AUGUST U.S. SALES REPORT: Honda, Toyota, VW stand tall as sales rate reaches 3-year high

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September 4, 2012 Tell a colleague about this newsletter      Contact Us      Data Center   Honda, Toyota, VW stand tall as sales rate reaches 3-year high The year's strongest performances by Honda and Volkswagen helped lift U.S. auto sales to their fastest pace in three years last month. American Honda sales soared 60 percent and Toyota Motor Sales' volume jumped 46 percent for the month as the Japanese automakers continued to bounce back from severe quake-related product shortages last summer. ...  story    Winners and Losers % change in sales among major brands from August 2011   Winners August     Winners 8 mos.     Losers August     Losers 8 mos. 1 Scion 112%   1 Fiat 158%   1 Mitsubishi -47%   1 Mitsubishi -31% 2 Smart 86%   2 Smart 91%   2 BMW division -19%   2 Cadillac -10% 3 Mini 84%   3 Chrysler Division 62%   3 Suzuki -18%   3 Suzuki -6% 4 Acura 73%   4 Scion 47%   4 Mazda -2%   4 Buick -3% 5 Volkswagen division 63%   5 Volkswagen division 38%           5 Lincoln -1% Toyota to keep spiffs coming as rebound continues Thanks to a 30 percent jump in U.S. sales this year, Toyota’s eight-month share of the U.S. market now stands at 14.4 percent, up from 12.7 percent a year earlier. (BLOOMBERG) LOS ANGELES -- The Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands combined for a 46 percent increase in August sales, building on Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. market share gains. Last month’s rise followed sales advances of 60 percent in June and 87 percent in May, as the company continued to rebound from last year’s natural disasters in Asia. Thanks to a 30 percent jump in U.S. sales this year, Toyota’s eight-month share of the U.S. market now stands at 14.4 percent, up from 12.7 percent a year earlier. In addition, Toyota was the industry’s top-selling retail brand for the sixth straight month. August fleet sales accounted for less than 3 percent of total volume. “It was a good month for the industry and a great month for Toyota,” said Bill Fay, Toyota Division general manager. “The auto industry continued to outperform the general economy in August.” Lexus also had its best month of the year, outselling both BMW and Mercedes-Benz for the first time in 2012.  story  Accord, Civic lead Honda August boom LOS ANGELES -- American Honda reported a 60 percent surge in August sales, for its strongest post-earthquake performance to date. The increase followed gains of almost 50 percent in each of the previous three months, as Honda and Acura inventories continue to recover from the March 2011 earthquake in Japan. Honda Division was up 58 percent last month, while Acura rose 73 percent. Honda Accord sales, aided by the sell-down of the outgoing model, soared 89 percent to 34,848. Consumers don’t seem to be moved by media complaints about the Civic’s interior; August sales increased 106 percent to 24,897 units. The CR- ...  