June Car Sales: U.S. Buyers Almost Veer Off the Road
July 01, 2008

 

By Dale Buss and Michelle Krebs

American car buyers became very discouraged in June. Beaten down by high gas prices and other contributors to growing household financial stress, they bought 8 percent fewer vehicles than a year earlier.

And supply constraints actually depressed sales even further, because those who were in the market wanted more small cars than could be built by the industry as it tries to catch up with consumers' desire to downsize.

June sales for the U.S. auto industry were 1.19 million units compared with 1.46 million vehicles during June 2007. (The 8-percent decline is stated on a daily-sales-rate basis because this June, with three fewer selling days, provided significantly less sales opportunity than a year earlier.) On an unadjusted basis, industry sales came in 18 percent lower than a year ago.

The June results left the industry's first-half sales at just 7.41 million units, a dismal performance during what was one of the most stunningly disruptive periods in the history of American car manufacturing and sales.

The light-vehicle sales pace for the year now is running at a an anemic seasonally adjusted 13.58 million units, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver. That's about three million units below the 2005 rate and about one million units below the pace that even the most pessimistic of them were projecting for this summer just a few months ago.

So the June results left industry executives still searching for the bottom of a market that has fallen further and faster than anyone could have foreseen before gasoline prices skyrocketed to an average of about $4 a gallon by the end of June from $3 a gallon at the beginning of the year.

"The auto consumer is under a lot of pressure and stress, which is manifesting itself in uncertainty toward big purchases," said Jim Farley, Ford's executive vice president of marketing communications. "It's a difficult situation, and we think it's going to persist for many months to come and possibly longer."

Mark LaNeve, North American vice president of vehicle sales for General Motors, said that the hit being taken by the industry reflects far more than the sustenance of high gasoline prices. "People are worried about housing values," he said. "Inflation. Higher unemployment rates."

Chrysler executives were comparing the June sales pace with a similar low point in 1991, when the U.S. suffered a major recession and GM almost went bankrupt. "Consumer confidence," noted Jim Press, Chrysler president and vice chairman, is "at its lowest point since 1992."

Detroit automakers wound up with 46.6 percent market share. GM maintain its lead over Toyota, but Chrysler, as forecasted, fell below 10 percent market share.

General Motors 22.1%
Toyota             16.2
Ford                14.6
Honda             12.0
Chrysler            9.9
Nissan              6.4

Flight to Small Cars

But within the industry's dismal overall performance lay some telling differences among segments and among the automakers themselves.

GM, for example, reported just an 8-percent dip on an adjusted basis, in part because it is recovering some business after disruptive strikes several weeks ago and it launched an incentive program offering no -interest loans for 72-months in late June.

Boosting incentives to record levels, according to Edmunds.com's estimates, Toyota saw sales dip nearly 12 percent on an adjusted basis, weighed down by poor year-ago comparisons for practically all its vehicles except the tiny Toyota Yaris, the subcompact Toyota Corolla, and the compact Toyota Camry.

Ford, meanwhile, posted a 19-percent drop on an adjusted basis as its large-vehicle sales continued to tank. Chrysler's sales plunged even more, by an adjusted 28 percent. Nissan sales fell an adjusted 7 percent. But Honda, buoyed by sales of its small cars, set a June U.S. sales record for cars, and for the company's entire lineup, sales rose by nearly 14 percent on an adjusted basis.

Top June Sellers

 

Rank	Make	Model	Units
1	Honda	Accord	39,697
2	Honda	Civic	37,257
3	Toyota	Corolla	36,205
4	Toyota	Camry	35,939
5	Ford	F-150	24,988
6	Chevrolet	Silverado 1500	24,799
7	Nissan	Altima	23,208
8	Chevrolet	Cobalt	20,888
9	Ford	Focus	17,950
10	Hyundai	Sonata	16,875

 

Source: Edmunds

Small Cars in Short Supply

Overall, U.S. consumers continued to flock to small cars so heavily that automakers began bumping up against availability problems in June, which car executives said created a frustrating ceiling on purchases of some vehicles. LaNeve said that the industry's June sales would have been 40,000 units higher if more cars had been available with four-cylinder engines.

