June 2006 North American Sales Results: International Nameplates Lead the Pack
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Record June Sales” – The Theme for Several International Nameplate Automakers
Special to The Auto Channel
By Todd Kohlhepp
AIADA
Communications Coordinator
In what was an overall down month for U.S. auto sales –
total sales dropped 10.5% from June 2005 and 2.4% year-to-date –
international nameplate automakers found themselves again ahead of the
market. Total sales for import brands were up 2.5% from June 2005, with
market share for the group up 5.5% from last year to 43.9%. International
nameplate year-to-date sales are up 5.5% from last year. So far in 2006,
total market share for the group stands at 45.1%.
With the average price of regular gas up about 70
cents per gallon over last year, car segments once again fared better than
light trucks as consumers were drawn to more fuel efficient vehicles. This
boded well for Internationals, as they possessed a 58% share in the
passenger car market for June. One model which shined above the rest was
the Toyota Corolla, rising a whopping 38.7% in June 2006 compared to June
2005. The Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord each made the top
5 highest selling vehicles for the month. Subcompact models also stayed in
high demand, with combined sales for the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris
exceeding 10,000 for the month.
July is widely expected to be a strong month across the board,
with several incentive programs introduced this past holiday weekend and
more likely to come. Demand for passenger cars is likely to remain healthy
amid higher pump prices, and several automakers including, Nissan and Audi,
are slated to begin launching new models as the second half of the sales
year gets underway.
Here’s
a rundown of each automaker’s sales numbers for June
2006:
Toyota a Big
Winner
A 15.7% rise for Toyota in June compared to June 2005,
placed an exclamation point on the automaker’s best-ever first-half
sales. The car division fared phenomenally, led by the huge 38.7% bounce in
Corolla sales. Sales of the automaker’s light trucks were up too, led
by the 4Runner, up 4.1% from June 2005, and the RAV 4, which more than
doubled in sales from June of last year. Toyota’s youth-focused
brand, Scion, enjoyed the best June sales month in its three year history,
led by the tC sports coupe’s 11.3% improvement from June of 2005.
Taking its own slice of the
“best-ever” pie were Lexus cars, which posted best-ever June
sales with an increase of 23.6% from June of last year. Sales were led by
the all-new ES 350 luxury sedan with best-ever June sales of 7,645 units,
up 26.4%. Light trucks reported June sales totaling 11,844 units. The 2006
RX 400h luxury hybrid vehicle reported sales of 1,190 units for the month.
The RX 350 and RX 400h enjoyed combined June sales of 9,651
units.
Honda’s Six
Straight Record June
For the sixth consecutive year, Honda
broke its own June sales record, beating last year’s record June
numbers by 3.4%. Continuing its success since redesign, the Civic posted a
gain of 3.9% with sales of 26,312, including an increase in Civic Hybrid
sales of 40.4% over June last year. Strong demand for the new Fit
subcompact is outpacing supply, with June’s sales reaching 3,747
vehicles. Record June sales of Ridgeline helped propel the truck to its
sixth consecutive monthly record, up 9.3% to 3,918
units.
Acura sales were down on
the month compared to June 2005, but the division posted record TSX Sport
Sedan sales and steady TL performance luxury sedan sales during June, while
several new 2007 models indicate a strong second half for the
brand.
Nissan Down, But
Murano Way Up
Nissan sales dropped 19% from last year. The best
performers of the month were the Murano and Frontier. The Murano had a
record month with sales of 6,617 units, up 2.6% from June of last year. The
Frontier pickup also fared well once again, up 16% from June of last year.
Sales for Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti dropped 20% from last year,
with its highest seller the G35 sedan. Nissan is currently in talks with
partner Renault regarding a possible minority stake in GM. CEO Carlos Ghosn
is expected to meet GM Chief Richard Wagoner later this month to further
discuss the possible alliance, which reports indicate may look towards
purchasing parts together and sharing environment and safety
technologies.
Kia Keeps
Momentum for Record ‘06
Kia is on track for another
record sales year, and reported June sales up 1.3% from June of last year.
June sales were led by the Spectra, Sorento, and Amanti. Year-to-date sales
for the brand are up 2.3% from this point last year.
VW Rolls Along
Volkswagen’s
stellar 2006 continued in June, with sales up 5.5% compared to June of last
year. Year-to-date sales show an overall increase of 20%. Passat and Beetle
models had a huge month, with sales up 70% and 36.3% from June 2005,
respectively. The official launch of the Rabbit model got off to a great
start since its launch on June 24th, with 831 retail deliveries in its
debut week.
Luxury brand Audi
enjoyed a banner month, with an 11.3% increase in sales over a year ago.
This is the fourteenth monthly sales increase over the past 17 months for
the brand. Sales of the A3 model were up 17.9% from June 2005. June marked
the official sales launch of the automaker’s Q7 performance SUV,
which sold over 1,000 units, and the 420-horsepower RS 4 sports sedan.
Later this fall, Audi will introduce the A4 and S4 Cabriolets, and the V-10
S6 and S8 performance sedans.
Hyundai Sets Records in June, Readies for New Launches in
Second Half
Hyundai announced a record sales month of over
44,500 units, which was a 3.4% increase over June. The Accent was up 43.1%,
with the addition of the all-new 2007 3-door Accent, which arrived in
showrooms early in June. The Hyundai line up will feature a wide array of
new vehicles in the second half of the year including the all-new 2007
Santa Fe crossover and 2007 Elantra compact sedan, both hitting show rooms
in the next few months.
Mercedes Record Month Highlighted by
Sedans
Mercedes reported its highest June on record with a 14%
increase over last June. Highlights for the month include an 81% increase
for the flagship S-Class model line. Roadsters also proved to be popular
this month with a 23.4% increase over June 2005 for the SL-Class and
SLK-Class combined.
Sedans Help BMW Post Increase
BMW’s June
sales rose 3.4% compared to last year. The automaker’s car division
anchored the increase with high sales of the 3 series and 5 series sedans.
MINI car sales were relatively flat, dropping 1.4% from June of last year,
though sales of the MINI convertible were up 12.2%.
Mazda 3, Miata Highlight Big
Month
Mazda had a great month, posting a sale increase of 7.5%.
Mazda 3 celebrated its best-ever June, with sales of 9,452 units, up 19%
from last year. The MX-5 Miata posted its best June since 2002 with sales
of 1,584 units.
Volvo off
from June ‘05
Volvo sales were off 11.2% from June of
2005, but its car division witness sales rise 1.7%. Sales were highlighted
by a 7.2% increase of the S60 sedan. Sales of the new C70 coupe also remain
strong.
Tribeca, Impreza
Highlight Record Month for Subaru
Subaru reported the best
June in its history, with sales up 3% for the month compared to the same
period last year. Both the B9 Tribeca and Impreza posted double-digit
gains. Year-to-date Subaru sales are up 2.9%.
Mitsubishi Tops 10,000 for Fourth Straight
Month
Mitsubishi reported June sales were off 5.8% from last
June, though the automaker topped the 10,000 mark in units sold for the
fourth consecutive month. MMNA last sold 10,000-plus vehicles for four
months in a row during May-August 2005. Eclipse Spyder convertible sales
were more than triple the number of sales in June 2005. Year-to-date Spyder
sales are up 35%. The automaker’s Raider pickup, launched last fall,
had its fifth consecutive month-over-month increase.
Porsche Way Up in June
Porsche
reported a 12.5% surge in June 2006 sales compared to June 2005, driven
mostly by the launch of its new 911 turbo. Sales of Porsche’s 911
lineup more than doubled to 1,266 vehicles compared to 589 vehicles in
2005. The new 911 turbo added 256 units sold to the mix, despite only one
week’s worth of sales.
Brit Pack: Land Rover Up, Jaguar Down
Land
Rover enjoyed a 12% increase in sales, led by high sales of its Range Rover
Sport.Jaguar sales were down 25.2% from June of last year. Its lone bright
spot was a 56% upswing in XK Series sales.
|
Brand |
June 2006 |
June 2005 |
%Chng. |
2006 CYTD |
2005 CYTD |
%Chng. |
|
Toyota |
195,332 |
168,832 |
15.7% |
1,072,801 |
972,064 |
10.4% |
|
Lexus |
27,686 |
26,043 |
6.3% |
150,741 |
142,006 |
6.2% |
|
Honda |
111,342 |
107,672 |
3.4% |
644,926 |
587,419 |
9.8% |
|
Acura |
15,107 |
18,744 |
-19.4% |
96,301 |
104,945 |
-8.2% |
|
Nissan |
65,854 |
81,158 |
-18.9% |
453,877 |
476,297 |
-4.7% |
|
Infiniti |
9,300 |
11,623 |
-20% |
57,891 |
66,424 |
-12.8% |
|
Hyundai |
44,508 |
43,051 |
3.4% |
234,035 |
224,437 |
4.3% |
|
Audi
|
8,039 |
7,209 |
11.5% |
40,455 |
37,701 |
7.3% |
|
Volkswagen |
20,121 |
19,071 |
5.5% |
116,045 |
96,704 |
20% |
|
BMW |
24,179 |
23,392 |
3.4% |
137,220 |
122,864 |
11.7% |
|
Mini
|
3,556 |
3,607 |
-1.4% |
20,026 |
21,979 |
-8.9% |
|
Saab
|
3,295 |
6,614 |
-50.2% |
17,691 |
20,968 |
-15.6% |
|
Mercedes-Benz |
20,817 |
18,257 |
14% |
115,025 |
98,724 |
16.5% |
|
Jaguar |
2,160 |
2,888 |
-25.2% |
11,649 |
17,162 |
-32.1% |
|
Land
Rover |
3,847 |
3,414 |
12.7% |
22,863 |
17,871 |
27.9% |
|
Volvo |
10,897 |
12,276 |
-11.2% |
59,241 |
66,067 |
-10.3% |
|
Mazda |
23,727 |
22,063 |
7.5% |
140,704 |
134,988 |
4.2% |
|
Mitsubishi |
10,004 |
10,621 |
-5.8% |
58,361 |
65,753 |
-11.2% |
|
Kia
|
27,443 |
27,095 |
1.3% |
146,577 |
143,086 |
2.4% |
|
Subaru |
18,476 |
17,946 |
3% |
96,022 |
93,303 |
2.9% |
|
American Suzuki |
9,516 |
7,449 |
27.7% |
56,959 |
42,014 |
35.6% |
|
Isuzu |
745 |
1,289 |
-42.2% |
4,718 |
7,599 |
-37.9% |
|
Porsche Cars |
2,871 |
2,551 |
12.5% |
18,601 |
16,126 |
15.3% |
|
TOTAL |
659,443 |
643,524 |
2.5% |
3,776,753 |
3,580,030 |
5.5% |
Chart: AIADA
Jul 6, 13:55 PM
