Autoblog

J.D. Power and Associates have lowered their U.S. sales light-vehicle forecast for 2008 to just 14.2 million units. This is the third time the global information services company have updated their numbers. In March, they announced that sales would not hit their initial 15.7 million estimate, instead they would come in at about 14.95 million units. Now, the company is estimating sales at 14.2 million units (the industry sold 16.2 million units in 2007). J.D. Power is citing the prolonged credit crisis, deteriorating economic conditions, and the high cost of fuel as reasons consumers are holding off on purchasing new vehicles. Not helping the matter, fleet sales (a common way for the automakers to boost sales in the past) are also down 21 percent from last year.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Demonstrating that there is good news still to be found in some sales departments, BMW Group announced their worldwide January through June 2008 sales for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands increased 4.7 percent compared to last year. The sales total of 764,874 automobiles marked the most successful half-year of sales in the history of BMW Group. All three brands contributed to the sales increase, in varying capacities. BMW sales grew 2.4 percent, thanks to the BMW 1 Series and 3 Series Cabrio, while MINI sales were boosted 17.9 percent as the MINI Clubman rolled into showrooms. Most impressive was Rolls-Royce, boasting a 68.4 percent increase in sales compared to last year. The only segment where BMW Group was unable to maintain sales levels was with its motorcycles, as sales fell 5.6 percent compared to last year.

[Source: BMW Group]

While domestic sales continue to slide, the auto market in China is thriving. Both General Motors and Ford have reported double-digit sales growth for the first-half of 2008 in the world's most populace country, with GM moving 590,126 Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac vehicles for a total sales increase of 12.7 percent, while Ford sold 172,411 units for 21 percent jump in growth. With China recognized as the second-largest vehicle market outside the United States, and with their economy forecasted to grow by at least nine percent this year, automakers in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. are investing heavily to expand sales and production in the Chinese market. It is worth noting that vehicle sales in China have been nearly immune to the increase in global oil prices as governmental controls keep diesel and gasoline prices among the world's lowest.

[Source: Detroit News]

You're going to be reading in the mainstream press about how horrible sales were in the U.S. during June, 2008. Yes, they were bad for many automakers, but consider that there were only 24 selling days last month versus 27 days in June, 2007. This makes comparing raw sales numbers misleading, since there were three fewer days to sell. Thus, as always, all the percentages below represent the change in Daily Sales Rate, i.e. the average number of vehicles sold per day, not the change in raw number of vehicles sold.

The big news is how hard Toyota fell last month, its DSR dropping 11.5% as a whole while the Toyota brand itself fell 10.3%. Cross-island rival Honda, however, bucked that trend by improving its DSR a whopping 13.8% and 17.9% for the Honda brand alone. Among the domestics, General Motors fared best with its DSR falling only 8.3%. If you look closely at the list below, while HUMMER, Saab and GMC were down in the big double digits, GM's volume brands held their own and most were down less than 5%. Ford, meanwhile, dropped its DSR by 19.1% (note this is the first month Jaguar and Land Rover sales were not included in Ford's numbers), and Chrysler, LLC, which performed the worst, saw its DSR plunge 28%. As you can see, however, many brands found a way to make it work in June, with Audi, MINI, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Suzuki and Volkswagen all up in a big way.

Biggest Winner
MINI 40.5% at 5,211 (6/07: 4,174)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER –54.2% at 2,072 (6/07: 5,093)