Last month's best-selling vehicle in America, the Honda Civic, had sales of nearly 40,000, but Honda likely could have sold more had it had more. Its inventory of Civics is down to under a 10-day supply, when a 60-day supply is considered ideal. Honda boosts Civic production later this year.

Ford sold 33,000 units of its Focus subcompact in May but only 18,000 in June. Company executives said that inventory levels of only about a 20-day supply of Focus, in Ford and dealer stocks, meant that many consumers either couldn't obtain a Focus or couldn't get the style or option levels they wanted.

Still, for the year, Ford sold 53 percent more Focus units than in the first half of 2007. That is why Ford is producing the car at a 28-percent higher level than last year and recently announced plans to boost annual production to 280,000 units next year from about 245,000 this year.

"The industry was caught off guard In June without enough passenger cars to satisfy consumer demand," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director, Industry Analysis. "This affected Toyota most, as its sales decline was more than expected. Dealerships just didn't have enough fuel-efficient vehicles available to sell."

Opting for Smaller Engines

American consumers also are seeking out four-cylinder engines wherever they can find them. Sales of the smallest Toyota-brand cars, for example, Yaris and Corolla, rose by an adjusted 4 percent and 30 percent in June, respectively. The fuel-efficient Honda Fit posted its best sales month ever, selling more than 10,00 units in June, while the compact Honda Civic hit a new June sales record, with nearly 40,000 units sold, up 23 percent from a year earlier.

Four-cylinder vehicles accounted for 40 percent of GM's June sales, compared with 22 percent a year ago. "We have dramatically shifted our mix as quickly as we can," LaNeve said. He said that, industry-wide, in vehicles offering both four- and six-cylinder engine options, the penetration of four-cylinder purchases has reached about 75 percent.

And sales of the Toyota Prius hybrid remain constrained as Toyota ramps up manufacturing; it sold fewer than 12,000 Prius units in June, down about 25 percent on an adjusted basis from sales of nearly 18,000 units in June 2008.

Meanwhile, sales of SUVs and trucks continued to plunge. Full-size pickups accounted for only about 7 percent of industry sales in June, down from their long-running share of about 10 percent. But at least it appeared as if trucks might stabilize at that level and not fall further, said George Pipas, Ford's head of U.S. sales analysis.

In fact, Pipas said, Ford's recently announced decision to slash truck and SUV production and push back the introduction of its new F-Series trucks this fall reflected a dramatic conclusion: The big-vehicle market is never coming back to its previous levels. "Gas prices aren't likely to go down," he said, "and many consumers have moved on."

GENERAL MOTORS: Bottoming Out?

Over the last several years, General Motors executives have made it clear that one thing they know how to do well is throw an incentive party. In 2004 and again in 2006, massive summer incentive programs helped GM and the industry get past rough patches.

GM executives believe they accomplished a little bit of the same thing in June with their 72 Hour Sale at the end of June, which offered zero-percent financing for 72 months on most of its models. The incentive program - which wasn't matched by competitors - helped GM acquire enough momentum to sell more than 260,000 vehicles in June, down only an adjusted 8 percent for the month, in a performance that beat its biggest rivals on a percentage basis. That, combined with Toyota's larger-than-expected decline, kept GM as the U.S. biggest carmaker, a title thought by some analysts to be lost to Toyota in June.

The deals "helped build momentum" to finish off a horrid first half, LaNeve said. And yet creating the big splash required more a matter of advertising outlays than extra new spending on incentives, because GM already had been offering 60-month zero APR on many of the same models. "When all our reports and analysis are done," he said, "our incentive spending will be about flat with May."

Overall, LaNeve added, "We were up well over 2 percentage points in market share from May." Anyway, he added that GM had been headed for a June performance that would have beaten external expectations even before the effect of the 72-Hour Sale.

GM also benefited from the fact that production at all of its factories was flowing freely following a highly disruptive series of short strikes at its own plants that were building the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Enclave as well as a long walkout at supplier American Axle. LaNeve said the supplier walkout will end up robbing GM of as many as 20,000 sales of large vehicles, mostly to fleet customers.

The Good

GM's retail car sales rose by more than 8 percent, and sales of its crossovers were up more than 21 percent, in June on an adjusted basis compared with June 2007.

Chevrolet Malibu sales continued hot, up 129 percent for the new model compared with its predecessor model a year ago. Chevrolet Cobalt sales were up 27 percent.

