August Sales: Up 20 Percent. Detroit Better Than Expected. Toyota-Shi And Wolfsburg MUCH Better

Volkswagen and Toyota join Chrysler in delivering better than expected numbers for August as our table starts to populate.Volkswagen reports a jaw-dropping 63 percent gain for the Volkswagen brand, 48 percent for the group. Says Michelle Krebs of Edmunds;

“If the brand continues at this pace – which, of course, is never guaranteed – VW’s goal for 800,000 sales per year by 2018 may not be as lofty as once thought.”

Toyota reports group sales of 188,520 units in August 2012, up 40.2 percent on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis and 45.6 percent on an unadjusted raw volume basis. Data not in table pending full press release at 10:30am Pacific.

Ford and GM report more subdued numbers, but at 13 percent for Ford and 10 percent for GM much better than predicted by the analysts. GM says that sales to retail customers were up 11 percent. Sales to fleet customers were up 6 percent compared with a year ago. GM expects a SAAR of 14.6 million for August. GM sales chart here.

When everything was tabulated, August sales had jumped 20 percent, which was the high end of expectations. The seasonally adjusted sales rate (SAAR) for August came in at 14.53 million, the highest SAAR cash-for-clunkers in August 2009.

August Light Vehicle Sales

Final table

AutomakerAug. 2012Aug. 2011Pct. chng.8 month

20128 month

2011Pct. chng.BMW Group22,58523,954–6%208,524193,8058% BMW division16,83520,815–19%164,636155,9296% Mini5,7183,10984%43,63237,63616% Rolls-Royce32307%2562407%BMW Group22,58523,954–6%208,524193,8058%Chrysler Group148,472130,12014%1,108,629882,07826% Chrysler Division28,07022,49725%216,616133,99262% Dodge47,34841,81813%344,556305,36913% Dodge/Ram73,41363,90415%537,502468,77015% Fiat4,1503,10634%28,56611,088158% Jeep42,83940,6136%325,945268,22822% Ram26,06522,08618%192,946163,40118%Chrysler Group148,472130,12014%1,108,629882,07826%Daimler AG23,44320,73113%188,390162,39916% Maybach4333%322433% Mercedes-Benz22,68620,32312%182,077159,08715% Smart USA75340586%6,2813,28891%Daimler AG23,44320,73113%188,390162,39916%Ford Motor Co.196,749174,80013%1,510,6141,424,8516% Ford division188,608166,79413%1,453,5361,366,7806% Lincoln8,1418,0062%57,07857,823–1% Mercury–––%–248–100%Ford Motor Co.196,749174,80013%1,510,6141,424,8516%General Motors240,520218,47910%1,757,4701,695,0044% Buick18,00016,02112%122,589126,493–3% Cadillac14,70413,20811%90,933100,449–10% Chevrolet169,978152,77911%1,270,5821,206,3225% GMC37,83836,4714%273,366261,7404%General Motors240,520218,47910%1,757,4701,695,0044%Honda (American)131,32182,32160%949,247770,26523% Acura15,6469,05473%101,40779,13628% Honda Division115,67573,26758%847,840691,12923%Honda (American)131,32182,32160%949,247770,26523%Hyundai Group111,12799,69312%866,598772,65812% Hyundai division61,09958,5054%479,789440,8639% Kia50,02841,18822%386,809331,79517%Hyundai Group111,12799,69312%866,598772,65812%Jaguar Land Rover4,7563,61732%36,58431,11418% Jaguar1,02981027%8,5468,2044% Land Rover3,7272,80733%28,03822,91022%Jaguar Land Rover4,7563,61732%36,58431,11418%Maserati2192114%1,7151,50714%Maserati2192114%1,7151,50714%Mazda22,23422,632–2%185,349165,79412%Mazda22,23422,632–2%185,349165,79412%Mitsubishi4,2497,985–47%41,31660,072–31%Mitsubishi4,2497,985–47%41,31660,072–31%Nissan98,51591,5418%774,577681,11514% Infiniti11,1559,02424%77,15163,70221% Nissan Division87,36082,5176%697,426617,41313%Nissan98,51591,5418%774,577681,11514%Saab Cars North America–363–100%–4,218–100%Saab Cars North America–363–100%–4,218–100%Subaru28,29320,83736%217,780174,61625%Subaru28,29320,83736%217,780174,61625%Suzuki1,9682,409–18%17,22818,258–6%Suzuki1,9682,409–18%17,22818,258–6%Toyota188,520129,48246%1,399,5141,073,07230% Lexus24,23718,10334%150,604120,65225% Scion7,7223,649112%49,74733,76947% Toyota division156,561107,73045%1,199,163918,65131% Toyota/Scion164,283111,37948%1,248,910952,42031%Toyota188,520129,48246%1,399,5141,073,07230%Volkswagen55,76037,76948%399,146305,50631% Audi11,52710,20113%88,39275,25618% Bentley15612426%1,4051,10927% Lamborghini402843%32022443% Porsche3,0262,18439%22,27920,4949% VW division41,01125,23263%286,750208,42338%Volkswagen55,76037,76948%399,146305,50631%Volvo Cars NA–––%–––%Volvo Cars NA–––%–––% Other (estimate)**2382284%1,9041,8215%TOTAL1,261,8491,051,65620%9,522,8488,302,86715%

Data courtesy Automotive News [sub]