru didn’t set a record but sales soared 41.6% on record sales of the Outback and Forester. Toyota marked a milestone with the 10mth sale of a new Camry, which is well on its way to a 12th consecutive year as the best-selling passenger car in the United States.
Hyundai set a new sales record while Kia sales fell, pulled down by declining volume of the Forte, Sportage, Sorento and Sedona. The Korean carmakers gave up 0.8% of market share in June.
The European brands were also share donors in June, shedding 0.2% as slowing sales of Volkswagen brand vehicles and Volvo weighed on solid results from other brands. Even though parent VW is in the dumps, Audi and Porsche set new June sales records.
Jaguar sales were exceptional last month, rocketing 59% to their highest June level since 2006 as all models came in ahead of their 2012 marks and the F-Type brought in 417 new sales. MINI and Rolls-Royce sales were also improved while Bentley and Land Rover came up short.
The June results continue an encouraging trend toward a 15.5m sales year. The sales and SAAR trends map well compared to prior years.
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