In particular, LaNeve was impressed with the sales increase for the Chevrolet HHR, whose sales rose 70 percent. The model has long rested on sort of a side burner within GM. But its attributes - more than 31 mpg on the highway, a space-flexible interior, and offbeat styling in a small package - are recreating interest.

GM even took some cheer from sales results of its largest vehicles. Sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban, for example, were down by 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively, on an adjusted basis. "While negative," LaNeve noted, "that's much more favorable than the 30 percent and 40 percent declines we had in March-April-May."

The Bad

Truck and SUV sales overall were off by nearly 17 percent on an adjusted basis. "As a percent of market, [trucks] are at an all-time historic low," LaNeve said.

Hummer's decline accelerated. Brand sales fell by 59 percent in June, putting even more pressure on GM executives to decide Hummer's disposition.

Six-Month Scorecard

GM's six-month sales fell by more than 16 percent, to fewer than 1.6 million units compared with nearly 1.9 million units in the first half of 2007. Its U.S. market share fell to 21.3 percent from 22.8 percent a year ago, and it ended the half trying to prevent Toyota from moving at least for the month into position as the volume leader in the industry.

FORD: Pushed to the Limit

Ford sold more than 166,000 vehicles in June compared with nearly 231,000 a year earlier.

Abysmal sales of its large trucks and SUVs were the biggest reason that Ford's year-ago comparison was so bad. Sales of Ford brand utility vehicles, for example, were off 55 percent on an unadjusted basis, while sales of Ford trucks and vans declined by nearly 38 percent unadjusted.

But Ford executives emphasized the strong sales of its smaller and most fuel-efficient vehicles and how constrained supplies of those models kept dealers from peddling more of them.

Besides Focus's tight supplies, there also was the fact that Ford had a supply of less than 30 days for its four-cylinder Ford Fusion at the beginning of June and less than a 10-day supply of the Ford Escape Hybrid.

"Limited car availability was a big factor in June sales," Farley said. "It changed the way dealers approached the market because they were judicial about [selling] four-cylinder models. We saw that in transaction prices and in trading practices."

But while there was no problem with the supply of crossover utility vehicles, Ford was disappointed with its sales performance in June. Sales of the Ford Edge, for example, fell by nearly 20 percent on an undadjusted basis, and sales of Taurus X declined by nearly 10 percent. Sales of the Lincoln MKX crossover fell by an unadjusted 34 percent.

"The SUV population is a big source of sales and trades for the crossover segment," Pipas explained. "With sharply declining SUV residual values, this is limiting the ability of some of those people to move into the crossover segment."

Ford is just introducing its new Flex crossover, a boxy vehicle that is larger than Edge or MKX.

The Good

Focus sales to individual retail customers were an unadjusted 9 percent higher than a year ago.

Retail sales for cars were up 3 percent versus a year ago, and crossover sales were up less than 1 percent.

Four-cylinder engines were hot everywhere. Fusion four-cylinders accounted for 70 percent of the model's sales in June, up 13 percentage points compared with a year ago. Similarly, the four-cylinder Escape is responsible for about 51 percent of the model's sales, about 13 percentage points higher than a year ago.

The Bad

Nothing big or fuel-consumptive, and built by Ford, sold. Crown Victoria sales were off an unadjusted 30 percent. Ford Mustang sales fell by nearly 15 percent. Ford Expedition sales declined by nearly 60 percent. F-Series sales were off more than 41 percent.

Six-Month Scorecard

Ford's sales for the first half of 2008 plunged by 14 percent, to 1.1 million vehicles from nearly 1.3 million vehicles a year earlier. Sales of trucks and SUVs led the decline, off nearly 18 percent for Ford in the period.

CHRYSLER: Dramatic Drop-off
 
Chrysler's June sales report was one for the record books, with nearly every Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicle showing a hefty double-digit decline.
 
In total, Chrysler sold 117,457 vehicles in June for a 28-percent decline on an adjusted basis and a 36-percent decrease unadjusted.
 
Chrysler executives, in a conference call with the media Tuesday, blamed weak overall industry sales, which the automaker estimated would ultimately show the lowest annual sales rate since 1991, combined with Chrysler's reductions in fleet sales for the dramatic fall-off. Chrysler intentionally reduced its fleet sales in June by 27 percent from a year ago.
 
