By the Numbers - July 2009: Turn of the Tide Edition
by Jonny Lieberman on Aug 3rd 2009 at 4:57PM 
Subaru sales up 34%, Ford Motor Company finally posts positive numbers
Is the tide turning? Do all those green boxes below indicate that the sweeping current of auto sales ennui has subsided? That's a tough question to answer considering that the government's Cash for Clunkers rebate program began late last month. Normally an incentive program wouldn't have that much effect on monthly auto sales with only a week to work, but C4C was wildly more popular than anyone expected.
While Subaru posted a remarkable 34% sales gain last month versus July 2008, the big news, of course, is Ford's return to green. Ford Motor Company was the only multi-brand automaker to report a sales increase last month (2.0%), thanks to four of its five brands posting positive numbers (only Lincoln was down, -24%). The Korean brands also continued their strong performance in 2009, with Hyundai up 12% and Kia right behind at 5%. Sure, Volvo deserves mention for being up 26%, but it's a lot easier to move the needle when your brand is selling less than 10,000 units/month. Chrysler Group LLC also gets a kudos for clawing its way into the single-digit loss range with a 9% dip on good showings from Jeep and Dodge. General Motors, however, lagged behind the upward trend of its cross-town competitors with a smaller improvement that left it down 19% versus the same month last year.
So has the tide turned? This is the first month in a LONG time that more than two or three brands have earned green cells in our chart below, so perhaps it is a signal that Cash for Clunkers is working and/or shoppers are slowly returning to showrooms.
Check out the rest of the numbers below. Brands and Companies are both displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 26 selling days in June 2009 and 26 selling days in June 2008, so the change in average daily sales equals the change in monthly volume.
Is the tide turning? Do all those green boxes below indicate that the sweeping current of auto sales ennui has subsided? That's a tough question to answer considering that the government's Cash for Clunkers rebate program began late last month. Normally an incentive program wouldn't have that much effect on monthly auto sales with only a week to work, but C4C was wildly more popular than anyone expected. While Subaru posted a remarkable 34% sales gain last month versus July 2008, the big news, of course, is Ford's return to green. Ford Motor Company was the only multi-brand automaker to report a sales increase last month (2.0%), thanks to four of its five brands posting positive numbers (only Lincoln was down, -24%). The Korean brands also continued their strong performance in 2009, with Hyundai up 12% and Kia right behind at 5%. Sure, Volvo deserves mention for being up 26%, but it's a lot easier to move the needle when your brand is selling less than 10,000 units/month. Chrysler Group LLC also gets a kudos for clawing its way into the single-digit loss range with a 9% dip on good showings from Jeep and Dodge. General Motors, however, lagged behind the upward trend of its cross-town competitors with a smaller improvement that left it down 19% versus the same month last year.
So has the tide turned? This is the first month in a LONG time that more than two or three brands have earned green cells in our chart below, so perhaps it is a signal that Cash for Clunkers is working and/or shoppers are slowly returning to showrooms.
Check out the rest of the numbers below. Brands and Companies are both displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 26 selling days in June 2009 and 26 selling days in June 2008, so the change in average daily sales equals the change in monthly volume.
| Brand | Volume % | July 2009 | July 2008 | DSR*% | DSR 7/09 | DSR 7/08 |
| Subaru | 34 | 21,839 | 16,271 | 34 | 840 | 626 |
| Volvo | 26 | 6,441 | 5,124 | 26 | 248 | 197 |
| Hyundai | 12 | 45,553 | 40,703 | 12 | 1,752 | 1,566 |
| Mercury | 7 | 10,031 | 9,412 | 7 | 386 | 362 |
| Kia | 5 | 29,345 | 28,021 | 5 | 1,129 | 1,078 |
| Ford | 3 | 142,135 | 138,175 | 3 | 5,467 | 5,314 |
| Volkswagen | 1 | 20,590 | 20,442 | 1 | 792 | 786 |
| Jeep | -2 | 22,276 | 22,705 | -2 | 857 | 873 |
| Mini | -4 | 4,872 | 5,063 | -4 | 187 | 195 |
| Audi | -6 | 6,407 | 6,804 | -6 | 246 | 262 |
| Dodge | -8 | 50,075 | 54,546 | -8 | 1,926 | 2,098 |
| Chevrolet | -9 | 124,948 | 137,823 | -9 | 4,806 | 5,301 |
| Toyota | -11 | 156,355 | 175,242 | -11 | 6,014 | 6,740 |
| Pontiac | -13 | 22,024 | 25,373 | -13 | 847 | 976 |
| Mazda | -15 | 19,032 | 22,418 | -15 | 732 | 862 |
| Honda | -16 | 106,028 | 125,916 | -16 | 4,078 | 4,843 |
| Lexus | -17 | 18,517 | 22,182 | -17 | 712 | 853 |
| GMC | -20 | 21,860 | 27,447 | -20 | 841 | 1,056 |
| Chrysler | -21 | 16,549 | 20,858 | -21 | 637 | 802 |
| Mercedes-Benz | -22 | 16,228 | 20,733 | -22 | 624 | 797 |
| Infiniti | -23 | 7,096 | 9,249 | -23 | 273 | 356 |
| Lincoln | -24 | 6,672 | 8,819 | -24 | 257 | 339 |
