By the Numbers - June 2009: Bankruptcy a Bad Idea Edition
by John Neff on Jul 1st 2009 at 5:18PM 
FoMoCo falls only 11%, Chrysler Group drops 42%
Want more proof that Ford Motor Company made the right move in avoiding bankruptcy, unlike General Motors and the Chrysler Group, its cross-town rivals? Sales figures for the month of June 2009 show that Ford sharply lessened its sales slide with a fall of just 10.85 percent versus the same month last year. Compare that with drops of 33.6 and 41.85 percent for GM and Chrysler respectively. It appears that Ford has remained on track during these tumultuous times, and its improved performance last month could signal the beginning of a turnaround for which it may be ideally suited to take full advantage. We're sure the guys and gals at Ford are smiling today, even if the Camaro did outsell the Mustang for the first time in 15 years.
Subaru has again managed to post impressive numbers, with June 2009 sales up 3.4 percent by volume compared to last year. Volvo even posted a slight gain thanks in large part to the introduction of the all-new XC60.
Check out the rest of the numbers below. Brands and Companies are both displayed in ascending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in June 2009 compared to 24 selling days in June 2008, so the change in average daily sales can be found in the right three columns.
Want more proof that Ford Motor Company made the right move in avoiding bankruptcy, unlike General Motors and the Chrysler Group, its cross-town rivals? Sales figures for the month of June 2009 show that Ford sharply lessened its sales slide with a fall of just 10.85 percent versus the same month last year. Compare that with drops of 33.6 and 41.85 percent for GM and Chrysler respectively. It appears that Ford has remained on track during these tumultuous times, and its improved performance last month could signal the beginning of a turnaround for which it may be ideally suited to take full advantage. We're sure the guys and gals at Ford are smiling today, even if the Camaro did outsell the Mustang for the first time in 15 years.Subaru has again managed to post impressive numbers, with June 2009 sales up 3.4 percent by volume compared to last year. Volvo even posted a slight gain thanks in large part to the introduction of the all-new XC60.
Check out the rest of the numbers below. Brands and Companies are both displayed in ascending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in June 2009 compared to 24 selling days in June 2008, so the change in average daily sales can be found in the right three columns.
| Brand | Volume % | June 2009 | June 2008 | DSR* % | DSR 6/09 | DSR 6/08 |
| Subaru | 3.40 | 18,620 | 18,007 | -0.73 | 745 | 750 |
| Volvo | 0.59 | 7,042 | 7,001 | -3.44 | 282 | 292 |
| Kia | -5.11 | 26,845 | 28,292 | -8.91 | 1,074 | 1,179 |
| Ford | -8.26 | 133,684 | 145,715 | -11.93 | 5,347 | 6,071 |
| Audi | -8.28 | 7,524 | 8,203 | -11.95 | 301 | 342 |
| Buick | -10.69 | 8,601 | 9,631 | -14.27 | 344 | 401 |
| Pontiac | -16.41 | 23,740 | 28,402 | -19.76 | 950 | 1,183 |
| Lexus | -16.68 | 16,874 | 20,253 | -20.02 | 675 | 844 |
| Volkswagen | -18.02 | 19,027 | 23,208 | -21.29 | 761 | 967 |
| BMW | -20.05 | 16,744 | 20,944 | -23.25 | 670 | 873 |
| Mini | -21.22 | 4,105 | 5,211 | -24.38 | 164 | 217 |
| Nissan | -21.86 | 51,994 | 66,543 | -24.99 | 2,080 | 2,773 |