"It was a challenging month for all of us - a month that builds a lot of character," said Jim Press, Chrysler president and vice chairman, in the conference call.
 
The Good

There was little good in Chrysler's June sales report.

Four models showed sales increases: 

* sales of Chrysler minivans rose; Chrysler Town & Country sales increased 21 percent; Dodge Grand Caravan sales soared 52 percent.

* Jeep Patriot sales edged up 6 percent.

* The Dodge Viper saw a triple-digit sales increase - a whopping 259 percent increase but on tiny numbers, 77 sold this June compared with 22 sold last June.
 
The Dodge Journey, which wasn't available a year ago, showed continued strength with Chrysler selling 5,162 of them in June, bringing the total to 23,000 units since its launch in March. Chrysler executives said the Journey is selling beyond their expectations.
 
Also not available a year ago was the Dodge Challenger. Chrysler sold 1,024 of them in June, more than it expected particularly in light of soaring gas prices.
 
The Bad
 
While only four models saw sales increases, the remaining 23 models that Chrysler sells registered sales declines - every one posting a significant double-digit decrease except for the Sprinter commercial van, which was off a scant 8 percent; the next lowest decrease was the Charger at a 28 percent decline, unadjusted. 
 
Not surprisingly, Chrysler's sales of trucks and SUVs, upon which the automaker is more heavily dependent than is any other automaker, were down 30 percent, in keeping with industry trend. Dodge Ram and Dakota sales declined nearly 50 percent each.
 
However, Chrysler car sales didn't help offset any of the truck decline. In a market in which small cars - of which Chrysler has none - and midsize cars, are selling reasonably well, Chrysler's car sales were down a hefty 49 percent. Sales of the midszie Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger were off about 50 percent each. Chrysler's smallest and least expensive model, the Dodge Caliber, suffered a 44-percent sales drop.
 
Chrysler is selling down four discontinued models, which is contributing some ugly numbers: Chrysler Crossfire, down 89 percent; Chrysler Pacifica, down 92 percent; and Dodge Magnum, down 93 percent.
 
Six-Month Scorecard
 
For the calendar year to date, Chrysler has sold 867,826 vehicles, down 22 percent from the first six months of 2007. Chrysler has sold 257,147 cars so far this year, a 17-percent drop from a year ago. It has sold 610,679 trucks, down 24 percent.

TOYOTA: Just Another American Company
 
Toyota's sales fell by nearly 12 percent (adjusted) in June, to about 193,000 vehicles from nearly 246,000 in June 2007. On an unadjusted basis, Toyota's 21-percent drop was its biggest since 2002, according to Bloomberg News.
 
In so falling, the June results capped a first half during which Toyota's sales profile came to look more and more like those of the Big Three domestic rivals that it had been outflanking for years. Toyota was weighed down by most of its larger vehicles and even its luxury line, Lexus, while only its small cars buoyed the company's overall performance.
 
So naturally, Toyota executives chose to emphasize the positive. "As the pendulum swings toward smaller, higher-mileage vehicles, we're well poised to offer the right products at the right time," said Jim Lentz, President of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.
 
The Good

Toyota's smallest models continued to post strong increases.
 
Yaris sales rose an adjusted 4 percent in June, capping off a half-year in which its sales rose overall by about 40 percent. Toyota plans to introduce a five-door liftback version of the subcompact soon.
 
Sales of the redesigned Corolla continued to pick up momentum, rising 30 percent in June. It appears as if the fuel efficiency is helping the new model gain some appeal as the year goes on, shaking off an early-2008 performance that still left Corolla about 3 percent short of sales levels of its predecessor model for the first half of 2007.
 
The Bad
 
Toyota can't cut production or sweeten incentives on Tundra - both of which it has been doing - fast enough to offset a precipitate dropoff in consumer interest that is closely mirroring problems faced by Big Three pickup truck offerings. Tundra sales dropped by a whopping adjusted 47 percent in June and were off 7 percent for the entire first half.
 
The entire Lexus luxury division has become a sales dog, at least in the short term. Overall Lexus sales were off an adjusted 21 percent for June, led by declines for the big LS and GS sedans and plunges for the GX and RX SUVs.
 