BRANDS
Acura –16.4% at 12,456 (6/07: 16,766)
Audi 18.5% at 8,203 (6/07: 7,789)
BMW –6.6% at 20,944 (6/07: 25,220)
Buick –34.4% at 9,631 (6/07: 16,519)
Cadillac –3.1% at 14,337 (6/07: 16,647)
Chevrolet –3.5% at 159,998 (6/07: 186,474)
Chrysler –36% at 27,128 (6/07: 47,658)
Dodge –21.3% at 63,687 (6/07: 91,089)
Ford –19.8% at 145,715 (6/07: 204,303)
GMC –14.6% at 30,713 (6/07: 40,457)
Honda 17.9% at 130,083 (6/07: 124,169)
HUMMER –54.2% at 2,072 (6/07: 5,093)
Hyundai 14% at 50,033 (6/07: 49,368)
Infiniti –0.9% at 9,304 (6/07: 10,558)
Jeep –32.8% at 26,642 (6/07: 44,600)
Kia 21% at 28,292 (6/07: 26,288)
Lexus –21% at 20,253 (6/07: 28,869)
Lincoln –12.5% at 9,718 (6/07: 12,494)
Mazda 3.8% at 23,771 (6/07: 25,761)
Mercedes-Benz 12.4% at 19,576 (6/07: 19,589)
Mercury –16.3% at 11,657 (6/07: 15,660)
MINI 40.5% at 5,211 (6/07: 4,174)
Mitsubishi –35.2% at 7,494 (6/07: 13,014)
Nissan –8.3% at 66,543 (6/07: 81,655)
Pontiac –5.1% at 28,402 (6/07: 33,683)
Porsche –8.7% at 2,650 (6/07: 3,267)
Saab –51.7% at 1,872 (6/07: 4,361)
Saturn –1.9% at 18,912 (6/07: 21,686)
Subaru 18.4% at 18,007 (6/07: 17,108)
Suzuki 6.6% at 9,785 (6/07: 10,325)
Toyota –10.3% at 172,981 (6/07: 216,870)
Volkswagen 12.8% at 23,208 (6/07: 23,137)
Volvo –17.7% at 7,001 (6/07: 9,572)

Not Yet Reported
Jaguar
Land Rover

COMPANIES
BMW Group 0.1% at 26,155 (6/07: 29,394)
Chrysler Group –28% at 117,457 (6/07: 183,347)
Ford Motor Co –19.1% at 167,090 (6/07: 232,457)
General Motors –8.3% at 265,937 (6/07: 326,300)
Honda America 13.8% at 142,539 (6/07: 140,935)
Nissan North America –7.5% at 75,847 (6/07: 92,213)
Toyota Motor Co. –11.5% at 193,234 (6/07: 245,739)

Honda Civic, Accord, Toyota Camry and Corolla all outsell Ford F-150 for the first time

The two brands who lost and gained the most sales last month (MINI and HUMMER) sum up nicely what happened to auto sales during May in the U.S. Brands armed with small cars weathered the storm and big trucks and SUVs continued to nose dive. In fact, after 17 years worth of being this country's best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150 full-size pickup (42,973) has fallen for the first time to fifth place behind the Honda Accord (43,728), Toyota Camry (51,291), Corolla (52,826) and your new best-selling vehicle in the U.S., the Honda Civic (53,299). Note to automakers: that would be the sound of the canary in your coal mine hitting the floor.

U.S. automakers continued their year of suffering last month (Chrysler LLC had not yet broken down its numbers by brand at the time of posting), with General Motors taking the beating of its life and Chrysler LLC not far behind. Every single GM brand was down not just in the double-digit range, but all were down more than 20% with HUMMER falling off the map at less than 2,000 units sold. FoMoCo was down nearly 20%, but can at least take heart knowing that its new Focus (32,579) has found a lot fans. Toyota was also down, but was buoyed by the aforementioned incredible popularity of the Camry and Corolla. Nissan and Honda were both up, however, with the big 'H' bucking all trends and posting a gain of 11.3%.

NOTE: Because there were 27 selling day in May 2008 versus 26 in May 2007, all percentages represent the change in average Daily Sales Rate, i.e. the average number of vehicles sold per day, rather than the change in raw number of vehicles sold.