story  Ford sales rise 13%, led by F series, Escape DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s sales rose 13 percent in August from the year-earlier month, to 196,749 units, buoyed by strong sales of the F-series pickup, Escape crossover and Focus compact. The three vehicles together accounted for more than half of Ford's sales in August: F series, 58,201 (up 19 percent); Escape, 28,188 (up 37 percent); and Focus, 19,073 (up 35 percent). The 2013 Escape, introduced this summer, has quickly become the hottest vehicle on dealership lots. Ford recently added a third shift at its Louisville Assembly Plant to keep up with demand. About 80 percent of the Escapes sold in August were 2013 models, said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of U.S. sales, marketing and service. The ...  story  BLOGS Jesse Snyder is senior writer for Automotive News   JESSE SNYDER The joy of sales stability News flash: August U.S. auto sales climbed to a 14.5 million selling rate -- the eighth straight month with a seasonally adjusted annual figure between 13.9 million and 14.5 million. ...  Read the blog  Published: Sep 4 6:00 pm U.S. Eastern time GM sales rise 10 percent; Chevy car lineup shines Chrysler's 'Iron Man' streak rolls on Hyundai overcomes strike to post best August ever Lexus gains 34% to top Mercedes, BMW U.S. light-vehicle demand jumps 20%; SAAR hits 14.53 million Top selling light vehicles     August       8 mos. 1 Ford F series 58,201   1 Ford F series 408,656 2 Chevrolet Silverado 38,295   2 Toyota Camry 280,536 3 Toyota Camry 36,720   3 Chevrolet Silverado 261,775 4 Honda Accord 34,848   4 Honda Accord 218,665 5 Ford Escape 28,188   5 Honda Civic 212,483 6 Chevrolet Cruze 25,975   6 Nissan Altima 209,592 7 Nissan Altima 25,889   7 Toyota Corolla/Matrix 199,677 8 Ram 25,215   8 Honda CR-V 191,113 9 Honda Civic 24,897   9 Ram 187,620 10 Toyota Corolla/Matrix 24,311   10 Ford Fusion 181,865 Top selling cars     August       8 mos. 1 Toyota Camry 36,720   1 Toyota Camry 280,536 2 Honda Accord 34,848   2 Honda Accord 218,665 3 Chevrolet Cruze 25,975   3 Honda Civic 212,483 4 Nissan Altima 25,889   4 Nissan Altima 209,592 5 Honda Civic 24,897   5 Toyota Corolla/Matrix 199,677 6 Toyota Corolla/Matrix 24,311   6 Ford Fusion 181,865 7 Ford Fusion 21,690   7 Chevrolet Malibu 168,277 8 Toyota Prius 21,111   8 Ford Focus 166,950 9 Hyundai Sonata 19,624   9 Toyota Prius 164,408 10 Ford Focus 19,073   10 Hyundai Sonata 158,014 Top selling light trucks     August       8 mos. 1 Ford F series 58,201   1 Ford F series 408,656 2 Chevrolet Silverado 38,295   2 Chevrolet Silverado 261,775 3 Ford Escape 28,188   3 Honda CR-V 191,113 4 Ram 25,215   4 Ram 187,620 5 Honda CR-V 23,877   5 Ford Escape 176,927 6 Chevrolet Equinox 20,231   6 Chevrolet Equinox 151,027 7 Dodge Grand Caravan 16,428   7 Toyota RAV4 120,371 8 Toyota RAV4 15,685   8 Ford Explorer 103,754 9 GMC Sierra 14,495   9 Jeep Grand Cherokee 99,536 10 Ford Explorer 13,863   10 GMC Sierra 98,545 Table sorted by year-to-date sales     Aug. 2012 Aug. 2011 Aug. % change 8 mos. 2012 8 mos. 2011 8 mos. % change Buick   18,000 16,021 12% 122,589 126,493 -3% Cadillac   14,704 13,208 11% 90,933 100,449 -10% Chevrolet   169,978 152,779 11% 1,270,582 1,206,322 5% GMC   37,838 36,471 4% 273,366 261,740 4% General Motors   240,520 218,479 10% 1,757,470 1,695,004 4% Ford division   188,608 166,794 13% 1,453,536 1,366,780 6% Lincoln   8,141 8,006 2% 57,078 57,823 -1% Mercury   - - - - 248 - Ford Motor Co.   196,749 174,800 13% 1,510,614 1,424,851 6% Lexus   24,237 18,103 34% 150,604 120,652 25% Scion   7,722 3,649 112% 49,747 33,769 47% Toyota Division   156,561 107,730 45% 1,199,163 918,651 31% Toyota/Scion   