By the Numbers - October 2008: "Thanks, GMAC!" Edition
by John Neff on Nov 3rd 2008 at 4:00PM 
Sales for the month of October 2008 were... ahem... not good. The auto industry in the U.S. has found a way to slide further into oblivion with only a few bright spots from Audi and MINI, the latter of which enjoyed monster sales last month we suspect on account of greater production capacity this year versus October 2007.While all the major players were down, General Motors, the largest of them all, was hit the hardest. Its sales volume for October 2008 fell 45% compared to last year. It went from selling an average of 11,923 cars per day in October 2007 to just 6,318 last month. Each of its brands were down, with HUMMER taking the Biggest Loser crown (yet again). The real story, however, is how close behind the other brands were, with Cadillac falling 55.1%, Buick 46.3%, Chevy 40.3%, GMC 52.5%, Pontiac 48.2% and Saturn 54.6%.
What can account for GM's entire brand portfolio taking such a hit? GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors that's majority owned by Cerberus. Halfway through the month GMAC decreed it would only lend money only to buyers with a credit score above 700, which effectively wiped out in-house financing for the majority of GM customers. While dealers could still work with banks to secure financing (and were encouraged to do so), it appears the damage wrought by GMAC could not be undone.
| BY THE NUMBERS - October 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Vol. % Change | Total Sales 10/08 | Total Sales 10/07 | DSR % Change | Daily Avg. 10/08 | Daily Avg. 10/07 |
| Acura |
-21.56% | 10,108 | 12,886 | -24.46% | 374 | 496 |
| Audi | 0.3% | 7,443 | 7,420 | -3.4% | 276 | 285 |
| BMW | -13.9% | 20,203 | 23,451 | -17% | 748 | 902 |
| Buick | -46.3% | 7,642 | 14,231 | -48.3% | 283 | 547 |
| Cadillac | -55.1% | 9,541 | 21,267 | -56.8% | 353 | 818 |
| Chevrolet | -40.3% | 107,313 | 179,825 | -42.5% | 3,975 | 6,916 |
| Chrysler | -50.8% | 19,903 | 40,440 | -52.6% | 737 | 1,555 |
| Dodge | -27% | 53,267 | 73,020 | -29.75% | 1,973 | 2,808 |
| Ford | -27.9% | 114,969 | 159,361 | -30.5% | 4,258 | 6,129 |
| GMC | -52.5% | 21,109 | 44,456 | -54.3% | 782 | 1,710 |
| Honda | -25.66% | 75,756 | 101,913 | -28.41% | 2,806 | 3,920 |
| HUMMER | -64.6% | 1,368 | 3,864 | -66% | 51 | 149 |
| Hyundai | -31.1% | 20,820 | 30,232 | -33.7% | 771 | 1,162 |
| Infiniti | -28.5% | 7,112 | 9,954 | -31.2% | 263 | 383 |
| Jeep | -32.9% | 21,360 | 31,856 | -35.4% | 791 | 1,225 |
| Kia | -38.5% | 15,483 | 25,185 | -40.8% | 573 | 969 |
| Lexus | -35.2% | 16,283 | 25,119 | -37.6% | 603 | 966 |
| Lincoln | -27.7% | 7,399 | 10,229 | -30.3% | 274 | 393 |
| Mazda | -25.9% | 16,442 | 22,201 | -28.7% | 609 | 854 |
| Mercedes-Benz | -34.3% | 14,996 | 22,820 | -36.7% | 555 | 878 |
| Mercury | -47.4% | 6,753 | 12,844 | -49.4% | 250 | 494 |
| MINI | 56.4% | 5,272 | 3,370 | 50.6% | 195 | 130 |
| Mitsubishi | -19.3% | 7,486 | 9,280 | -22.3% | 277 | 357 |
| Nissan | -33.5% | 49,833 | 74,992 | -36% | 1,846 | 2,884 |
| Pontiac | -48.2% | 13,054 | 25,182 | -50% | 483 | 969 |
| Porsche | -50.1% | 1,427 | 2,862 | -52% | 53 | 110 |
| Saab | -13.2% | 1,975 | 2,275 | -16.4% | 73 | 88 |
| Saturn | -54.6% | 8,583 | 18,908 | -56.3% | 318 | 727 |
| Subaru | NA | |||||
| Suzuki | -46.7% | 3,482 | 6,536 | -48.7% | 129 | 251 |
| Toyota | -21.3% | 135,818 | 172,473 | -24.2% | 5,030 | 6,634 |
| Volkswagen | -7.9% | 15,889 | 17,260 | -11.4% | 588 | 664 |
