No one knows if the momentum will last, but most automakers did well in August, particularly those with plenty of models qualifying for the Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program.
Hyundai/Kia broke 100,000 in monthly sales for the first time ever, and the Honda division had its second-best month ever -- and its best ever August. Toyota sold more passenger cars in a month than it ever has before, though this was balanced by continuing declines among its trucks and SUVs (save for the RAV4). Mazda had its best sales month since August 2003, and 58 percent of customers went home with a Mazda 3. (Alas, Miata sales were way down year over year, as hyperrational buyers evidently have no use for roadsters.)
Audi was one of the few premium-brand automakers to see a significant bump in sales (+26% over August 2008). More significant is that the automaker estimates the CARS program accounted for less than 10 percent of the increase. Similarly, there's Subaru: Undoubtedly, much of its 52 percent year-over-year increase had to do with CARS, but Subaru's sales are still up 11 percent for all of 2009.
Ford was the only one of the domestics to see a significant increase in August, as GM and Chrysler simply didn't have a good stock of fuel-efficient models to attract customers.
Interestingly, hybrid sales didn't rise as much as you'd think in August. Prius sales were way up, but most other gains were modest. "Few models did as well in August as in July," says Green Car Advisor John O'Dell, "an indication that when fuel costs are soft, as they have been much of the summer, and a program like C4C effectively softens the price of other, conventional vehicles, hybrids still are in second place on most Americans' shopping lists."
Auto Observer: Post-Clunkers Second Half Becomes Huge Sales Question Mark
carguy622 says:
11:23 AM, 09/ 2/09
Maybe people just don't like the Miata's new smiley face...I know I don't.
estreka says:
11:45 AM, 09/ 2/09
Those are quite dramatic, but expect Sep to be considerably worse. With all those potential car sales front loaded, there shouldn't be much volume the rest of the year unless Corporate America suddenly starts hiring.
ctpax says:
12:00 PM, 09/ 2/09
go Ford!
zoomzoomn says:
12:18 PM, 09/ 2/09
I'm happy for Subaru. I have always felt that their cars were under-appreciated. Good for Ford, too. And thanks for actually being business saavy enough to get through rough times without taking any money from China. (Hey, I'm a realist. My tax money wasn't getting anywhere close to all of this recovery bailout crap!)
sabastian says:
01:29 PM, 09/ 2/09
It's been a while since we've seen any green in one of these posts. Nice.
alman08 says:
01:55 PM, 09/ 2/09
yeah... sure, I would like to see the amount of bank repo in 6 months from now, also, I wouldn't even want to forecast auto sale for the next 4 months.
inlinesix says:
03:17 PM, 09/ 2/09
"...as GM and Chrysler simply didn't have a good stock of fuel-efficient models to attract customers."
Aveo, bleh!
autoboy16 says:
04:44 AM, 09/ 3/09
My local Hyundai Dealership did GREAT this month! The only vehicles on the lot are Veracruz and the new shipment of Accent. NOTHING else left!