Biggest Winner
MINI 47.2% at 6,312 (5/07: 4,130)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER –61.7% at 1,843 (5/07: 4,636)

BRANDS
Acura –9.9% at 14,893 (5/07: 15,920)
Audi -6.4% at 8,534 (5/07: 8,788)
BMW –8.1% at 25,469 (5/07: 26,689)
Buick –37.8% at 11,033 (5/07: 17,087)
Cadillac –26% at 13,348 (5/07: 17,380)
Chevrolet –27.1% at 167,202 (5/07: 220,870)
Ford –16.6% at 184,402 (5/07: 212,572)
GMC –38.8% at 30,724 (5/07: 48,336)
Honda 13.9% at 153,104 (5/07: 129,447)
HUMMER –61.7% at 1,843 (5/07: 4,636)
Hyundai 1.8% at 46,415 (5/07: 43,885)
Infiniti –6% at 10,495 (5/07: 10,748)
Jaguar 22.7% at 1,757 (5/07: 1,379)
Kia 4.9% at 31,047 (5/07: 28,494)
Land Rover –32.3% at 3,003 (5/07: 4,269)
Lexus –19.6% at 26,593 (5/07: 31,847)
Lincoln –42% at 8,365 (5/07: 13,880)
Mazda .4% at 27,921 (5/07: 26,788)
Mercedes 8.3% at 24,480 (5/07: 21,771)
Mercury –28% at 13,593 (5/07: 18,178)
MINI 47.2% at 6,312 (5/07: 4,130)
Mitsubishi –26% at 10,430 (5/07: 13,651)
Nissan 5.7% at 90,379 (5/07: 82,314)
Pontiac –25.9% at 27,966 (5/07: 36,325)
Porsche –20% at 2,796 (5/07: 3,348)
Saab –28% at 2,148 (5/07: 2,872)
Saturn –32.7% at 18,099 (5/07: 26,905)
Subaru 9% at 18,436 (5/07: 16,282)
Suzuki –2% at 10,364 (5/07: 10,190)
Toyota –6.3% at 230,811 (5/07: 237,176)
Volkswagen –3.6% at 22,346 (5/07: 22,325)
Volvo –24% at 7,238 (5/07: 9,192)

Not Yet Reported
Chrysler
Dodge
Jeep

COMPANIES
BMW Group –0.7% at 31,781 (5/07: 30,819)
Chrysler Group –28% at 148,747 (5/07: 199,393)
Ford Motor Co –19% at 217,998 (5/07: 259,470)
General Motors –30% at 272,363 (5/07: 375,682)
Honda America 11.3% at 167,997 (5/07: 145,367)
Nissan North America 4.4% at 100,874 (5/07: 93,062)
Toyota Motor Co. –7.9% at 257,404 (5/07: 269,023)

Remember when I said February 2008 was the worst month ever in the history of our reporting monthly sales figures? Well, April 2008 was just as bad. Though we had five brands this month that posted an increase in their daily sales rate (DSR) compared to four back in February, automakers had two extra days last month to sell compared to April 2007. Not even that helped as most brands went down flaming with double-digit dips in their DSR*.

The domestics were hit the hardest in April, with Ford Motor Company (-19%), General Motors (-22.7%) and Chrysler LLC (-29%) all down. You'll hear from analysts that two things are responsible for the Big 3's poor performance: too many trucks and SUVs that nobody wants combined with a decrease in fleet sales. Nissan North American and Toyota Motor Co. were down as well, but both by less than 5%. Honda informed us it's having technical difficulties reporting its numbers, so they're forthcoming.

The significant thing that happened last month is the big jump in small car sales. On a make/model basis, the Ford Focus was up 32%, the Chevy Cobalt and Aveo were up 15.5% and 14%, the Toyota Yaris and Prius rose 45.9% and 53.8%. While virtually all truck and SUV sales were down, as well as those of many larger CUVs, small and mid-size cars were definitely popular with the people.