| Volvo | -52.1% | 3,717 | 7,761 | -53.9% | 138 | 299 |
| COMPANIES | ||||||
| BMW Group | -5% |
25,475 |
26,821 |
-8.5% |
944 |
1,032 |
| Chrysler LLC | -34.9% | 94,530 | 145,316 | -37.4% | 3,501 | 5,589 |
| FoMoCo | -30.2% | 132,838 | 190,195 | -32.7% | 4,920 | 7,315 |
| General Motors | -45% | 170,585 | 310,008 | -47% | 6,318 | 11,923 |
| Honda Amer. | -25.2% |
85,864 |
114,799 |
-28% |
3,180 |
4,415 |
| Nissan NA | -33% | 56,945 | 84,947 | -35.4% | 2,109 | 3,267 |
| Toyota Mo Co | -23% |
152,101 | 197,592 | -25.9% | 5,633 | 7,600 |
Update: Dodge numbers fixed.
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
Michael 8:54PM (11/03/2008)
Where are Subaru's numbers?
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brantb98 9:24PM (11/03/2008)
Not sure way they aren't here since the numbers were out before this post. From the AP story...
Sales fell 13.8 percent to 12,917 from 14,979 a year ago.
"Volumes of its popular Outback plunged 45.2 percent to 2,348. That steep decline offset flat sales of its Impreza sedan, which came in at 3,891 and outpaced the Outback as Subaru's No. 1 model."
Odd since I still don't see very many Imprezas around here in the midwest. Maybe still partial to our Indiana built Outbacks.
Patrick 11:29PM (11/03/2008)
Brantb, problem with the Outback is that it is a piglet--small and gas-thirsty.
mikeyt 10:03PM (11/03/2008)
saab fell a lot less than other makes. thats pretty impressive considering the amount of dealer consolidation thats been occuring. i'm already on my 3rd dealer in just over a year due to GM or other dealers buying their franchise
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inteller 10:30PM (11/03/2008)
oh no, based on these sales NO ONE wants small performance cars. Ford would be STUPID to bring things like the Focus RS or Fiesta ST over here.
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bduddy 12:24AM (11/04/2008)
Surely that green car must get to the bottom of that red hill sometime soon... right?
Right?
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ij70 12:30AM (11/04/2008)
The only smart thing I can add to these comments is that: GM should have suspended about half of its car brands when gas hit 2-2.50 dollars mark. That way they could concentrate on directly competing with other car makers and their products would not compete with each other.
I do not say kill Buick, Saturn, etc. Just suspend them, when things are better, bring them back.
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nagmashot 12:38AM (11/04/2008)
I am pretty sure Volkswagen is pretty happy that they are not big on the US market... the handfull cars they sell in the US have no effect on their global sale numbers. Volkswagen (all brands) increased thier part on the world market from Jan to Sep 2008 to 10.1% of the whole market compared to 9.6% last year. In Sep 2008 they sold 550,000cars +0.7%, in the firs 9month they sold 4.8million cars +3.9% ... the 2000cars they have sold less in the USA have no effect on that numbers. If Toyota and GM continue to droop in sales numbers by XX% each month Volkswagen is pretty quick in the race for world wide number one..
Volkswagen made a win after tax in the first 9months 2008 of 3.7billion Euro (+28.5%)
3.7billion Euro = $ 4.732.263.000 based on todays exchange rate
numbers most car producer can only dream off currently...
Other than the rest of the big manufactors Volkswagen do not reduce their planed 2008 numbers.
