U.S. Auto Sales Results: August 2014 YTD

by Timothy Cain

Published: September 3rd, 2014

Against less lofty expectations, the U.S. auto industry generated more than 1.58 million new vehicle sales in August 2014, a 5.4% improvement compared with the same period last year. The biggest gains came from Nissan and FCA/Chrysler Group, which jointly raised their August sales total from 286,050 to 332,767 units. Jeep and Ram were the only two brands to top 30% in terms of year-over-year growth.

Honda set a sales record with the Accord by topping 51,000 units, but the Honda brand was up just 1.5% as the Civic and CR-V slid back from their very high August 2013 performances. The Toyota RAV4 – not the Honda CR-V; not the Ford Escape – was America’s top-selling utility vehicle. Pickup truck sales jumped 6% as the full-size GM twins combined to outsell the declining Ford F-Series.

AutomakerAugust 2014August 2013% Change2014 YTD2013 YTD% ChangeAcura 15,48717,051-9.2%105,918109,182-3.0%Audi 17,10114,00522.1%116,066101,34614.5%BMW 27,21424,52311.0%211,005188,99711.6%Buick 22,14324,650-10.2%153,298141,8808.0%Cadillac 16,65020,255-17.8%114,008119,586-4.7%Chevrolet 185,930187,740-1.0%1,388,9931,365,5441.7%Chrysler 29,76228,678 3.8%194,285212,495-8.6%Dodge 49,89552,858 -5.6%399,937413,258-3.2%Fiat 3,3624,190 -19.8%32,14129,5858.6%Ford 213,227 212,212 0.5% 1,637,666 1,649,821 -0.7%GMC 47,70043,20210.4%328,152303,2548.2%Honda 151,551149,3811.5%936,464944,267-0.8%Hyundai 70,003 66,101 5.9% 501,448 493,116 1.7%Infiniti 9,164 11,884 -22.9% 77,04371,879 7.2%Jaguar 1,1841,723 -31.3%10,68811,134-4.0%Jeep 68,76646,239 48.7%461,156317,92145.1%Kia 54,66752,025 5.1%403,389378,3806.6%Land Rover 4,4894,938 -9.1%35,31831,97210.5%Lexus 32,80929,79210.1%198,831171,23816.1%Lincoln 8,1468,192-0.6%60,53153,39913.4%Maserati 1,233326278.2%7,8071,862319.3%Mazda 31,30528,10611.4%216,973198,0279.6%Mercedes-Benz 27,07824,761 9.4% 205,894 190,359 8.2%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,8801,390 35.3% 15,577 12,788 21.8% Total Mercedes-Benz 28,958 26,151 10.7% 221,471 203,147 9.0%Mini 5,0066,023-16.9%34,96944,329-21.1%Mitsubishi 6,7865,28128.5%52,80740,84729.3%Nissan 125,224108,61415.3%883,274782,36912.9%Porsche 4,5403,327 36.5%31,75928,45611.6%Ram 46,59433,587 38.7%298,650240,72724.1%Scion 6,1867,698-19.6%41,94948,959-14.3%Smart 1,33499334.3%7,3326,31216.2%Subaru 50,24641,06122.4%333,968281,65218.6%Suzuki ————5,946-100%Toyota 207,105 194,047 6.7% 1,386,729 1,313,525 5.6%Volkswagen 35,18140,342-12.8%244,878282,913-13.4%Volvo 4,9605,518-10.1%39,18444,005-11.0%————— ——BMW-Mini 32,22030,5465.5%245,974233,3265.4%Chrysler Group/FCA 198,379165,55219.8%1,386,1691,213,98614.2%Daimler 30,29227,14411.6%228,803209,4599.2%Ford Motor Company 221,373 220,404 0.4% 1,698,197 1,703,220 -0.3%General Motors 272,423275,847-1.2% 1,984,4511,930,2642.8%Honda Motor Company167,038166,4320.4%1,042,382 1,053,449-1.1%Hyundai-Kia 124,670 118,1265.5%904,837 871,496 3.8%Jaguar-Land Rover 5,6736,661 -14.8%46,006 43,1066.7%Nissan Motor Company 134,388 120,49811.5% 960,317854,24812.4%Toyota Motor Corporation246,100231,5376.3%1,627,509 1,533,7226.1%Volkswagen Group * 56,822 57,674 -1.5% 392,703 412,715 -4.8%———————Industry Total **1,586,3741,503,6655.5% 11,191,06810,651,9575.1%

* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands

** Industry total includes Automotive News sales estimates for ultra-low-volume automakers and their 1800-unit (August) Tesla sales estimate.

#August2014 #Sales #TimothyCain #U.S.AutoSales

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Jeff Semenak on Sep 03, 2014

Just bought a new Ford Flex SE today. Plenty of power and great space inside. Handles sharply and blue is a great color for it. Awesome highway cruiser. Quiet at speed and, speed is easy to achieve. Well worth 30k, in my opinion. If the editors, want to do a review, I live in Tempe,AZ

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- Quentin on Sep 04, 2014
  
  That would be a September sale. :P
  
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Mjz on Sep 04, 2014

Jeep is really the big story here. Sales up over 22,000 units for the month alone, with a whopping near 50% increase. YTD up an amazing 45% and 144,000 units. Almost all due to the new Cherokee, which everyone predicted would be a major flop. It was the best selling Jeep last month. So much for that.

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- Quentin on Sep 04, 2014
  
  Only people with a complete disconnect from reality thought it would flop. No one should be surprised at Jeep's sales, either. Last year, they didn't even compete in the compact CUV segment which is the hottest segment in the US right now. The Cherokee wasn't DOA (like the previous Compass and Patriot) for what the market wanted and the Jeep name has a lot of equity. People love polarizing style. For the market, the Cherokee was well positioned to do well. Most of the naysayers were against the vehicle in a philosophical way rather than thinking it had a poor business case. It doesn't have solid front and rear axles like the beloved XJ. All except for the Trailhawk look to be a Rav4/CRV/Escape with Jeepish styling... they are effectively tall station wagons with AWD rather than offroad capable SUVs. Judging by the Trailhawk youtube videos that Jeep put up where they talk about articulation and then show the Trailhawk with a wheel a solid foot off the ground because the IRS doesn't allow for much articulation, I'm not sure how much of the Trailhawk is just looks versus legit offroad capability. The Cherokee will find a lot of homes as a CUV for hauling the kids around. That is what most people need these days. It won't serve as a replacement for the cult icon XJ Cherokee. That was the main point of criticism. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to sell a lot of cars, don't listen to enthusiasts. A modern XJ would probably struggle to move 50k units a year.
  
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