Biggest Winner
MINI 28.6% at 4,713 (4/07: 3,382)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER –49.8% at 2,380 (4/07: 4,375)

BRANDS
Audi –12% at 7,730 (4/07: 8,106)
BMW –2.5% at 26,735 (4/07: 25,310)
Buick –11.7% at 12,665 (4/07: 13,234)
Cadillac –21.3% at 14,359 (4/07: 16,839)
Chevrolet –21.9% at 157,187 (4/07: 185,759)
Chrysler –45% at 30,670 (4/07: 51,441)
Dodge –23% at 83,348 (4/07: 100,463)
Ford –17.4% at 165,997 (4/07: 185,553)
GMC –29.6% at 31,854 (4/07: 41,748)
HUMMER –49.8% at 2,380 (4/07: 4,375)
Hyundai –7.4% at 39,280 (4/07: 39,137)
Infiniti –11.5% at 9,537 (4/07: 9,945)
Jaguar 15.7% at 1,785 (4/07: 1,424)
Jeep –24.4% at 33,733 (4/07: 41,200)
Land Rover –43.9% at 2,557 (4/07: 4,211)
Lexus –17.1% at 23,350 (4/07: 25,995)
Lincoln –19.3% at 10,340 (4/07: 11,832)
Mazda 4.1% at 23,760 (4/07: 23,760)
Mercedes-Benz –10.4% at 20,271 (4/07: 20,895)
Mercury –31.8% at 12,910 (4/07: 17,481)
MINI 28.6% at 4,713 (4/07: 3,382)
Mitsubishi –32% at 8,878 (4/07: 12,047)
Nissan 0.1% at 66,318 (4/07: 61,179)
Pontiac –15.9% at 24,009 (4/07: 26,346)
Porsche –11.9% at 3,099 (4/07: 3,248)
Saab –37.9% at 1,580 (4/07: 2,350)
Saturn –22% at 16,888 (4/07: 19,977)
Subaru 12% at 16,771 (4/07: 13,786)
Suzuki –2.8% at 9,669 (4/07: 9,179)
Toyota –2.7% at 194,350 (4/07: 184,462)
Volkswagen –6.1% at 19,415 (4/07: 19,086)
Volvo –18.9% at 7,138 (4/07: 8,122)

N/A: Kia, Honda and Acura (Delayed)

COMPANIES
BMW Group 1.2% at 31,448 (4/07: 28,692)
Chrysler LLC –29% at 147,751 (4/07: 193,104)
Ford Motor Co –19% at 200,727 (4/07: 228,623)
General Motors –22.7% at 260,922 (4/07: 311,687)
Honda America (Delayed)
Nissan North America –1.6% at 75,855 (4/07: 71,124)
Toyota Motor Co. –4.5% at 217,700 (4/07: 210,457)

*All percentages are reported as the change in Daily Sales Rate because there were 26 selling days in April 2008 versus 24 in April 2007. Comparing the raw number of vehicles sold both months would not be accurate because of this discrepancy in selling days, so we report the change in the average number of vehicles sold per day.

Though many news outlets will decry March as a horrible sales month in the auto industry, it wasn't that bad and there are some notable successes. The reason it isn't as bad as some will tell you is because most outlets compare the volume of cars sold last month to the same month in 2007, rather than comparing the average number of cars sold per day. Since there were two extra selling days last year (28 vs. 26), looking at the raw numbers is very misleading. All of our numbers below represent the change in the Daily Sales Rate (DSR) rate, so some brands that actually sold less overall did well by selling more cars per day.

There's no way, however, to sugarcoat the performance of General Motors and Chrysler LLC last month. Both sold about 13% fewer cars per day than last year. Ford Motor Company, meanwhile, was bolstered by a hot-selling Focus and mitigated the damage to just –7.7%. Toyota Motor Co. also got caught in the crossfire, with avg. sales per day down 3.4%. The BMW Group, Honda America and Nissan North America must've known something (or sold something) the rest didn't, as all improved their DSR last month.

