May 2005 - In a Down Month, International Nameplates Fared Better Than the Trend

Washington DC June 2, 2005; The AIADA newsletter reported that after a robust April, new vehicle sales shocked the markets with an 8 percent downturn in May.

While International nameplates performed better than the market as a whole, the sector’s 5.6 percent drop for the month was unexpected. For the year, International nameplate sales are up 3.4 percent. Among the members of the million-selling vehicle club, only Nissan posted a sales gain, with a 6.6 percent increase over last May. Toyota’s sales were flat, posting a -0.5 percent drop, but Honda fared the worst among the top six automakers with a 14.7 percent drop, mostly due to a 30 percent fall-off in Honda brand car sales.

Besides Nissan, however, smaller marques fared well, such as Porsche which posted a 24.7 percent gain; Land Rover, with a 20 percent increase thanks to the popular new LR3; and MINI, which continues to do well with its convertible, posted a 15.6 percent increase. Subaru posted a smaller improvement, with a 1.4 percent sales increase; Hyundai stayed even with 0.2 percent increase.

For the Domestics: GM dropped 12.6 percent, Ford sales dropped 10.6 percent, and DaimlerChrysler AG, which includes Chrysler fell 2.5 percent.