July Movers

2012 Scion xB: 4 days
2012 Hyundai Elantra: 6 days
2012 Hyundai Sonata: 6 days
2012 Hyundai Tucson: 6 days
2012 Porsche Cayenne: 6 days
2011 Lexus CT 200h: 6 days
2012 Audi Q5: 7 days
2012 Hyundai Accent hatchback: 7 days
2011 Toyota Prius: 7 days
2012 Kia Sportage: 9 days
2012 Audi A4: 10 days
2012 Hyundai Accent sedan: 10 days
2011 Nissan Leaf: 10 days
2012 Chevrolet Cruze: 11 days
2012 Ford Fusion: 11 days
2011 Ford Fiesta: 13 days
2011 Lexus RX 450h: 13 days
2011 Nissan Juke: 13 days

South Korean Automakers See Biggest Drop in Inventory
Clearly trying to capitalize on the Japanese automakers’ woes, South Korean automakers – due to an aggressive sales push and continued strong customer demand – have suffered the largest drop in inventory since the quake in terms of region of origin for vehicles. South Korean inventories have fallen 35.6 percent from March 31 to June 20. The Japanese falloff was 32.8 percent.

Honda and Toyota have been hit hardest among Japanese automakers. Honda inventories fell the most of any automaker by 44.3 percent from March 31 to June 20; Toyota was next, down 40.5 percent. The fact that Nissan and the other Japanese makers didn’t suffer as much lessened the overall impact on the Japanese automakers as a group. Surprisingly, however, Kia ranked third in steepest falloff of inventory during the March 31-June 20 timeframe, with supply down 39.9 percent, followed by Hyundai, with stocks off 32.3 percent. Inventory of the popular Hyundai Sonata down 59.3 percent from end of March, an even more significant fall-off than the Honda Civic, which has 53.9 percent lower inventory.

The sales pace for Hyundai and Kia vehicles has been torrid. Hyundai set a new May record of nearly 60,000 vehicles sold for a 21 percent hike over the same record-breaking period in 2010. Kia not only had its best May but its best month ever with sales of more than 48,000 vehicles for a 53 percent boost from the year earlier. That gave Kia its highest market share in history at 4.5 percent, according to Edmunds.com’s records. While Kia may cool a tad in June from May, likely due to inventory shortages, Hyundai is on fire in June. Edmunds.com’s forecast for June car sales puts Hyundai on track for record sales and market share. Combined, Hyundai and Kia are predicted by Edmunds.com to see sales up more than 4 percent from May to June and up 34 percent from last June for a record 10.2 percent market share – 5.9 percent for Hyundai and 4.3 percent from Kia, according to Edmunds.com’s forecast.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., posted August sales of 82,321 vehicles, a decrease of 27.2 percent, based on the daily selling rate*, the company announced today. American Honda year-to-date sales reached 770,265, down 6.0 percent versus last year. Although production limitations caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan continue to improve, reduced vehicle supplies adversely affected August sales results.

Honda Division posted August sales of 73,267, a decrease of 27.5 percent versus August 2010. The Accord was the top-selling Honda model for August with sales of 18,439, a decrease of 21.2 percent compared to last year, followed by the CR-V with sales of 16,572, a decrease of 18.1 percent. The Pilot SUV posted sales of 9,825, an increase of 11.4 percent versus last year.

“The production plan for most of our models returned to 100 percent by late August at all of our North American factories,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. “A greater selection of vehicles is beginning to arrive at dealers this month as the company continues to recover from temporary supply disruptions.”

Acura Division recorded August sales of 9,054, a decrease of 24.5 percent versus August 2010, and year-to-date sales of 79,136, down 8.1 percent. The MDX was the top-selling Acura model for the month with sales of 3,126, down 31.5 percent.

*The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 days for August 2011 and 25 days for August 2010. Year-to-date DSR is calculated with 204 days for 2011 and 203 for 2010. All percentages reflect DSR.

For more information about Honda vehicles, please visit www.honda.com. For media inquiries please visit www.hondanews.com. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries please visit www.acuranews.com.

September 01, 2011
Toyota Reports August 2011 Sales
TORRANCE, Calif. (September 1, 2011) – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported August sales of 129,483 units, a decrease of 16.1 percent from the same period last year on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis. On a raw volume basis, unadjusted for 26 selling days in August 2011 compared to 25 selling days in August 2010, TMS sales were down 12.7 percent from the year-ago month.
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NISSAN NORTH AMERICA SALES RISE 19.2% IN AUGUST

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today reported August U.S. sales of 91,541 units versus 76,827 units a year earlier, an increase of 19.2 percent. Nissan Division sales increased 22.4 percent for the month with 82,517 units. Sales of Infiniti vehicles decreased 4.3 percent from the prior year, to 9,024 units.

NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS

Nissan vehicles posted August sales of 82,517 units, an increase of 22.4 percent over the 67,399 units sold in August 2010.
The launch of the all-new Versa Sedan helped boost sales of the Versa subcompact by 14.9 percent to 8,566 in August.
Strong sales of the Nissan Altima continue, with 23,016 units marking an August increase of 24.5 percent over the prior year.
Sales of the Rogue crossover achieved a record in August, up 13.2 percent with 11,467 deliveries.
Deliveries of all-electric Nissan LEAF totaled 1,362 in August, with 6,187 units sold since its December 2010 launch.
The Nissan Juke continues to outperform earlier projections, with August sales totaling 3,464 units.

