By The Numbers - December 2008: I Want My Mommy Edition
by John Neff on Jan 5th 2009 at 4:58PM 
The U.S. auto industry hasn't experienced a worse year of sales in recent memory, so it's fitting that 2008 should close with December sales data that's no better than the previous disappointing months.The only green you'll see below is next to MINI, which beat out December 2007 sales by only four vehicles. Every other automaker and its brands sold fewer cars this past month than the year prior.
Santa apparently wasn't putting Accords and Camrys under anyone's tree, as Toyota and Honda sales fell sharply, off 36.7% and 34.7%, respectively. General Motors (-31.4%) and Ford Motor Company (-32.4%) fared about the same, but the Chrysler Group took an unprecedented hit on the chin for a full-line automaker. It's December 2008 sales were down a full 53% versus last year. Chrysler brand sales alone were down an incredible 59.8% compared to 12/07. This means that HUMMER, for the first time in a long time, was not this month's Biggest Loser, managing to unload enough H3s to see sales fall by "only" 59.3%.
Props are also awarded to Audi (-9.3%), Lincoln (-10%), Subaru (-7.7%) and Volkswagen (-14.4%) who finished the year strong... well, as strong as could be expected.
Stay tuned for later today when we publish the annual By the Numbers - 2008: Phew! Glad That's Over Edition.
| BY THE NUMBERS - December 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Vol. % Change | Total Sales 12/08 | Total Sales 12/07 | DSR % Change | Daily Avg. 12/08 | Daily Avg. 12/07 |
| Acura |
-39.3% | 10,680 | 17,582 | -39.3% | 411 | 676 |
| Audi | -9.3% | 7,712 | 8,504 | -9.3% | 297 | 327 |
| BMW | -40.2% | 18,060 | 30,199 | -40.2% | 695 | 1,162 |
| Buick | -38.1% | 8,909 | 14,400 | -38.1% | 343 | 554 |
| Cadillac | -38.3% | 13,235 | 21,436 | -38.3% | 509 | 824 |
| Chevrolet | -25.8% | 137,691 | 185,626 | -25.8% | 5,296 | 7,139 |
| Chrysler | -59.8% | 19,453 | 48,384 | -59.8% | 748 | 1,861 |
| Dodge | -51.9% | 47,269 | 98,235 | -51.9% | 1,818 | 3,778 |
| Ford | -33% | 116,188 | 173,648 | -33% | 4,469 | 6,679 |
| GMC | -34.5% | 29,783 | 45,503 | -34.5% | 1,146 | 1,750 |
| Honda | -34% | 75,405 | 114,210 | -34% | 2,900 | 4,393 |
| HUMMER | -59.3% | 2,170 | 5,333 | -59.3% | 83 | 205 |
| Hyundai | NA | |||||
| Infiniti | -34.6% | 8,273 | 12,655 | -34.6% | 318 | 487 |
| Jeep | -48.5% | 23,091 | 44,804 | -48.5% | 888 | 1,723 |
| Kia | -39.2% | 14,644 | 24,068 | -39.2% | 563 | 926 |
| Lexus | -32.4% | 23,362 | 34,555 | -32.4% | 899 | 1,329 |
| Lincoln | -10% | 9,053 | 10,065 | -10% | 348 | 387 |
| Mazda | -27.9% | 17,965 | 24,933 | -27.9% | 691 | 959 |
| Mercedes-Benz | -32.1% | 18,507 | 27,269 | -32.1% | 711 | 1,049 |
| Mercury | -29.8% | 8,873 | 12,631 | -29.8% | 341 | 486 |
| MINI | 0.1% | 3,566 | 3,562 | 0.1% | 137 | 137 |
| Mitsubishi | -22.6% | 4,570 | 5,904 | -22.6% | 176 | 227 |
| Nissan | -30% | 53,829 | 76,900 | -30% | 2,070 | 2,958 |
| Pontiac | -45.5% | 16,466 | 30,211 | -45.5% | 633 | 1,162 |
| Porsche | -25.5% | 2,154 | 2,891 | -25.5% | 82 | 111 |
| Saab | -57% | 1,179 | 2,748 | -57% | 45 | 106 |
| Saturn | -30.9% | 12,570 | 18,196 | -30.9% | 483 | 700 |
| Subaru | -7.7% | 17,287 | 18,739 | -7.7% | 664 | 721 |
| Suzuki | NA | |||||
| Toyota | -37.5% | 118,587 | 189,844 | -37.5% | 4,561 | 7,302 |
| Volkswagen | -14.4% | 17,577 | 20,543 | -14.4% | 676 | 790 |
| Volvo | -47% | 4,953 | 9,341 | -47% | 191 | 359 |
| COMPANIES | ||||||
| BMW Group | -35.9% |
21,626 |
33,761 |
-35.9% |
832 |
1,299 |
| Chrysler LLC | -53% | 89,813 | 191,423 | -53% | 3,454 | 7,362 |
| FoMoCo | -32.4% | 139,067 | 205,685 | -32.4% | 5,349 | 7,911 |
| General Motors | -31.4% | 221,983 | 323,453 | -31.4% | 8,538 | 12,441 |
| Honda America | -34.7% |
86,085 |
131,792 |
-34.7% |
3,311 |
5,069 |
| Nissan NA | -30.1% | 62,102 | 89,555 | -30.1% | 2,389 | 3,444 |
| Toyota Mo Co | -36.7% |
141,949 | 224,399 | -36.7% | 5,460 | 8,631 |
December 2008 had 26 selling days versus 26 selling days for December 2007.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
sk 5:07PM (1/05/2009)
Dooms Day for Chrysler
Reply
MemphisNET 5:42PM (1/05/2009)
..yet they still sold more than Honda/Acura.
