By the Numbers: July 2006

The numbers for July have rolled in and we bet most manufacturers wish they would roll right back out. Of the 34 brands that have reported their July sales so far, 22 are reporting a drop in monthly sales versus the same period last year.

The Chrysler Group's drop has attracted the most attention thus far, with each of the group's three brands (Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep) reporting between a 34% and 35% drop in sales. The few bright spots Chrysler pointed out include the Chrysler 300 gaining 4% and the Dodge Charger jumping 53% in sales over last July. The newly arrived Jeep Compass wasn't on lots long in July, but did manage to move 707 units.

The big theme of July's sales figures is that truck and SUV sales are dragging down sales as a whole. Chevy's passenger car sales were up 18.2% in July at 81,430 units, but the brand's truck division fell 27.9% so that total sales were down 17.1%. While Ford's passenger car sales were down only 5.6%, its truck and SUV sales fell 44.1%, producing brand-wide sales that were 35.7% below July 2005.

Of course, no one is surprised how harsh the hot summer month of July has been considering the successful sales incentives of last summer. Except, perhaps, the Chrysler Group, which was the only automaker to reinstate employee pricing again this summer yet still get whacked with a big drop in sales. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Co. and Honda America continue their aggressive grab for market share by posting a 16.21% and 10.2% rise in sales last month, respectively.

Big Winner:
Isuzu 34.2%

Big Loser:
Saab -41.2%

BRANDS
Acura –4.9% at 18,203 (July 2005: 19,909)
Audi –2.6% at 7,005 (July 2005: 7,190)
BMW –13.4% at 20,083 (July 2005: 23,178)
Buick –34.7% at 23,609 (July 2005: 37,618)
Cadillac –21.8% at 19,124 (July 2005: 25,431)
Chevrolet –17.1% at 244,080 (July 2005: 306,160)
Chrysler –35% at 38,124 (July 2005: 61,193)
Dodge –35% at 76,394 (July 2005: 122,673)
Ford –35.7% at 199,735 (July 2005: 310,757)
GMC –36.5% at 48,085 (July 2005: 78,717)
Honda 12.7% at 133,601 (July 2005: 123,308)
HUMMER –2.7% at 6,991 (July 2005: 7,476)
Hyundai 6.2% at 47,205 (July 2005: 44,431)
Infiniti –18.1% at 10,548 (July 2005: 13,395)
Isuzu 34.2% at 1,336 (July 2005: 1,035)
Jaguar –15.1% at 1,997 (July 2005: 2,353)
Jeep –34% at 35,831 (July 2005: 56,280)
Kia 2.3% at 26,429 (July 2005: 26,052)
Land Rover –30.6% at 3,524 (July 2005: 5,080)
Lexus 5.6% at 26,959 (July 2005: 26,562)
Lincoln –21.5% at 9,125 (July 2005: 11,621)
Mazda 5% at 25,963 (July 2005: 24,820)
Mercedes 3.8% at 21,591 (July 2005: 20,791)
Mercury –34.1% at 16,635 (July 2005: 25,238)
MINI -3.7% at 3,528 (July 2005: 3,662)
Mitsubishi 1.2% at 10,376 (July 2005: 10,376)
Nissan –16% at 75,860 (July 2005: 93,905)
Pontiac .1% at 40,993 (July 2005: 42,541)
Saab –41.2% at 3,658 (July 2005: 6,469)
Saturn –4.3% at 22,516 (July 2005: 24,471)
Subaru - 5% at 18,923 (July 2005: 17,959)
Suzuki 13% at 8,030 (July 2005: 7,125)
Toyota 17.71% at 214,867 (July 2005: 189,855)
Volkswagen 5% at 22,627 (July 2005: 21,553)
Volvo –10.2% at 10,323 (July 2005: 11,499)

Porsche - YET TO REPORT


COMPANIES
BMW Group –12% at 23,611 (July 2005: 26,840)
Chrysler Group –35% at 150,349 (July 2005: 240,146)
Ford Motor Co –34.2% at 241,339 (July 2005: 366,548)
General Motors –19.5% at 410,332 (July 2005: 530,027)
Honda America 10.2% at 151,804 (July 2005: 143,217)
Nissan North America –16.2% at 86,408 (July 2005: 107,300)
Toyota Motor Co. 16.21% at 241,826 (July 2005: 216,417)

Editors note: most percentages are reported as the change in daily sales rate (DSR) since there were only 25 selling days in July 2006 versus 26 selling days in July 2005. We found many automakers had averaged out the amount of vehicles sold per day in July of both years and used that figure to calculate the percentage of loss or gain year-over-year.