INFINITI HIGHLIGHTS

Infiniti sales totaled 9,024 units for the month of August, a decrease of 4.3 percent versus 9,428 a year earlier.
Infiniti G Sedan sales of 4,267 mark an increase of 8.7 percent from prior year, supporting a increase of 1.4 percent.
With sales of 1,148 for the month of August, the Infiniti QX has a year-over-year increase of 11.3 percent.
August sales showed a 21.8 percent increase from July.

“Nissan expects to see continued market-share gains thanks to better vehicle availability than key competitors and strong performances by our top sellers: the Altima, Rogue and Versa,” said Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division. “The 2012 Versa Sedan is off to a great start and is positioning us to maintain our leadership in the competitive subcompact segment.”

COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America today announced sales of 58,505 vehicles in August, a nine percent total sales increase compared with the same period a year ago, and a 21 percent retail sales increase over last August.

Year to date, Hyundai sales are up 21 percent versus 2010 in total, and up 34 percent at retail. Sales to fleet accounts represent 11 percent of the total sales year-to-date and just 10 percent for the month of August. Thirty-five percent of Hyundai vehicles sold in August achieved 40 MPG fuel economy ratings.

"Demand for Hyundai products remained strong in August despite severe fluctuations in financial markets and the resulting impact on short-term consumer confidence," said Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America's executive vice president of national sales. "We're still seeing consumer demand increasing, with Hyundai consideration rates now at an all-time high. This should drive continued sales momentum for Hyundai through the rest of the year, even if the industry struggles a bit."

The all-new Accent, in its second full month on sale, saw sales soar 38 percent. In July, it was the best-selling sub-compact in the market. Santa Fe and Tucson saw sales increases of 55 and 24 percent, respectively, as availability issues eased. Genesis continued its growth trajectory in August with its 26th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases, and a sales lift of 13 percent over last August. And Equus, the highest-ranking premium luxury car in the 2011 J.D. Power and Associates APEAL study, delivered another strong month and is pacing well ahead of its first full-year sales target.

Hyundai continues its unique approach to fuel efficiency data transparency, achieving a corporate average fuel economy level of 36.2 MPG in August, and 35.8 MPG for the year-to-date, while selling an industry-leading 20,600 vehicles (Elantra sedan, Sonata Hybrid, and 2012 Accent) with 40 MPG fuel economy ratings.

"It's no coincidence that our 40 MPG cars are among the hottest cars in the industry, with Accent and Elantra both running single-digit days-supply levels," said John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America's president and CEO. "With Veloster, our fourth car with a standard 40 MPG fuel economy rating beginning sales in September, we'll take this recipe into the sporty coupe segment, where we expect a similarly warm reception from American car-buyers."

Hyundai Motor America today announced sales of 58,505 vehicles in August, a nine percent total sales increase compared with the same period a year ago, and a 21 percent retail sales increase over last August.

Year to date, Hyundai sales are up 21 percent versus 2010 in total, and up 34 percent at retail. Sales to fleet accounts represent 11 percent of the total sales year-to-date and just 10 percent for the month of August. Thirty-five percent of Hyundai vehicles sold in August achieved 40 MPG fuel economy ratings.

“Demand for Hyundai products remained strong in August despite severe fluctuations in financial markets and the resulting impact on short-term consumer confidence,” said Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America’s executive vice president of national sales. “We’re still seeing consumer demand increasing, with Hyundai consideration rates now at an all-time high. This should drive continued sales momentum for Hyundai through the rest of the year, even if the industry struggles a bit.”

The all-new Accent, in its second full month on sale, saw sales soar 38 percent. In July, it was the best-selling sub-compact in the market. Santa Fe and Tucson saw sales increases of 55 and 24 percent, respectively, as availability issues eased. Genesis continued its growth trajectory in August with its 26th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases, and a sales lift of 13 percent over last August. And Equus, the highest-ranking premium luxury car in the 2011 J.D. Power and Associates APEAL study, delivered another strong month and is pacing well ahead of its first full-year sales target.

Sure, the Chrysler Group bosses knew they could make a comeback, especially with all the new or refreshed vehicles they had on tap for the model year. But outsell Toyota? That would seem like a tough challenge.

Well, Chrysler did it again last month. It topped Toyota by a mere 636 vehicles out of 130,119 it sold. A razor-thin margin, for sure, but the underdogs came out on top.

Ram trucks are pulling for Chrysler Group. So the Jeep Wrangler. After that, it's kind of mix of lots of models.

In order to beat Toyota, Chrysler not only needed to post huge gains of 30.6% compared to the same month lasts year, Autodata reports. But it also needed Toyota to take another slide. It fell 12.7% for the month. Chrysler's ascendency may not last long: Toyota is still suffering from depleted inventories due to the March earthquake. When the pipeline is refilled, it's bye-bye Chrysler.

Or it is. Just when you try to count out Chrysler it always has a way of popping up again. By the way, Chrysler and Toyota now both have the same market share: 12.1%