SAAR, in case you're not aware, stands for Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate, and what it basically refers to, in this case, is the total number of automobiles experts predict automakers will sell in the United States in the 2014 calendar year. The big news is that the SAAR has been adjusted upward again, reaching the 17-million-unit level for the first time since July of 2006.
Put more plainly, Americans are buying lots of cars these days, and that's why you're seeing quite a bit of green and just a little bit of red (well, it's sorta a pinkish mauve hue...) in our monthly chart below. As has been the case all year, the automaker with the highest percentage sales increase in June was Maserati, though with sales of less than a thousand total units, that's not exactly a fair comparison to some larger companies. Next in line, again echoing its performance in recent months, is Jeep, which is continuing to sell a lot of Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler models. Subaru's 41,367 sales equals its best-ever June, and continues that automaker's impressive sales streak.
As far as the big conglomerates go, Chrysler is leading the sales race, posting a nearly 10-percent gain over the same period a year ago and, in doing so, notching the 51st straight month of sales growth. Nissan and Toyota also did well, and how could we miss General Motors' one-percent sales increase in June, despite all the negative publicity we'd expect from massive recall after massive recall.
It wasn't all roses in June, though (actually, our red hue is a bit rosy, isn't it?). Ford and Honda notched matching 5.76-percent sales drops last month, and Volkswagen, once again, performed dismally in the US in June. If it weren't for the GTI and Jetta Sportwagen, in fact, every single VW model sold in the States would have been down, and most of them by double digits.
As ever, you can read past sales recaps by checking out our By The Numbers category here.
Put more plainly, Americans are buying lots of cars these days, and that's why you're seeing quite a bit of green and just a little bit of red (well, it's sorta a pinkish mauve hue...) in our monthly chart below. As has been the case all year, the automaker with the highest percentage sales increase in June was Maserati, though with sales of less than a thousand total units, that's not exactly a fair comparison to some larger companies. Next in line, again echoing its performance in recent months, is Jeep, which is continuing to sell a lot of Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler models. Subaru's 41,367 sales equals its best-ever June, and continues that automaker's impressive sales streak.
As far as the big conglomerates go, Chrysler is leading the sales race, posting a nearly 10-percent gain over the same period a year ago and, in doing so, notching the 51st straight month of sales growth. Nissan and Toyota also did well, and how could we miss General Motors' one-percent sales increase in June, despite all the negative publicity we'd expect from massive recall after massive recall.
It wasn't all roses in June, though (actually, our red hue is a bit rosy, isn't it?). Ford and Honda notched matching 5.76-percent sales drops last month, and Volkswagen, once again, performed dismally in the US in June. If it weren't for the GTI and Jetta Sportwagen, in fact, every single VW model sold in the States would have been down, and most of them by double digits.
As ever, you can read past sales recaps by checking out our By The Numbers category here.
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue