Autoblog

Ford and General Motors see sales fall sharply in January, Toyota continues growth, Mitsubishi makes a comeback

The numbers for January look worse than they actually are. Both Ford an General Motors saw sales fall around 20% compared to last year, but the drop is the result of a planned reduction in sales to fleet companies by both automakers, which will in turn improve the resale value of their vehicles reaching showrooms this year. The Chrysler Group managed to minimize the damage this month, thanks in large part to the performance of its Jeep brand that was up 14% this month. Some analysts and journalists are making noise that Ford fell to fourth place in sales this month behind GM, Toyota and the Chrysler Group. This is only true if sales of the Premier Automotive Group are not counted along with Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales, something that was never done before this month when it seems convenient to make a sensational headline.

As usual, Toyota was up almost 5% this month and earned the title of Nation's Best-Selling Brand thanks to Ford and Chevy giving up all those fleet sales. Both of Nissan's brands had a good month, propelling Nissan North America up almost 5%. Finally, we have to give Suzuki credit for carrying its momentum into the new year with sales up 9% and Mitsubishi, a company we all thought was on life support in the U.S. but came out of January kicking with sales up nearly 21%.

Biggest Winner
Mercedes-Benz 31.4% at 17,069 (1/06: 12,469)

Biggest Loser
Pontiac –38.5% at 24,060 (1/06: 37,545)

BRANDS
Acura –10.6% at 13,017 (1/06: 13,981)
Audi .97% at 6,399 (1/06: 6,084)
BMW –1.8% at 19,761 (1/06: 19,274)
Buick –32.8% at 12,013 (1/06: 17,173)
Cadillac –10.5% at 13,740 (1/06: 14,733)
Chevrolet –17.9% at 148,488 (1/06: 173,622)
Chrysler –18% at 41,486 (1/06: 48,628)
Dodge –1% at 79,461 (1/06: 77,064)
Ford –25.2% at 132,006 (1/06: 169,412)
GMC –2.3% at 28,488 (1/06: 27,978)
Honda –.17% at 87,773 (1/06: 84,413)
HUMMER –26.7% at 3,980 (1/06: 5,214)
Hyundai –11.9% at 27,721 (1/06: 30,208)
Infiniti 6.8% at 8,964 (1/06: 8,058)
Isuzu 1.5% at 667 (1/06: 631)
Jaguar –16.4% at 1,390 (1/06: 1,596)
Jeep 14% at 35,361 (1/06: 29,773)
Kia 19.4% at 22,524 (1/06: 18,110)
Land Rover –10.8% at 3,433 (1/06: 3,693)
Lexus 8% at 22,118 (1/06: 19,658)
Lincoln 1.4% at 9,594 (1/06: 9,345)
Mazda 1.7% at 19,265 (1/06: 18,177)
Mercedes-Benz 31.4% at 17,069 (1/06: 12,469)
Mercury –5.3% at 12,604 (1/06: 12,781)
MINI –33% at 2,050 (1/06: 2,944)
Mitsubishi 20.7% at 9,383 (1/06: 7,463)
Nissan 4.3% at 73,680 (1/06: 67,834)
Pontiac –38.5% at 24,060 (1/06: 37,545)
Porsche –10.7% at 3,103 (1/06: 3,337)
Saab 3.3% at 2,362 (1/06: 2,196)
Saturn –22.2% at 13,705 (1/06: 16,907)
Subaru –6.4% at 12,074 (1/06: 12,384)
Suzuki 8.9% at 8,179 (1/06: 7,210)
Toyota 4.7% at 153,732 (1/06: 140,967)
Volkswagen –1.8% at 16,610 (1/06: 16,237)
Volvo –15.2% at 7,808 (1/06: 8,844)

COMPANIES
BMW Group –5.8% at 21,811 (1/06: 22,218)
Chrysler Group –3.5% at 156,308 (1/06: 155,465)
Ford Motor Co –22.1% at 166,835 (1/06: 205,671)
General Motors –19.7% at 247,464 (1/06: 296,003)
Honda America –1.7% at 100,790 (1/06: 98,394)
Nissan North America 4.5% at 82,644 (1/06: 75,891)
Toyota Motor Co. 5.1% at 175,850 (1/06: 160,625)

Note: All percentages represent the chance in the Daily Average Sales rate on account of there being 25 selling days in January 2007 compared with 24 in January 2006. Thus, the percentage is obtained by dividing the number of sales in each month with the number of available selling days that month, and calculating the difference between the two as a percentage.