We must point out Jaguar, which, thanks to the first month of XF sales, is up for the first time that we can remember. Saab, which has also been consistently flanked by a red arrow, bounced back improving its DSR by 12.4% last month. Volkswagen came out of nowhere with a 21.5% jump, and MINI took the crown of Biggest Winner with a 26.4% rise in its DSR.

Biggest Winner
MINI 26.4% at 4,289 (3/07: 3,655)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER –23.3% at 3,451 (3/07: 4,847)

BRANDS
Acura –15.8% at 13,288 (3/07: 16,986)
Audi 7.2% at 7,987 (3/07: 8,020)
BMW –1.7% at 23,115 (3/07: 25,325)
Buick –18.2% at 12,317 (3/07: 16,222)
Cadillac –0.8% at 17,453 (3/07: 18,943)
Chevrolet –16.9% at 164,564 (3/07: 213,156)
Chrysler –15.8% at 40,539 (3/07: 51,874)
Dodge –15.3% at 85,906 (3/07: 109,226)
Ford –6.7% at 187,828 (3/07: 216,788)
GMC 1.2% at 38,422 (3/07: 40,894)
Honda 6.9% at 125,446 (3/07: 126,406)
HUMMER –23.3% at 3,451 (3/07: 4,847)
Hyundai 9.8% at 42,796 (3/07: 41,984)
Infiniti 7.3% at 13,821 (3/07: 13,877)
Jaguar 13.2% at 1,752 (3/07: 1,667)
Jeep –5.1% at 39,941 (3/07: 45,335)
Kia –2.8% at 24,871 (3/07: 27,567)
Land Rover –10.2% at 3,054 (3/07: 3,663)
Lexus –6.9% at 24,939 (3/07: 28,855)
Lincoln –20.4% at 10,913 (3/07: 14,770)
Mazda –6.0% at 32,929 (3/07: 37,742)
Mercedes 3.7% at 20,808 (3/07: 21,612)
Mercury –11.4% at 14,333 (3/07: 17,426)
MINI 26.4% at 4,289 (3/07: 3,655)
Mitsubishi –7.7% at 10,750 (3/07: 12,536)
Nissan 3.1% at 93,100 (3/07: 97,242)
Pontiac –10.1% at 25,417 (3/07: 30,448)
Porsche –13.8% at 2,624 (3/07: 3,278)
Saab 12.4% at 2,962 (3/07: 2,837)
Saturn –7.5% at 18,146 (3/07: 21,123)
Toyota –2.9% at 192,791 (3/07: 213,820)
Volkswagen 21.5% at 19,587 (3/07: 17,355)
Volvo –6.4% at 9,263 (3/07: 10,661)

YET TO REPORT
Subaru
Suzuki

COMPANIES
BMW Group 1.8% at 27,404 (3/07: 28,980)
Chrysler Group –13.2% at 166,386 (3/07: 206,435)
Ford Motor Co –7.7% at 227,143 (3/07: 264,975)
General Motors –13% at 282,732 (3/07: 349,866)
Honda America 4.2% at 138,734 (3/07: 143,392)
Nissan North America 3.6% at 106,921 (3/07: 111,119)
Toyota Motor Co. –3.4% at 217,730 (3/07: 242,675)

February 2008 will go down as the ugliest sales month ever in the history of By the Numbers posts. Out of the 35 brands we track, only four improved their daily average sales rate versus the same month last year: Honda (1.9%), Mazda (2.5%), Mercedes-Benz (3%) and our Biggest Winner, MINI (38.5%). Leap year is to blame, as the rare return of February 29th offered most automakers an extra to day to suck.

The big companies themselves fared just as poorly, with every multi-brand automaker except for one down in February compared to last year. Only Honda America scraped together a positive month, increasing its daily average sales rate 0.7% overall.

NOTE: There were 25 selling days in February 2008 versus 24 selling days in February 2007. As such, all percentages represent the change in daily average sales rate rather than the difference in raw number of units sold.

