Auto sales results were mixed in the month of June and for the second quarter of 2019 as a whole. Demand was high for pickup trucks and a lot of SUV and crossover models, continuing trends we’ve been witnessing for the last several years. At the same time, passenger car sales, particularly for inexpensive and fuel-efficient models, keep falling.
Overall sales numbers for the month of June were down for most automakers, with a few notable exceptions. And U.S. auto sales are expected to continue to cool off after several years of growth.
Fiat Chrysler said its sales rose 1.9% to 206,083 vehicles in June, driven by a 45% surge in sales of its Ram trucks.
In a significant development, Ram sold more than 40,000 more trucks in the first half of 2019 than Chevrolet. The Chevy Silverado had long held second place behind Ford’s F-Series pickup trucks, with Ram usually a distant third.
GM said second-quarter sales fell 1.5%, with strong sport utility vehicle sales offset by a poor performance for its pickup trucks. The No. 1 U.S. automaker said sales of its trucks would pick up in the third quarter as both its most popular and most affordable versions of the Silverado will hit dealer showrooms.
Hyundai said its sales rose 1.5% to 64,202 vehicles in the month, boosted by a 36% increase in sales of its Santa Fe sport utility vehicles.
Kia sold 56,801 units in June, an improvement of nearly 4% over 2018. The Korean automaker’s sales were led by the Optima sedan (11,090 units). The brand-new Telluride SUV (5,989 units) made up for a drop in Sorento sales.
Toyota reported sales of 202,352 vehicles, a decrease of 3.5%. The redesigned RAV4 was a bright spot for Toyota, with that model’s 39,152 sales representing a gain of nearly 8%.
Volkswagen recorded its best June since 2013. The German automaker’s 184,608 total sales represented a 7% improvement over the previous year. Not surprisingly, 53% of VW’s sales were from crossovers and SUVs.
Nissan reported total U.S. sales of 123,504 units in June, a decrease of nearly 15% compared to the prior year.
Sales were up 7.5% at BMW last month. The German automaker’s passenger car sales were down nearly 12%, but that was more than offset by a 43% surge in crossover sales.
At Mazda, sales fell to 22,828 vehicles last month, a decrease of 15.1% compared to 2018.
Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc said its June sales rose 10.5% to 12,317 vehicles due to an increase in sales of its seven-seater Outlander and Eclipse Cross SUVs.
Volvo sold 9,934 vehicles in June, a small increase over the prior year.
Jaguar Land Rover reported June sales of 8,485 units, a 9% decrease.
Porsche saw U.S. sales rise to 5,205 units, led by strong sales of the Cayenne and Macan crossovers.
(Reuters contributed to this report)