| Mercedes | -22.58 | 15,155 | 19,576 | -25.68 | 606 | 816 |
| Hyundai | -24.16 | 37,943 | 50,033 | -27.20 | 1,518 | 2,085 |
| Lincoln | -26.56 | 7,137 | 9,718 | -29.50 | 285 | 405 |
| Honda | -29.17 | 92,140 | 130,083 | -32.00 | 3,686 | 5,420 |
| Infiniti | -32.25 | 6,304 | 9,305 | -34.96 | 252 | 388 |
| Chevy | -33.30 | 106,712 | 159,998 | -35.97 | 4,268 | 6,667 |
| Acura | -33.53 | 8,280 | 12,456 | -36.18 | 331 | 519 |
| Toyota | -33.65 | 114,780 | 172,981 | -36.30 | 4,591 | 7,208 |
| GMC | -35.96 | 19,668 | 30,713 | -38.52 | 787 | 1,280 |
| Mercury | -37.10 | 7,332 | 11,657 | -39.62 | 293 | 486 |
| Jeep | -37.66 | 16,608 | 26,642 | -40.16 | 664 | 1,110 |
| Dodge | -40.43 | 37,936 | 63,687 | -42.82 | 1,517 | 2,654 |
| Cadillac | -40.90 | 8,473 | 14,337 | -43.27 | 339 | 597 |
| Mitsubishi | -41.79 | 4,362 | 7,494 | -44.12 | 174 | 312 |
| Mazda | -42.24 | 13,729 | 23,771 | -44.55 | 549 | 990 |
| Hummer | -47.97 | 1,078 | 2,072 | -50.05 | 43 | 86 |
| Chrysler | -49.30 | 13,753 | 27,128 | -51.33 | 550 | 1,130 |
| Smart | -56.15 | 1,116 | 2,545 | -57.90 | 45 | 106 |
| Saab | -58.39 | 779 | 1,872 | -60.05 | 31 | 78 |
| Saturn | -60.24 | 7,520 | 18,912 | -61.83 | 301 | 788 |
| Porsche | -65.96 | 902 | 2,650 | -67.32 | 36 | 110 |
| Suzuki | -78.04 | 2,149 | 9,784 | -78.91 | 86 | 408 |
| COMPANIES | ||||||
| Ford Mo Co | -10.85 | 155,195 | 174,091 | -14.42 | 6,208 | 7,254 |
| BMW Group | -20.29 | 20,849 | 26,155 | -23.48 | 834 | 1,090 |
| Nissan NA | -23.14 | 58,298 | 75,848 | -26.21 | 2,332 | 3,160 |
| Honda America | -29.55 | 100,420 | 142,539 | -32.37 | 4,017 | 5,939 |
| Toyota Mo Co | -31.87 | 131,654 | 193,234 | -34.59 | 5,266 | 8,051 |
| General Motors | -33.60 | 176,571 | 265,937 | -36.26 | 7,063 | 11,081 |
| Chrysler Group | -41.85 | 68,297 | 117,457 | -44.18 | 2,732 | 4,894 |
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
alex 5:25PM (7/01/2009)
If you read GM's press release they did gain a lot of retail marketshare in their core brands which is pretty crucial for them. Fleet sales dropped by 49%, which is good and bad... GM needs to cut fleet sales for their long term strategy, but that also hurts their cash position.
Another interesting note.... Ford is only down 10%, but they are down 10% from what was a weak May 2008 for Ford. While GM, Toyota, etc where down about 10% last year, Ford was down over 20%.
Reply
Randy 5:51PM (7/01/2009)
I think you meant to say "June" not "May"? Or were you addressing last month? Just checking...
Capn Jack 5:56PM (7/01/2009)
Alex, spin it any way you want to, but Toyota outsold Ford by 20,000 last year and this year they were out sold by Ford by 20,000. Thats a 40,000 swing and tht is more then the three non Chevy (Buick, Cadillac, GMC) core brands sold for the entire month at the NEW gm.
Mike 5:57PM (7/01/2009)
alex,
The thing about it is that since sales are down so far, the thing these guys are looking at is market share. I don't care to do the math but Ford's market share is up for all months this year but one and seems to be climbing each month. This month's market share seems to be a huge leap for Ford. Whereas they were barely outselling Toyota for the last two months, they are up over 23,000 units this month over Toyota. Stack on top of all of that, the fact that Ford underwent alot of pain last year shedding fleet (mainly rental) sales. I'm willing to bet that retail unit market share is up even higher on Toyota than pure numbers.
