New Models Drive Luxury Sales in October; Momentum Continues for Others
By Michelle Krebs November 2, 2010
October sales reports began rolling in Tuesday and, as predicted, the rate of sales could be the highest of the year.
The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales is forecasted by Edmunds.com to be close to 12 million units.
"However," cautioned Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com's director of industry analysis, "the actual sales volume will be low. October probably will be the third lowest month for actual unit sales, behind January and February."
And that's typical. Edmunds.com's analysis of sales trends from 2002 through 2009 shows October traditionally is the third worst month of the year; January is the worst, November is the second worst and February comes in fourth.
A number of automakers posted their sales reports on Tuesday; the rest, including the Big 6, deliver their results Wednesday. Luxury automakers saw sales increases; so, too, did Subaru, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen.
New Models Fuel Luxury Growth
Luxury automakers - Audi, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Porsche reported higher sales in October, thanks to their newest models.
"It should wind up being a good month for luxury-car sales," noted Edmunds.com's Caldwell.
Audi reported its best-ever October, putting it on pace to set an all-time sales record for the year. Audi's October sales rose nearly 11 percent from a year ago, on the strength of the A3, Q5 and Q7.
"There is no denying that Audi is firing on all cylinders as we continue to set the pace as the benchmark for the luxury vehicle market," said Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen.
The BMW Group, including the BMW and Mini brands, reported sales up nearly 13 percent, largely on the strength of the BMW brand, which had a 17-percent rise thanks to solid performances for the all-new 5-Series midsize sedan, the X5 crossover and the entry-level 1-Series, while Mini sales dropped 5 percent.
"The new product effect clearly showed in October, with our 5-Series sales momentum increasing, especially with the introduction of all-wheel-drive for regions where it is highly desired," said Jim O'Donnell, President and CEO of BMW of North America, LLC.
Sales in October at Mercedes-Benz USA were up 4.9 percent compared with the same month last year, with volume led by the new-generation E-Class, which moved 5,568 units and is up 53.3 percent for the year. Sales of the S-Class flagship jumped 60.4 percent in October and are up 29.1 percent so far this year.
Jaguar Land Rover reported a 40-percent increase in October sales, also on the strength of its new models. Land Rover's LR4 sales shot up 169 percent; Jaguar sales in total got a 47-percent boost, largely from the XF sedan.
And Porsche sales saw a 61-percent rise due to strong performances from its new Cayenne SUVs and the continued success of the Panamera sedan.
Of the luxury makers that reported sales on Tuesday, only Saab reported weak sales. The Swedish brand is struggling to recover from being put on the auction block by General Motors a year ago, being purchased by Dutch sports car maker Spyker and getting back up to speed with production and sales.
Saab moved just 741 vehicles last month, although the 193 sales for the all-new 9-5 flagship was a marked improvement compared with the 9-5's performance in September.
Continued Momentum for Subaru, Hyundai, Kia, VW
Sales momentum continued for a number of brands that have done well in the past year or more.
Subaru of America Inc. is virtually guaranteed to have its best year ever. The company actually increased sales during the 2009 recession to record levels - and this year it is topping that.
October sales were Subaru's best ever, surpassing October 2009 sales by 25 percent. Driving overall results were record sales for the Outback, Forester and Legacy; Subaru has been boosting production to meet the unprecedented demand for almost all of its lineup. As of the end of October, Subaru was within a few hundred sales of setting a new annual record.
"Our 618 Subaru retailers throughout the country again did an outstanding job efficiently turning their inventory and generating record sales," said Timothy M. Colbeck, senior vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. "We had sales increases with our four core carlines. In addition, the launch of our new WRX and STI models has been a huge success - collectively up 50% compared to last October."
Hyundai Motor America reported all-time record October sales, which were up 38 percent from a year ago. As of the end of October, Hyundai already had exceeded total sales for 2009.
Sonata sales soared by 125 percent to more than 17,000 sold in October alone; two more versions - a hybrid and one with a more-powerful turbocharged 4-cylinder - are yet to go on sale. Tucson sales rocketed by 260 percent. The Elantra, in its last few months before being replaced, saw a 10-percent sales hike. Also posting double-digit sales increases were the Accent and Genesis.
Accent, Elantra, Sonata, Tucson and Genesis sales for October increased 17 percent, 10 percent, 125 percent, 260 percent and 28 percent respectively from last year's levels. Genesis sales marked the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases.
"We were very encouraged by what appeared to be a general strengthening of the overall sales environment in October," said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales, Hyundai Motor America. "The game-changing Sonata is red hot, once again outselling Altima, Fusion, and Malibu at retail."
Added Zuchowski: "As availability improves for Tucson and Santa Fe, coupled with the launch of turbo and hybrid versions of Sonata, we expect to continue to set sales records, elevate brand awareness and drive market share growth for the remainder of the fourth quarter."
In the next quarter, Hyundai goes to market with the all-new Equus flagship and a U.S.-built Elantra compact car.
Kia Motors America set a new record for October sales, which were up nearly 39 percent from a year ago. Kia sales were led for the 10th month in a row by the Sorento midsize crossover. Sorento sales, combined with sales of the newly redesigned 2011 Sportage, accounted for 80 percent of the brand's total volume in October. Still, the Forte and Soul pitched in with sales increases as well.
"Demand for Kia's first U.S.-built vehicle, the Sorento, remains extremely high, while the popularity of the all-new 2011 Sportage has outpaced supply since arriving in dealerships a few months ago," said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. He noted there's more to come with the promising 2011 Optima and sporty 2011 Forte 5-door.
Volkswagen of America Inc., which has ambitious U.S. sales goals, increased October sales by nearly 18 percent from a year ago. Its sales were paced by the new Jetta, which had its first full month of sales and its best sales month since 2005, with the exception of last year's Cash for Clunkers period.
Volkswagen has taken heat for its price-reduced new Jetta, which critics charge the German automaker has cheapened too much in its effort to make it affordable to more customers. In addition to heavily advertising the Jetta's affordable price, Volkswagen is offering one of its biggest incentives ever for the nameplate.
Also chipping into Volkswagen's total were higher sales of the Chrysler-built Routan minivan, Golf and GTI.
"Volkswagen continues to grow sales in all models and products through October," said Mark Barnes, VWoA's Chief Operating Officer. "It is good to see the all-new Jetta getting off to such a promising start and our TDI products continue to do well."
And the Others
Mitsubishi and Suzuki were the only other automakers to report sales Tuesday.
Mitsubishi had a 32-percent increase in October sales, its largest year-over-year percentage increase since July, 2002. The new Outlander takes most of the credit for Mitsubishi's improved performance, although the automaker's other models also posted increases.
"It appears that our sales and marketing efforts are coming to fruition at just the right time," said MMNA President & CEO Shin Kurihara. "The coming months will see the first significant sales of our new Outlander Sport compact CUV, and interest in that vehicle should drive customers to our dealers and benefit our full product line."
Suzuki is celebrating its first year-over-year sales increase in 27 months. October sales were up 17 percent from last October. The Grand Vitara and Equator saw double-digit sales hikes; the Kizashi, which wasn't on sale a year ago, kicked in as well.
Photo by BMW
The BMW 5 Series fueled the German luxury brand's October sales.
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