Six-Month Scorecard
 
The first half has beaten up on Toyota's reputation, decades in the making, for knowing exactly how to score in the U.S. auto market. For the first half of 2008, its sales were down nearly 7 percent, to about 1.2 million units from about 1.3 million units. Still, its market share crept up to 16.7 percent from 16.1 percent as the Big Three each faced much bigger problems.

HONDA: Sets June Records

American Honda set a host of new records again last month, including a new record for total June sales that came on the strength of car sales and the Honda brand.

Combining the Honda and Acura brands, American Honda sold 142,539 vehicles in June, up 13.8 percent on an adjusted basis.

And likely Honda's numbers would have been higher had it had more Civics and Fits to sell. The Civic, which was the best-selling vehicle in America in May, but Honda can't build enough to keep up with demand. The inventory of Civics is less than a 10-day supply, when 60-days is ideal. Fits are also in short supply. Honda is adding more Civic capacity in the coming months.

"Honda came out as a winner, having had the most amount of fuel-efficient vehicles on dealership lots," said Edmunds.com's Toprak. "Because Toyota did not have ample inventory of its gas-efficient vehicles, Honda probably stole many of its customers away."

The Good

American Honda has been bucking the industry trend by reporting higher sales every month and it has been shattering old records at the same time:
· Total American Honda (Honda, Acura) sales set a new June record;
· Total car sales for Honda and Acura set a new June record, breaking the previous one established in 1990, with sales of 97,639 cars, up 34.2 percent from a year ago.
· Honda Division set a new June sales record. Honda Division sales rose 17.9 percent to 130,083 vehicles.
· Honda Division's sales were driven by record car sales, which increased 41.4 percent to 89,947 cars.
· The Honda Fit, doubling sales from a year ago, set a new monthly sales record, surpassing 10,000 units sold. To be exact, Honda sold 10,003 Fits, up 100.5 percent;
· The Honda Civic hit a new June record of 39,967 sold, up 23.1 percent. That's off significantly from the 50,000 plus Civics Honda sold in May. Accord sales rose 54.5 percent to 39,704.
· The Acura TSX, on sale only two full months since its redesign, set a new June sales record. Acura sold 3,869 TSX models in June, an increase of 27.5 percent from a year ago. The TSX is now Acura's best-selling model.

The Bad

Trucks and Acura continue to be a drag on American Honda.

Every truck, minivan and SUV, including the Honda CR-V and newly revamped Honda Pilot, showed a sales decline in June.

Honda Division's truck sales were off 14.2 percent at 40,136 trucks sold. Ridgeline sales were down a hefty 34.2 percent. Sales of the Pilot were off 21 percent. Odyssey sales dipped 8.6 percent.

Acura division's total sales were down 16.4 percent at 12,456 vehicles, despite a double-digit increase for sales of the redesigned TSX. In fact, the TSX was the only model to show an increase. The TL, soon due for a remake, had sales down 37.5 percent. RL sales were off almost as much. MDX and RDX sales were off 16.9 and 19.2 percent, respectively.

Six-Month Scorecard

American Honda sales for the first six months were up 4.8 percent at 798,358 vehicles. Honda Division sales were up 7.4 percent to 720,444; Acura sales were down 14.3 percent at 77,914 vehicles. 

NISSAN: Small Cars Can't Offset Truck Drop

Nissan North America reported June sales of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles totaled 75,847 versus 92,213, for a 5.9-percent decline on an adjusted basis (17.7 percent unadjusted).

Sales of Nissan-branded vehicles totaled 66,543 vehicles in June, down from 81,665 vehicles sold a year ago. Infiniti sales amounted to 9,304 vehicles, down from 10,558.

Two important models - the 2009 Nissan Maxima and the 2009 Infiniti FX - made no impact in June as they just arrived on the market June 24.

The Good

Sales of fuel-efficient cars were up in June. The Nissan Versa had a record month with sales of 8,873 units.

The Infiniti G37 coupe continued its strong run with a nearly 43 percent increase in sales over June a year ago.

The Bad

The Nissan brand posted a sales decline of 8.3 percent, on an adjusted basis (18.5 percent unadjusted).

In total, Nissan cars were down and sales of small cars weren't enough to offset the deep drop in truck sales. Sales of Nissan-branded trucks and SUVs fell double digits.