Since Toyota was the industry darling last year, they are the obvious choice as a comparison, they are also about in the middle of the pack as far as decline goes. This bodes pretty well for Ford, especially since their car lineup is only about a third to halfway through it's renaissance (2010 Taurus, 2011 Mustang powetrain, 2011 Fiesta, 2011 or 2012 Focus still not on the streets). If the market has truely stabilized and is turning back for slight growth, they have the right size to compete well in the new marketplace, esp when their product portfolio is complete and has decent to world class offerings in just about every segment.
Yaroukh 7:50PM (7/01/2009)
FoMoCo market share
May - 17.52 pct
June - 19.34 pct
Judy Zik 7:54PM (7/01/2009)
Absolute spin. Chevy was down 33%! Just what brand would you like us to believe is more "Core" to GM than Chevy?
The Ford brand is now outselling both Chevrolet and Toyota and as a company Ford is within striking distance of overtaking GM for the first time since lord knows when. In fact if you take the soon to be dead Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn out of the mix Ford is outselling GM. Obviously GM took a major hit due to the bad PR and will hopefully recover but this is pretty bad news.
Let's not forget though Toyota was down almost as much. Considering all their good PR and reputation this is probably even worse than GM because you can't blame it on bad PR.
tuxchown 12:23AM (7/02/2009)
Capnjack - You too can spin it any way you want. General Motors is still the number one selling company and Ford is number two. Toyota is number three and still has never, ever been the number one seller in the United States.
shethj 5:26PM (7/01/2009)
Yeah but Toyota and Honda arent bankrupt. What's there excuse? They are getting killed by Ford and Ford outsold Toyota once again. How come no mention of that?
Reply
Bob-omb 5:39PM (7/01/2009)
Uh, it's all there in the chart. Do you need it pointed out to you?
Devin 6:18PM (7/01/2009)
shethj,
the reason Ford's market share and overall sales are killing Toyota's, GM's, and Honda's is because people who only buy American are still only buying American. They are just buying from the only American company that isn't bankrupt.
I still greatly applaud Ford for its (relative) success. They seem to finally get it over there. Make good, attractive, fuel efficient, and safe cars, and people will buy them. Sure, they also hit a major stroke of good luck by taking out a huge line of credit weeks before the market collapsed, but their new product line couldn't have come at a better time.
Now just bring the Euro Focus over asap, and along with it, rebadge the Euro Kuga as the Escape. Give us a new Ranger already, and if you have to, just call it the F-100 (it has nostalgia). Oh, and for god's sake, just kill Mercury. They aren't worth it.
Randy 9:19AM (7/02/2009)
devin for what you said to be true, ford,s share and sales would be much higher. much much higher
The Other Bob 5:31PM (7/01/2009)
Ford also happens to be hitting a good time in their product cycle. Call it luck or good planning, it is clearly helping them. They just happen to be having a lot of good things happen at the right (or wrong) time.
Reply
The Other Bob 5:35PM (7/01/2009)
Plus Chrysler was in the crapper before bankruptcy, so you cannot blame it all on that.
PJ 11:10PM (7/01/2009)
Bingo.
Bankruptcy may be a bad idea, but building lousy products is an even worse one--and that's why Chrysler is in the crapper. Their double-digit year-on-year market share slide started two model years before the "B" word came into play.
Galley 5:41PM (7/01/2009)
Only 779 Saabs were sold last month. Wow.
Reply
fizzandpop 5:23AM (7/02/2009)
779 people parted with real money for a Saab last month. Wow!
ebleyes 5:53PM (7/01/2009)
I guess Toyota shouldn't have declared bankruptcy too.
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Randy 5:47PM (7/01/2009)
Wow Ford is really kicking a**... Good for them! They deserve the support from everyone....
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cyde01 6:03PM (7/01/2009)
can someone please explain to me how is it that subaru is the ONLY company that has managed to increase sales EVERY MONTH during the downturn? what the heck are they doing that no other car company is doing? subliminal brainwashing tv commercials??
Reply
zamafir 6:11PM (7/01/2009)
Great advertising, Great core products across the range, Good prices, a reputation of fair reliability and fun.