Biggest Winner
MINI 38.5% at 3,415 (2/07: 2,368)

Biggest Loser
Saturn –36.1% at 14,801 (2/07: 22,225)

BRANDS
Acura –8.0% at 13,084 (2/07: 13,658)
Audi –10.6% at 6,152 (2/07: 6,609)
BMW –10.5% at 20,775 (2/07: 22,274)
Buick –18.9% at 12,768 (2/07: 15,108)
Cadillac –2.1% at 14,420 (2/07:14,142)
Chevrolet –14.7% at 166,166 (2/07: 187,088)
Chrysler –13.2% at 41,709 (2/07: 46,112)
Dodge –19.35 at 76,141 (2/07: 90,618)
Ford –8.9% at 164,915 (2/07: 173,794)
GMC –22.7% at 33,237 (2/07: 41,279)
Honda 1.9% at 102,313 (2/07: 96,368)
HUMMER –22.7% at 3,362 (2/07: 4,177)
Hyundai –13.5% at 31,090 (2/07: 34,500)
Infiniti –0.4% at 10,068 (2/07: 9,704)
Jaguar –14.3% at 1,063 (2/07: 1,191)
Jeep –18% at 32,243 (2/07: 37,776)
Kia –10.2% at 21,988 (2/07: 23,512)
Land Rover –12.9% at 2,819 (2/07: 3,106)
Lexus –9.3% at 21,277 (2/07: 22,518)
Lincoln –14.6% at 9,573 (2/07:
Mazda 2.5% at 23,548 (2/07: 22,060)
Mercedes 3% at 18,564 (2/07: 17,304)
Mercury –25% at 10,806 (2/07: 13,843)
MINI 38.5% at 3,415 (2/07: 2,368)
Mitsubishi –10.1% at 9,105 (2/07: 9,726)
Nissan –3.2% at 76,151 (2/07: 75,514)
Pontiac –6.5% at 23,935 (2/07: 24,563)
Porsche –16.3% at 1,715 (2/07: 1,967)
Saab –25% at 1,734 (2/07: 2,221)
Saturn –36.1% at 14,801 (2/07: 22,225)
Subaru –3.8% at 12,907 (2/07: 12,875)
Suzuki –1.6% at 8,800 (2/07: 8,585)
Toyota –6.3% at 160,892 (2/07: 164,812)
Volkswagen –2.9% at 16,556 (2/07: 16,367)
Volvo –14.8% at 7,505 (2/07: 8,453)

COMPANIES
BMW Group –5.8% at 24,190 (2/07: 24,642)
Chrysler Group –17.4% at 150,093 (2/07: 174,506)
Ford Motor Co –10.6% at 196,681 (2/07: 211,150)
General Motors –16.7% at 270,423 (2/07: 311,763)
Honda America 0.7% at 115,397 (2/07: 110,026)
Nissan North America –2.9% at 86,219 (2/07: 85,218)
Toyota Motor Co. –6.6% at 182,169 (2/07: 187,330)

GM starts year off strong, industry as a whole sees lower sales

Analysts and automakers alike have been warning us that 2008 is going to be another tough year, and January only served to prove them right.

General Motors, up 2.1%, managed to turn out a remarkably good sales month with every single one of its brands posting positive sales except for Pontiac (UPDATE: and Saab, down 25%, though its total sales are small enough not to affect GM's overall numbers by much). GMC even got a big push from strong Acadia sales (up 335.1% to 7,318) to grab the honor of being our Biggest Winner.

Every other automaker, however, saw lower sales last month compared to January 2006, though double-digit drops were avoided by all except Chrysler. Ford Motor Company fell 4.1% in January, a figure that could have been worse were it not for very strong CUV sales and a 44.4% increase in Focus sales to 11,600. Both Toyota Motor Co. and Honda America fell 2.3%, as well. Nissan North America took the second biggest hit with a 7.3% drop in sales. Chrysler, meanwhile, fared that worst with a 12% decline, though it claims this was a result of reduced fleet sales and was expected.