Sales of Nissan-branded vehicles totaled 66,543 in June, down from 81,655. Infiniti sales came in at 9,304 units in June, down from 10,558.

Six-Month Scorecard

Nissan and Infiniti sales are off a scant 2.4 percent for the first six months of 2008 at 522,321 vehicles sold. Car sales are up 5.3 percent to 335,968 sold; truck sales dropped 13.8 percent to 186,353 in the first half.

HYUNDAI: A New Record of 50,000 Plus Sales

Hyundai set a new monthly sales record, breaking the 50,000-unit mark. June sales of 50,033 vehicles beat the previous record set in June 2007 by 1.3 percent and came on the strength of Hyundai's small and mid-size cars.

Accent sales were up a whopping 70 percent, Elantra sales soared 51 percent and midsize Sonata sales increased 12 percent.

In contrast, sales of the Santa Fe, Tucson and Veracruz SUVs were down substantially as were sales of the sporty Tiburon and the Entourage minivan. Hyundai sold less than 500 minivans, les than half of what it sold a year ago. Sales of the previous flagship Azera were off a bit, while Hyundai sold 30 units of its newly introduced Genesis flagship.

So far this year, Hyundai has sold 231,066 vehicles, down from 236,595 sold in last year's first half.

KIA: Best June

Kia reported its best June ever with sales of 28,292 vehicles sold, an increase of 7.6 percent from last June.

June sales were led by the Spectra at 7,131 units sold, up from 6,946 sold last June, and the Optima, with 6,865, more than twice as many sold last June. The Sedona bucked the declining minivan trend by selling 3,719 vehicles, up from 2,063 a year ago. The tiny Rio and Amanti flagship sedan also had increases.

In keeping with the industry trend, sales of Kia's SUVs, the Sportage and Sorento, were down as were sales of the Rondo.

For the first six months of this year, Kia has sold 157,619 vehicles, an increase of 2.1 percent.

MAZDA: Strong Month for Mazda3, Mazda5

Mazda sold 23,771 vehicles, down 7.7 percent on an unadjusted basis but up 3.7 percent on an adjusted daily-sales rate basis. Car sales edged 2.6 percent higher; truck and SUV sales dropped by a third.

Mazda's bestseller, the Mazda3, recorded its best June ever with sales of 12,346, up 8.9 percent. The recently redesigned Mazda5, a six-passenger multi-activity vehicle, posted a 29.2-percent increase.

"Small, stylish, fuel-efficient -- those are the buzzwords of the car business these days," said Jim O'Sullivan, President and CEO, Mazda North America in a statement.

Mazda6 sales were down as the automaker is transition from selling down the previous version and making way for the new model. Also down were sales of: Miata - down by a third; CX-7 and B-Series trucks by more than 50 percent; and CX-9 and Tribute, both with single-digit drops.

In the first six months, Mazda is running just ahead of the year-ago half, selling 306,282 vehicles in 2008 to 305,368 in 2007.

MITSUBISHI: Dreadful Month

Mitsubishi sold 7,494 vehicles in June, compared with 13,014 sold in the June a year ago.

Mitsubishi boasted that its fuel-efficient Lancer had its second best month of the year with 2,688 sales in June; May was Lancer's best month of the year with 3,318 sales. Still, the Lancer is not selling as well as it was a year ago. Sales last June were 3,091 vehicles. Lancer Evolution soared 52.2 percent, but on tiny volume of 315 vehicles sold.

In this environment, logic would dictate that the Galant would be a strong seller. However, Mitsubishi sold only 1,629 Galant models in June, down from 3,026 a year ago. The Galant remains slightly ahead this year for the six-month period.

Except for the Evo, every model in Mitsubishi's line showed a sales decrease from a year ago.

For the six months, Mitsubishi sales have dropped to 53,883 vehicles sold compared with 70,357 a year ago.

SUBARU: Forester, Legacy Push Sales Higher

Subaru sold 18,007 vehicles in June, an increase of 5 percent over a year ago.

Sales of the recently revised Forester soared 41 percent over the same period last year. Legacy sales were also up double digits at 19 percent over the year ago period.

However, sales of every other model in the line, including the gas-sipping Impreza, Outback/Legacy wagon and Tribeca SUV, were down. Impreza sales were off only 2 percent, however, it competes in the compact segment that is exploding. Tribeca sales were down 19 percent; Outback/Legacy wagon sales dropped 14 percent.