We're only comparing numbers between 07 and 08. Everyone got rocked last year. They're def the worst off, but they also slashed capacity, stopped selling to fleets and killed 5 models.
snp 5:50PM (1/05/2009)
@MemphisNET
Except Honda is still profitable with cash and their annual decline is at 8%. Chrysler has been declining for a long time now and in the past 6 months, their decline has hastened. And expectations are that it will continue to decline for the next 6 months as well. Also, every other volume automaker has beat expectations. Nissan/GM beat it by 10%, Honda by 4-5%, Ford and Toyota by 1-2%. The only one that fell below analyst sales expectations is Chrysler. And by a huge margin too.
Mobius_1 6:00PM (1/05/2009)
lol, volume doesn't really tell much about a company's profits. Just look at Ferrari or Porsche.
snp 6:14PM (1/05/2009)
Porsche's business model = pre-modern auto market 100+yrs ago. When only a handful of people in society could afford cars.
@Mobius
Profits are good, only if you have the high potential for profits. Porsche profits would never reach Ford/GM's back in the heyday or Toyota/Honda pre-credit crunch. Besides, porsche volumes are about the size Hummer's. And that's after gas price/credit/economy/PR/Govt bailout/etc crushed Hummer sales.
MemphisNET 6:31PM (1/05/2009)
All I'm saying is, numbers don't always reflect the big picture. They're also in the middle of a massive turn around and restructuring -- which started before this whole economic screwup.
Judy Zik 12:35AM (1/06/2009)
Put whatever spin you want on it. A company that has kissed goodbye to 59% of their sales year over year is in trouble. Especially a large manufacturer like Chrysler. It is nearly impossible for an automaker to reduce capacity and cut corresponding costs that much that fast. Cerberus is cutting but I don't think they have the any chance of cutting enough to get Chrysler back into the black without killing the product and the future product lines.
I would believe in Chrysler's turnaround if they gave us something to believe in. Where is their Cruze or Fusion Hybrid? If they have exciting new products they need to get them out on the floor in Detroit (real cars not pie in the sky). Otherwise the pipeline is looking pretty empty and a car maker without a pipeline of new products has no future. Especially when the public has so thoroughly rejected their current product line.
tbss_in_the_D 5:11PM (1/05/2009)
Wow This very sad all around. I hope 2009 brings some better numbers.
Reply
Red 5:12PM (1/05/2009)
These numbers only tell half the story. Here are the year end figures:
Acura, down 20 percent to 144,504.
Audi, down 6.1 percent to 87,760.
Buick, down 26.2 percent to 137,197.
BMW, down 15.2 percent to 249,113.
Cadillac, down 24.9 percent to 161,159.
Chevrolet, down 20.5 percent to 1,801,131.
Chrysler, down 38 percent to 335,108.
Dodge, down 26 percent to 784,113.
Ford, down 19.1 percent to 1,687,731.
GMC, down 25.5 percent to 376,996.
Honda, down 6.7 percent to 1,284,261.
Hummer, down 50.9 percent to 27,485.
Infiniti, down 11.1 percent to 112,989.
Jeep, down 30 percent to 333,901.
Lexus, down 21.2 percent to 260,087.