Check out sales figures for each individual brand below (the BMW Group and Subaru have not yet reported). Since there 25 selling days in both January 2006 and 2007, the numbers below represent both the percentage change in total number of vehicles sold and daily average sales rate.

Biggest Winner
GMC 13.3% at 32,270 (1/07: 28,488)

Biggest Loser
Jaguar –52.2% at 664 (1/07: 1,390)

BRANDS
Acura –14.2% at 11,168 (1/07: 13,017)
Audi 0.3% at 6,418 (1/07: 6,399)
Buick 6.1% at 12,749 (1/07: 12,013)
Cadillac 7.7% at 14,792 (1/07: 13,740)
Chevrolet 0.7% at 149,548 (1/07: 148,449)
Chrysler –17% at 34,372 (1/07: 41,486)
Dodge –12% at 69,884 (1/07: 79,461)
Ford –0.7% at 131,074 (1/07: 132,006)
GMC 13.3% at 32,270 (1/07: 28,488)
Honda –0.5% at 87,343 (1/07: 87,773)
HUMMER –23.4% at 3,050 (1/07: 3,980)
Hyundai –22.6% at 21,452 (1/07: 27,721)
Infiniti –3.6% at 8,644 (1/07: 8,964)
Jaguar –52.2% at 664 (1/07: 1,390)
Jeep –6.0% at 33,136 (1/07: 35,361)
Kia –5.2% at 21,355 (1/07: 22,524)
Land Rover –16.7% at 2,859 (1/07: 3,433)
Lexus –8.2% at 20,299 (1/07: 22,118)
Lincoln –16.8% at 7,985 (1/07: 9,594)
Mazda 10.2% at 21,212 (1/07: 19,265)
Mercedes 7.1% at 18,275 (1/07: 17,069)
Mercury –26.2% at 9,296 (1/07: 12,604)
Mitsubishi –23% at 7,226 (1/07: 9,383)
Nissan –7.8% at 67,961 (1/07: 73,680)
Pontiac –4.3% at 23,025 (1/07: 24,060)
Porsche –13% at 2,595 (1/07: 2,984)
Saab –25% at 1,772 (1/07: 2,362)
Saturn 12.1% at 15,359 (1/07: 13,705)
Suzuki –13% at 7,120 (1/07: 8,179)
Toyota –1.4% at 151,550 (1/07: 153,732)
Volkswagen –13.2% at 14,411 (1/07: 16,610)
Volvo 2.9% at 8,036 (1/07: 7,808)

NA: BMW, MINI, Subaru

COMPANIES
Chrysler Group –12% at 137,392 (1/07: 156,308)
Ford Motor Co –4.1% at 159,914 (1/07: 166,835)
General Motors 2.1% at 252,565 (1/07: 247,464)
Honda America –2.3% at 98,511 (1/07: 100,790)
Nissan North America –7.3% at 76,605 (1/07: 82,644)
Toyota Motor Co. –2.3% at 171,849 (1/07: 175,850)

Toyota passes Ford as second largest automaker in the U.S.; Mazda grows the most in 2007

The final sales numbers for 2007 are in, and to be honest, they're better than we expected. Of the 34 brands we track sales, 19 showed an improvement in their daily average sales rate last year. The majority of those that didn't, we're sad to say, are either domestic U.S. brands or brands that are owned by a domestic U.S. automaker.

Big ups to Mazda, though, which won our coveted Biggest Winner of the Year honor by growing its daily average sales rate 9.8% and selling nearly 300,000 vehicles. We can't say we're surprised that Jaguar is our Biggest Loser of the Year after posting daily average sales rate that fell 24.4% last year. We'd also like to call out Jeep for posting a 3.0% improvement thanks to the hot-selling Wrangler Unlimited, as well as Lincoln, which, despite all odds, increased its daily average sales rate by 8.8% and sold an additional 11,000 vehicles last year. There are other plenty of other proud automakers in the list below we don't have room (or time) to mention.