SUZUKI: Small Cars Keep It Afloat

American Suzuki sales were down 5 percent in June compared with a year ago.

Sales of the tiny fuel-sipping SX5 and Aerio showed a triple-digit increase of 168 percent to 3,406 units sold. But that was the only positive in Suzuki's line. Sales of its bread-and-butter Grand Vitara SUV plummeted 60 percent to a mere 893 units sold in June; XL7 SUV sales were off 9 percent. Sales of the Forenza and Reno were down 25 percent.

So far this year, Suzuki has sold 56,248 vehicles, down 2 percent from the first six months of 2007.

AUDI: A4 Buoys June Sales

Audi's June sales rose 5.3 percent to 8,203 vehicles sold.

The rise came almost solely on the strength of the A4 line, which had a 34.3 percent sales increase. All but the TT, which dropped 5.5 percent, showed double-digit sales declines; Q7 fells a hefty 42.3 percent.

So far this year, Audi has sold 45,023 vehicles, a 1.5% decrease from the first half of 2007.

BMW AG: BMW Down; Mini Up

The economy and high gas prices are striking the affluent as well with BMW Group reporting an 11-percent decline in sales in June.

The BMW Group, which includes the BMW and minivan brands, posted sales of 126,155 vehicles, compared with 29,394 vehicles a year ago.

Sales of BMW-branded vehicles declined 17 percent to 20,944 vehicles compared with 25,220 vehicles sold in June 2007. Car sales were off 17.5 percent; SUVs were down 14.8 percent.

"Even in this segment, we see a desire for increased efficiency and that is providing a natural impetus for strong sales of our new 1 Series and the 3 Series 328i models," said Jim O'Donnell, president of BMW of North America.

Indeed, Mini was BMW's bright spot with June sales of 5,211 vehicles, nearly 25 percent ahead of a year ago.

"The last three months have been the best in our history as the significant structural shift to small cars has brought into our dealerships a diverse range of vehicle owners that currently drive large cars, SUVs and trucks," said Jim McDowell, Mini vice president. "With very few cars remaining in inventory, our dealers are focusing on taking orders for custom-built cars that will be delivered to Mini drivers in July through September."

For the first six months, BMW Group sales are down about 4 percent to 157,913 vehicles versus the 164,338 sold in the first half of 2007. BMW brand sales are off 9 percent, cars are down about the same and SUVs decreased about 10 percent. Mini sales are up nearly 34 percent for the year so far.

MERCEDES-BENZ: A Record Half

Mercedes-Benz reported U.S. sales in June of 19,576 were about even with June a year, still marking the first-half sales in the company's history. That puts Mercedes on track to break its record set in 2007 for full-year sales.

The C-Class continued to lead the charge with a 25.1 percent increase over a year ago. The E-Class chipped in with an 18.3-percent gain. Sales of the SL-Class roadster got a 12.3- percent boost and the ML-Class edged 2 percent higher. Sales of those models offset double-digit drops in sales of the S-, CL-, CLK-, SLK- and R-Class.

Mercedes' year-to-date sales of 119,279 units broke last year's record of 118,240, a 0.9 percent increase. First-half sales were buoyed by higher sales of the C-Class, SL-Class and ML-Class.

PORSCHE: Off 2007's Record Pace

Porsche sold 2,650 cars in U.S. in June, a 19-percent decrease from June 2007 sales of 3,267, which was an all-time record for that month.

The Boxster had an 8 percent increase with sales of 356 sold. Sales of the Cayenne, amidst the drop-off in SUV segment, held steady in June and are up for the year to date.

So far this year, Porsche sales totaled 15,086, off the record pace of 17,859 a year ago.

VOLKSWAGEN: Best Month Since August 2006

Volkswagen reported June sales of 23,208 units, a scant 0.3 percent better than June a year ago but was Volkswagen's best sales month since August 2006.

The Passat wagon had its best sales month since January 2007 with sales up 25.9 percent over June 2007. The Eos bucked the industry trend of lower convertible sales, with a 14-percent increase in sales. Jetta and Rabbit sales fell.

So far this year, Volkswagen sales remain 0.6 percent ahead of 2007 sales.

 

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