WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — The summer sales momentum continued in July, with light vehicle sales increasing 5% from a year ago to 1.435 million units, according to Autodata Corp. This July SAAR came in at 16.48 million units, up from 15.76 million in July 2013 but down from 16.9 million in June. The following is a breakdown of sales performance by manufacturer:
BMW: The BMW Group reported July sales of 32,220 vehicles, an increase of 7.4% from the 29,993 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year to date, the BMW Group is up 5.4% on sales of 213,754 in the first seven months of 2014, up from 202,780 unit sales during the same period last year.
For July, MINI reported 5,811 units sold, a 2.3% decrease from the 5,950 sold in the same month a year ago. Year to date, MINI reported a sales total of 29,963 automobiles, a decrease of 21.8% from the 38,306 automobiles sold in the first seven months of 2013.
Chrysler: The Chrysler Group reported July sales of 167,667 units, a 20% increase compared with sales in July 2013 (140,102 units). It was also the best July sales month for the OEM since 2005.
The Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and FIAT brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in July compared to a year ago. The Jeep brand’s 41% increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand during July and the brand’s best ever July sales. Chrysler Group also extended its streak of year-over-year sales gains to 52-consecutive months in July.
The Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Compass, Dodge Dart, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Journey, and Ram Cargo Van each recorded their best July sales ever, while the Fiat 500L set a new all-time monthly sales record in July. Dart sales were up 23% in July, the third-consecutive month the compact car has set a sales record. Wrangler sales were up 14%, while the 500L recorded a 49% year-over-year increase.
Ford: Ford Motor Co. sold 212,236 vehicles in July, a 10% increase from a year ago and the OEM’s best July sales month in eight years. Retail sales of 162,028 vehicles are up 7%. Leading the way was the Ford Fusion, which set an all-time monthly sales record with 23,942 cars sold — a gain of 17%.
The West region of the United States continued to drive Fusion sales, with the region posting a 24% retail increase relative to a 22% increase nationally. Ford Explorer sales were up 32% with 16,797 vehicles sold, marking the vehicle’s best July since 2005. Ford Escape sales were up 19%, setting an all-time performance record for July.
Lincoln sales of 7,863 vehicles were up 14%, giving the brand its best July result in six years. Lincoln MKC sales totaled 1,534 vehicles in July.
General Motors: General Motors recorded its highest July sales month since 2007, with dealers delivering 256,160 vehicles in the United States. Total sales were up 9% compared with a year ago, while retail sales were up 4%.
Commercial deliveries were up 69% and all other fleet deliveries were up 21%. Sales of crossovers and trucks surged by double-digits in July, pushing company’s sales total to 1.048 million units for the first seven months of 2014. GM was the first automaker to pass the million-unit milestone in both 2014 and 2013.
Cadillac Escalade deliveries nearly doubled and Cadillac’s estimated share of the large luxury SUV segment is now about 37% on a retail basis.
Honda: American Honda Motor Co. sold 135,908 units in July. The Honda division alone posted sales of 123,428 units, while Acura sales totaled 12,480 units. Year-to-date American Honda sales reached 875,344 units.
The Accord, the brand's top-selling model, finished its best July in five years with sales of 35,073 units. The CR-V posted its best July sales ever with 183,214 units sold and the all-new Fit had its best month of the year so far with 5,115 units.
Overall Acura sales reflect a virtual sell out of prior TL and TSX models, with the company clearing out inventory in preparation for the launch of the 2015 TLX line. The MDX was the brand's best-selling model, besting its year-old July record.
Hyundai: Hyundai posted its best July sales ever. Sales for the month totaled 67,011 units, up 1.5% compared with the same period in 2013. The Sonata had another strong month, with sales rising 19% from a year ago to 22,577 units sold. The Santa Fe recorded sales of 8,655, up 26% from a year ago. The 2015 Genesis and Equus, Hyundai’s premium models, both realized sales gains of 5% and 76%, respectively.
Mazda: Sales for the automaker increased 17.1% from a year ago to 29,238 vehicles sold in July. The sales total marked the best July sales month since 1993. Year-to-date sales through July were up 9.3% vs. last year, with 185,669 vehicles sold.
The 2014 Mazda3 accounted for 9,381 vehicles sold and an increase of 1.6% year over year, making the best July sales month for the Mazda3 since 2010. Realizing its best July ever was the Mazda CX-5, with sales increasing 16.4% to 9,109 units sold. The Mazda6 recorded its best July in eight years (2006) with 5,049 vehicles sold, an increase of 46.5%.
Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz reported its highest July retail volumes in its history with 30,757 units sold across the Mercedes-Benz, Sprinter and smart model lines, representing a 16.4% increase from the 26,423 vehicles sold the same month last year.
July sales for the Mercedes-Benz brand alone totaled 27,192, up 15%, bringing year-to-date volumes to a record 178,816. Adding year-to-date sales of 13,697 for Sprinter Vans and 5,998 at smart, MBUSA delivered a best-ever, year-to-date grand total of 198,511.
July sales for the Mercedes-Benz brand were led by the C-, E- and GLK-Class model lines. The E-Class topped the list with sales of 6,648, up 18.6% from July 2013, followed by the 5,700 C-Class units sold during the month. The current entry-level Mercedes-Benz SUV, the GLK-Class, rounded out the top three with sales of 3,870, an increase of 39.2% from the same month last year. At the high end, the S-Class hit its 10th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains since the new generation launched in late 2014, with sales increasing 232.8% to 1,920 units sold.
Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi Motors experienced another strong month in July with sales of 6,349 units, a 21.4% increase from a year ago. The Outlander Sport five-passenger compact crossover/SUV was the brand's volume leader with sales of 2,610 units in July — the model’s best July sales month since the its 2010 launch. And the Mirage five-door sub-compact realized its best July sales month since it debuted last September, with sales totaling 1,593 units in July.
Nissan: The Japanese automaker announced total U.S. sales for July 2014 of 121,452 units, an increase of 11.4% over the prior year and a July record.
Sales of the all-electric Nissan LEAF set a July record at 3,019, marking an increase of 62% over the previous year, while Versa subcompact sales were up 73.5% to 15,630, also a July record. Sales of the Sentra totaled 17,579 in July, up 53.7% from a year ago. Rogue sales remained strong in July at 16,618, a 20.7% increase from a year ago.
Infiniti reported U.S. sales of 8,538 vehicles in July, an increase of 10% versus the 7,762 vehicles sold a year ago. Sales of Infiniti's sports sedans, which include the new Infiniti Q50 and the G37, totaled 4,755 units, a 25.7% increase from July 2013. The QX80 full-size luxury also had another strong month with 952 units sold, a 22.1% increase from a year ago.
Toyota: Toyota, Scion and Lexus reported July sales of 215,802 units, an increase of 7.3% from July 2013 based on a daily selling rate. On a raw-volume basis, unadjusted for 26 selling days in July 2014 vs. 25 selling days in July 2013, sales increased 11.6% over the year-ago month.
By model, Camry sales increased 15% from a year ago to nearly 40,000 units. Sales of the all-new Corolla increased 26% from a year ago to almost 31,000 units sold in July. Prius posted sales of 20,675 units, while Toyota light trucks posted their best-ever July with a 15% sales increase from a year ago.
As for Lexus, the ES posted sales of more than 6,000 units in July, while sales of Lexus GS were up more than 16%.
Volkswagen: The German automaker reported sales of 30,553 units in July, down 13.6% from July 2013. Deliveries of the Golf GTI totaled 1,727 units for the month, marking a 39.7% increase in sales for the model over the previous July. Deliveries of the Passat totaled 8,668 units for the month, while deliveries of the Jetta totaled 11,008 units. Tiguan deliveries totaled 2,121 units, while TDI Clean Diesel models accounted for 7,062 units, or 23.1%, of the company’s total sales in July.
Audi: Audi posted an 11.9% sales increase, with sales totaling 14,616 units in July. This was the automaker’s 43rd consecutive month of record monthly sales. Audi sales on a year-to-date basis increased 13.3% to 98,965 vehicles.
Audi realized its best-ever July following record sales for the first half of the year. The previous July record was set in 2013. To date, 2014 has produced four of the six best sales months for the premium car brand.
Porsche: Porsche announced July 2014 sales of 4,300 vehicles. During the first seven months of 2014, Porsche has delivered 27,219 vehicles, an increase of 8.3% over last year (25,129). Deliveries of 1,546 Cayenne SUVs in July were on par with last year’s sales of 1,563. The Macan recorded July sales of 952 units. It has reached a share of more than 10% of the year’s total sales volume in only its third month on the market, officials noted.
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