Lincoln, down 18.4 percent to 107,295.
Mercedes-Benz, down 11.2 percent to 225,128.
Mercury, down 28.6 percent to 120,248.
Mini, up 28.6 percent to 54,077.
Nissan, down 10.9 percent to 838,361.
Pontiac, down 25.3 percent to 267,348.
Saab, down 34.7 percent to 21,368.
Saturn, down 21.7 percent to 188,004.
Subaru, up 0.3 percent to 187,699.
Toyota, down 14.9 percent to 1,957,575.
Volvo, down 31.2 percent to 73,102.
Volkswagen, down 3.2 percent to 223,128.
It's interesting to note, Acura really dragged Honda's overall figures down pretty significantly over Honda's. Toyota fell harder, but they're a much larger autocompany than Honda (Honda has many other ventures and IMHO are in a better position for it). Volkswagen/Audi faired quite well, but none of this is really saying much because some of these companies had crappy 2007s, but less crappy 2008s. For most others, it's just the opposite. These numbers just don't tell the whole story, but it's pretty clear the larger the company, the harder the fall. Seems perhaps Toyota overtaking GM as the number 1 automaker was a short-lived positive where US sales are concerned.
Reply
zamafir 5:22PM (1/05/2009)
"Seems perhaps Toyota overtaking GM as the number 1 automaker was a short-lived positive where US sales are concerned."
Not really, it was always pointless, I never understood why/how GM could continue to sell cars at a loss simply to eek out enough to just beat Toyota who... wasn't selling cars at a loss. It'll be interesting to see where both stand next year, i'd wager the company who continued to sell cars not at a loss, while crest fallen, will continue to be better off then that which did everything they could to keep paper numbers up without looking at profit, margin, etc. I’m always concerned when I hear companies constantly talking about only one measure of their business, in this case total sales, blissfully ignoring more crucial measures, such as profit per item sold, etc.
BigMcLargeHuge 5:39PM (1/05/2009)
@ zamafir.
Welcome to the age of 'disinformation'. I'm convinced that rapid data flow was bound to hurt businesses in the long run because it gives an unprecedented ability to micromanage.
While on the surface that sounds like they'd be doing their company a service by tracking every number and forcing the company to make it positive in the short-run, corporate America has totally lost the ability to see trends in the long-term. In only a few short years of internet and computing evolution.
Its still going on. I doubt this economic downturn will re-teach managers how to stick to core business principles, and not sacrifice future stability for instantaneous 'numbers'.
Its like giving a child a gun without parental supervision and hoping they'll learn how to use it properly. And it trickles up and down all rungs of society. From government to household. I'm sure someone thought they could afford a mortgage 'right now', without even giving a contingency for failure a second thought.
Dan 5:48PM (1/05/2009)
That GM sells cars at a loss is an oversimplification.
They consistently make cars, they consistently lose money, dividing one by the other says they're losing $2000 a car so by extension not building that car would save them $2000.
That's missing the point of where they're losing the $2000. They make significantly more money selling a car than the variable costs of producing it. The anchor drowning them is the fixed cost of gold plated benefits for their retirees.
Jake 5:15PM (1/05/2009)
Well, you know what that means for 2009????
Easy Compare!
Reply
Beat-it-nerd 5:15PM (1/05/2009)
Whoa!
Reply
parazitu22 5:16PM (1/05/2009)
Go Subie!!! Share the love baby!
Reply
Jason 5:59PM (1/05/2009)
Mini up yet again.
Reply
ibinubu12 6:28PM (1/05/2009)
By 4 vehicles. Hardly something to brag about, considering that the Clubman was launched in February, and they could only manage 4 more vehicles for the year with another model.
firstplace 5:39PM (1/05/2009)
So Lexus really is the #1 luxury manufacturer. Hmmm Subaru very slightly up... I guess the bland impreza styling worked...
Reply
Mark 5:46PM (1/05/2009)
Technically, no, Lexus is not the #1 luxury manufacture.
Luxury sales are by price threshold, not brand. The threshold for luxury is considered $42,000. Mercedes-Benz - by a significant margin - sells the most vehicles over $42,000 in the United States. More than half of Lexus sales and, IIRC, about one-third of BMW sales, are under $42,000.
Though if you want to look at it by brand, and only by brand, yes, Lexus is #1, and has been for a while. It's pretty easy to do when most of your vehicles are in the $32-$42,000 range.
firstplace 5:51PM (1/05/2009)
who determines the luxury threshold?