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bismillah 1:30AM (11/04/2008)
Just bought a new 2008 VW Touareg last week. Got it for over $19,000 off MSRP!!
Chase 2:39AM (11/04/2008)
VW has Lex Luthor hidden away somewhere in management.
BigWill 8:22AM (11/04/2008)
"Just bought a new 2008 VW Touareg last week. Got it for over $19,000 off MSRP!!"
I hope you used some of that $19,000 to buy an extended warranty with rental/courtesy car coverage.
Avinash machado 8:19AM (11/04/2008)
Sad times for the American auto industry.
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bob 10:28AM (11/04/2008)
You say "damage wrought" by GMAC, but in reality it's just a return to smarter lending practices. If that means less sales, so be it. What that shows is that a whole heck of a lot of peopel that shouldn't have been getting loans were getting them, which btw was creating the credit mess in the first place.
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Judy Zik 10:50AM (11/04/2008)
Canadian Sales News for those that are interested. Sales were still increasing though Ford and GM were down. A bit strange compared to the American market the whole idea that it would be unprecidented for a foreign make to take the number two spot for the year.
"DesRosiers noted that Toyota came in second place in October “and are now building a strong lead year-to-date over both Ford and Chrysler for number-two spot,” he said. “This would be a first. Chrysler on rare occasions have beaten Ford for the number-two position, but never has an import nameplate OEM come in second in the Canadian market.”
Sales for October were as follows:
Manufacturer Oct 2008 Oct 2007 Percentage change
Chrysler 15,643 15,411 +1.5
Ford 15,123 16,863 -10.3
General Motors/Saab 28,220 30,055 -6.1
Audi 1,075 641 +67.7
BMW/Mini 2,671 2,098 +27.3
Honda/Acura 11,455 11,377 +0.7
Hyundai 5,885 5,803 +1.4
Jaguar 55 40 +37.5
Kia 2,925 2,919 +0.2
Land Rover 217 199 +9.0
Mazda 6,109 6,040 +1.1
Mercedes-Benz 1,990 1,508 +32.0
Nissan/Infiniti 6,833 6,331 +7.9
Porsche 114 156 -26.9
Subaru 1,784 1,446 +23.4
Suzuki 1,316 1,082 +21.6
Toyota/Lexus 15,843 14,484 +9.4
Volkswagen 3,662 2,659 +37.7
Volvo 453 433 +4.6
Total sales 122,711 120,926 +1.5
Domestic nameplates 58,986 62,329 -5.4
Import nameplates 63,725 58,597 +8.8"
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B-NOIT 7:10PM (11/04/2008)
I've been looking for Canadian sales figures forever... Where do you find them??
B-NOIT 7:10PM (11/04/2008)
And upon closer inspection:
Greatest winners:
1. Audi (+67.7%)
2. Volkswagen (+37.7%)
Obviously, this company knows what it's doing.
And yes, I love my new Jetta 2.0T.
Judy Zik 11:54PM (11/04/2008)
They generally hit the newswire. You can read the whole article here.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenews/2008/11/04/canadian-auto-sales-up-15-per-cent-in-october.htm
You will be happy to know that Volkswagon is so confident that they plan on spending 6 billion Euros to expland their network of dealerships.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aR.9H5gV1IAA&refer=germany
Kevin 1:44PM (11/04/2008)
What surprises me the most is how poorly Saturn is doing. They have two outstanding new products in the Aura and the Outlook and I see those models everywhere, so it's not like they aren't selling any cars. On the other hand, Toyota being down doesn't surprise at all, because when things were great they sold a ton of cars and now those cars are getting some miles on them and needing warranty support, those owners, like myself, are finding out how difficult Toyota dealers can be when it comes to warranty.
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B-NOIT 7:10PM (11/04/2008)
The thing with Saturn is that the Ion was its volume seller, and for some reason the Astra hasn't caught on. It's really a decent car (vs. the Ion, which was a lump of junk), so I really don't understand what's going on in buyers' heads.
Lance Dixon 6:47PM (11/04/2008)
I would like to receive this service.
Reply