Of course, the biggest news in auto sales for 2007 is that Ford Motor Company was supplanted by Toyota Motor Company as the second largest automaker in the U.S. Toyota sold 2,620,825 units in 2007 compared to Ford's 2,572,599. We weren't all that impressed with ToMoCo's final tally of a 2.7% daily average sales rate increase, but that's all it needed after Ford posted a 12.7% decrease. General Motors, of course, is still well ahead of both with 3,866,620 units sold, while Chrysler could be breathing down Ford's neck with 2,076,650 sales if we expected that number would increase in 2008, which we don't.

Note that there were 307 selling days last year compared to 306 selling days in 2006, so the figures below represent the change in daily average sales rate (average number of vehicles sold per day) and not the change in raw number of units sold.

Biggest Winner of the Year
Mazda 9.8% at 296,110 (2006: 268,786)

Biggest Loser of the Year
Jaguar –24.4% at 15,683 (2006: 20,683)

BRANDS
Acura–10.8% at 180,104 (2006: 201,223)
Audi 3.4% at 93,506 (2006: 90,116)
BMW 6.7% at 293,795 (2006: 274,432)
Buick –23% at 185,791 (2006: 240,657)
Cadillac –5.7% at 214,726 (2006: 227,014)
Chevrolet –6.5% at 2,265,641 (2006: 2,415,428)
Chrysler –10.5% at 543,011 (2006: 604,874)
Dodge –2.1% at 1,058,402 (2006: 1,077,579)
Ford –13.9% at 2,101,244 (2006: 2,433,086)
GMC 4.8% at 505,746 (12/06: 481,222)
Honda 4.5% at 1,371,438 (2006: 1,308,135)
HUMMER –22% at 55,986 (2006: 71,524)
Hyundai 2.2% at 467,009 (2006: 455,520)
Infiniti 4.5% at 127,038 (2006: 121,146)
Jaguar –24.4% at 15,683 (2006: 20,683)
Jeep 3.0% at 475,237 (2006: 460,052)
Kia 3.5% at 305,473 (2006: 294,302)
Land Rover 3.4% at 49,550 (2006: 47,774)
Lexus 1.8% at 329,177 (2006: 322,434)
Lincoln 8.8% at 131,487 (2006: 120,476)
Mazda 9.8% at 296,110 (2006: 268,786)
Mercedes 1.8% at 253,433 (2006: 248,080)
Mercury –7.2% at 168,422 (2006: 180,848)
MINI 7.0% at 42,045 (2006: 39,171)
Nissan 4.5% at 941,200 (2006: 898,103)
Pontiac –13% at 358,022 (2006: 410,229)
Porsche 1.0% at 34,693 (2006: 34,227)
Saab –10.3% at 32,711 (2006: 36,349)
Saturn 5.7% at 240,091 (2006: 226,375)
Subaru –7.0% at 187,208 (2006: 200,703)
Suzuki 0.6% at 101,884 (2006: 100,990)
Toyota 2.9% at 2,291,648 (2006: 2,220,090)
Volkswagen –2.3 at 230,572 (2006: 235,140)
Volvo –8.6% at 106,213 (2006: 115,807)

NA: Mitsubishi

COMPANIES
BMW Group 6.7% at 335,840 (2006: 313,603)
Chrysler Group –3.4% at 2,076,650 (2006: 2,142,505)
Ford Motor Co –12.1% at 2,572,599 (2006: 2,918,674)
General Motors –6.5% at 3,866,620 (2006: 4,124,645)
Honda America 2.5% at 1,551,542 (2006: 1,509,358)
Nissan North America 4.5% at 1,068,238 (2006: 1,019,249)
Toyota Motor Co. 2.7% at 2,620,825 (2006: 2,542,524)