The numbers are in for December, the last month of 2006, and it appears that those year-end sales drives produced results for many brands. We haven't seen this much green on the sales chart all the year. Congrats go to Kia for being the months Biggest Winner by posting a 66% sales gain over last year, and our sympathies once again go out to Jaguar, the Biggest Loser again this month, which on average sold 34% less this month. Strong gains were also posted by Audi (39.7%), BMW (21%), Hyundai (19.56%), Toyota (18.1%) and, look out, Saturn (41.8%). Last year at this time, however, Saturn was a three-vehicle brand, whereas this year it's been bolstered by the Aura, Sky Roadster, and even the Outlook, which tacked on 144 sales despite only being on sale for a fraction of the month.

BMW's strong sales overcame the small deficit of the MINI brand to give the group as a whole a 20% increase in sales for the month, but again it's Toyota that continues to astonish with a 16.6% gain in December to follow up on its 15.9% jump in November. Both Ford and General Motors saw their sales fall over 9%, and Toyota Motor Co. was just over 5,000 units away from passing FoMoCo for the No. 2 sales spot in the U.S. this month. Toyota can take heart, however, its namesake division bested the Ford brand in December by just 173 units, making it the second-best selling brand in the U.S. behind Chevrolet for the month.

Keep an eye out for our By The Numbers: 2006 yearly wrap-up post later day.


Biggest Winner
Kia66% at 30,004 (12/05: 18,767)

Biggest Loser
Jaguar–34% at 1,553 (12/05: 2,445)

BRANDS
Acura 6.3% at 19,056 (12/05: 18,621)
Audi 39.7% at 11,897 (12/05: 8,842)
BMW 21% at 30,945 (12/05: 24,464)
Buick –24.5% at 15,986 (12/05: 22,002)
Cadillac 2.8% at 22,715 (12/05: 22,946)
Chevrolet –12.9% at 194,369 (12/05: 231,628)
Chrysler 11% at 55,839 (12/05: 52,208)
Dodge 9% at 88,489 (12/05: 84,023)
Ford –11.2% at 190,914 (12/05: 223,324)
GMC –14.4% at 41,770 (12/05: 50,688)
Honda 2.5% at 112,722 (12/05: 114,179)
HUMMER –10.9% at 6,928 (12/05: 8,079)
Hyundai 19.56% at 43,021 (12/05: 37,365)
Infiniti 5.9% at 13,112 (12/05: 12,856)
Isuzu 9.56% at 2,566 (12/05: 2,432)
Jaguar –34% at 1,553 (12/05: 2,445)
Jeep –10% at 46,087 (12/05: 53,218)
Kia 66% at 30,004 (12/05: 18,767)
Land Rover –9.65% at 6,014 (12/05: 6,913)
Lexus 9.9% at 37,235 (12/05: 35,186)
Lincoln 5.44% at 12,806 (12/05: 12,612)
Mazda 7.94% at 19,912 (12/05: 19,156)
Mercedes –6.39% at 28,115 (12/05: 31,192)
Mercury 6.16% at 13,809 (12/05: 13,507)
MINI 5.38% at 2,472 (12/05: 2,436)
Mitsubishi 6.39% at 9,910 (12/05: 9,673)
Nissan 4.2% at 78,663 (12/05: 78,397)
Pontiac –6.2% at 32,772 (12/05: 36,288)
Porsche 3.95% at 2,947 (12/05: 2,944)
Saab 32.7% at 3,535 (12/05: 2,766)
Saturn 41.8% at 20,686 (12/05: 15,145)
Subaru 7.46% at 20,613 (12/05: 19,919)
Suzuki 14% at 7,317 (12/05: 6,662)
Toyota 18.1% at 191,087 (12/05: 168,093)
Volkswagen –20.2% at 19,942 (12/05: 25,956)
Volvo –2.5% at 8,525 (12/05: 9,080)

COMPANIES
BMW Group 20% at 33,417 (12/05: 28,900)
Chrysler Group 4% at 190,415 (12/05: 189,449)
Ford Motor Co –9.43% at 233,621 (12/05: 267,881)
General Motors –9.6% at 341,327 (12/05: 392,041)
Honda America 3.0% at 131,778 (12/05: 132,800)
Nissan North America 4.4% at 91,775 (12/05: 91,253)
Toyota Motor Co. 16.6% at 228,322 (12/05: 203,279)

Note: December of 2005 had 27 selling days, whereas December of 2006 had 26 selling day. On acount of this, all percentages reflect a change in the daily average sales rate, not the difference in the number of raw units sold each month. The percentages, in effect, reflect the difference in how many vehicles were sold per day on average during each month.