| Nissan | -25 | 64,751 | 86,070 | -25 | 2,490 | 3,310 |
| Buick | -29 | 7,099 | 10,013 | -29 | 273 | 385 |
| BMW | -32 | 16,381 | 23,914 | -32 | 630 | 920 |
| Acura | -32 | 8,662 | 12,828 | -32 | 333 | 493 |
| Smart | -45 | 1,418 | 2,559 | -45 | 55 | 98 |
| Porsche | -51 | 1,544 | 3,128 | -51 | 59 | 120 |
| Cadillac | -53 | 6,171 | 13,022 | -53 | 237 | 501 |
| Mitsubishi | -53 | 4,487 | 9,644 | -53 | 173 | 371 |
| Suzuki | -57 | 3,507 | 8,103 | -57 | 135 | 312 |
| Hummer | -57 | 799 | 1,877 | -57 | 31 | 72 |
| Saturn | -66 | 5,968 | 17,603 | -66 | 230 | 677 |
| Saab | -72 | 574 | 2,026 | -72 | 22 | 78 |
| Companies | ||||||
| Ford Motor Company | 2 | 165,279 | 161,530 | 2 | 6,357 | 6,213 |
| Chrysler Group LLC | -9 | 88,900 | 98,109 | -9 | 3,419 | 3,773 |
| Toyota Motor Co. | -11 | 174,872 | 197,424 | -11 | 6,726 | 7,593 |
| American Honda | -17 | 114,690 | 138,744 | -17 | 4,411 | 5,336 |
| General Motors | -19 | 189,443 | 235,184 | -19 | 7,286 | 9,046 |
| Nissan North America | -25 | 71,847 | 95,315 | -25 | 2,763 | 3,666 |
| BMW Group | -27 | 21,253 | 28,997 | -27 | 817 | 1,115 |
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Randy 5:04PM (8/03/2009)
Thank God! I've been hitting refresh for an hour waiting for these numbers! LOL THANK YOU
Reply
Derek 5:05PM (8/03/2009)
I'm impressed. Ford was the #2 brand, behind only Toyota.
And they're not that far behind the Toyota or GM multi-brands either!
Reply
Erik 6:00PM (8/03/2009)
Humm, am I missing something? To me it looks like
GM #1
Toyo #2
Ford #3
Derek 6:03PM (8/03/2009)
Nah, you just can't read what I posted. There's Ford, the brand, (#2 behind Toyota the brand), and Ford Motor Company, the multi-brand company, (#3 behind General Motors and Toyota Motor Company)
Erik 10:19AM (8/04/2009)
Gotcha.
Smegley 5:07PM (8/03/2009)
Hyundai/Kia > Nissan/Infiniti.
Wow!
Reply
Rick 5:27PM (8/03/2009)
And with the new models they (Kia/Hyundai) have coming out, they will continue their climb upward.
I'm more surprised with Subie's numbers.
Mike P. 6:44PM (8/03/2009)
Given the above-average loyalty of Subaru buyers, and the below-average fuel economy of their older models, I wonder if a lot of old Subarus are being clunked for new ones? I.E., owners usually hang onto Subarus for a while, but C4C may have given them the incentive to upgrade sooner than they otherwise would have.
Mark H. 6:51PM (8/03/2009)
I've been waiting for Hyundai to outsell Dodge and it looks like we are getting close..
RMN 7:02PM (8/03/2009)
Why? You dislike dodge or something?
JLevy 9:59PM (8/03/2009)
Lincoln outsold Caddy.
bwzd7p2 11:04PM (8/03/2009)
Smegley,
Is good for HKAG, but also fair to remember that Infiniti's on the high side of the market whereas Kia's on the low side, so the Koreans have an advantage there since it's easier to move cheaper cars. But they are being smart by gobbling up all the share they can now.
Mike P.
Wonder no more. The program sets a max of 18MPG for the trade vehicle. Subaru's MPG might be below average, but except the V6 SVX and the Turbo versions of some vehicles, which don't represent a large portion of what's out there to trade in, it's not at or below 18MPG for most of their line. So I'd have to say a good many of these sales at Subie under C4C are conquest sales.
Dan 1:01AM (8/04/2009)
New Subarus have pretty crappy mileage ratings too. Unless you're trading an old turbo for a new NA, that 4 mpg sticker improvement to qualify on the car side will be hard to arrange.
The 2 mpg improvement for SUVs is easier, but the Forester and Outback are recent enough that most of them are worth close to $3500 to begin with.
Subaru has held up pretty well this year before C4C took effect. Fresh models and affluent buyers.
hyundaifans.com 2:56PM (8/04/2009)
Looks like Cash for clunkers really helped out Hyundai sales for this month. As usual, i have the breakdown per model of Hyundai vehicles:
http://www.hyundaifans.com/rides/viewtopic.php?t=69&f=27
I also have the breakdown of other Asian models:
http://www.hyundaifans.com/rides/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=70
tbyron 5:10PM (8/03/2009)
Why is it that you guys never report on VW Group sales? The answer shouldn't be "because they don't."
Reply
Yaroukh 5:33PM (8/03/2009)
you need to provide AB with list of allowed answers
zamafir 6:03PM (8/03/2009)
tbyron, it's because adding audi and vw is hard ok...
yeah that didn't sound right
Papi L-Gee 8:20PM (8/03/2009)
I don't think Volkswagen AG reports on total numbers for their US brands, which is probably why Autoblog won't either.
If I'm wrong, though, then your guess is as good as mine...
hector000 5:12PM (8/03/2009)
subaru has seemed almost un-affect, in fact they benefited during these hard times. which makes me wonder why they pulled from WRC.
subaru makes great cars.i hope to own an 05 STi if i can find one in blue and isnt owned by a 17 year old or ill get a new WRX
Reply
tankd0g 11:20PM (8/03/2009)
Probably because even with this sales gain, they still sold less than now defunct Pontiac.