164,283 111,379 48% 1,248,910 952,420 31% Toyota Motor Sales   188,520 129,482 46% 1,399,514 1,073,072 30% Chrysler Division   28,070 22,497 25% 216,616 133,992 62% Dodge   47,348 41,818 13% 344,556 305,369 13% Ram   26,065 22,086 18% 192,946 163,401 18% Dodge/Ram   73,413 63,904 15% 537,502 468,770 15% Fiat   4,150 3,106 34% 28,566 11,088 158% Jeep   42,839 40,613 6% 325,945 268,228 22% Chrysler Group   148,472 130,120 14% 1,108,629 882,078 26% Acura   15,646 9,054 73% 101,407 79,136 28% Honda Division   115,675 73,267 58% 847,840 691,129 23% American Honda Motor Co.   131,321 82,321 60% 949,247 770,265 23% Hyundai division   61,099 58,505 4% 479,789 440,863 9% Kia   50,028 41,188 22% 386,809 331,795 17% Hyundai-Kia   111,127 99,693 12% 866,598 772,658 12% Infiniti   11,155 9,024 24% 77,151 63,702 21% Nissan Division   87,360 82,517 6% 697,426 617,413 13% Nissan North America   98,515 91,541 8% 774,577 681,115 14% Audi   11,527 10,201 13% 88,392 75,256 18% Bentley   156 124 26% 1,405 1,109 27% Lamborghini*   40 28 43% 320 224 43% Porsche   3,026 2,184 39% 22,279 20,494 9% VW division   41,011 25,232 63% 286,750 208,423 38% VW Group Of America   55,760 37,769 48% 399,146 305,506 31% Subaru   28,293 20,837 36% 217,780 174,616 25% BMW division   16,835 20,815 -19% 164,636 155,929 6% Mini   5,718 3,109 84% 43,632 37,636 16% Rolls-Royce*   32 30 7% 256 240 7% BMW Group   22,585 23,954 -6% 208,524 193,805 8% Maybach   4 3 33% 32 24 33% Mercedes-Benz   22,686 20,323 12% 182,077 159,087 15% Smart USA   753 405 86% 6,281 3,288 91% Daimler AG   23,443 20,731 13% 188,390 162,399 16% Mazda   22,234 22,632 -2% 185,349 165,794 12% Volvo Cars N.A.   6,323 5,215 21% 46,653 47,113 -1% Mitsubishi   4,249 7,985 -47% 41,316 60,072 -31% Jaguar   1,029 810 27% 8,546 8,204 4% Land Rover   3,727 2,807 33% 28,038 22,910 22% Jaguar Land Rover N.A.   4,756 3,617 32% 36,584 31,114 18% Suzuki   1,968 2,409 -18% 17,228 18,258 -6% Maserati   219 211 4% 1,715 1,507 14% Saab Cars N.A.   - 363 - - 4,218 - Other**   238 228 4% 1,904 1,821 5% U.S. LIGHT VEHICLE   1,285,292 1,072,387 20% 9,711,238 8,465,266 15% *Estimate Highlights Mfgr. highest volume - Aug. GM 240,520   Mfgr. highest volume - 8 mos. GM 1,757,470 Mfgr. Gained the most volume - Aug. Toyota Motor Sales 59,038   Mfgr. Gained the most volume - 8 mos. Toyota Motor Sales 326,442 Mfgr. lost the most volume - Aug. Mitsubishi (3,736)   Mfgr. lost the most volume - 8 mos. Mitsubishi (18,756) Mfgr. highest % increase - Aug. American Honda 60%   Mfgr. highest % increase - 8 mos. VW Group/Chrysler Group 31% Mfgr. Biggest % drop - Aug. Mitsubishi -47%   Mfgr. Biggest % drop - 8 mos. Mitsubishi -31%               Brand highest volume - Aug. Ford 188,608   Brand highest volume - 8 mos. Ford 1,453,536 Brand Gained the most volume - Aug. Toyota 48,831   Brand Gained the most volume - 8 mos. Toyota 280,512 Brand lost the most volume - Aug. BMW (3,980)   Brand lost the most volume - 8 mos. Mitsubishi (18,756) Brand highest % increase - Aug. Scion 112%   Brand highest % increase - 8 mos. Fiat 158% Brand Biggest % drop - Aug. Mitsubishi -47%   Brand Biggest % drop - 8 mos. Mitsubishi -31% To view other breaking news stories throughout the day, visit autonews.com To unsubscribe from this email newsletter, please click here. Automotive News is located at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 48207