U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: June 2017 YTD

Auto sales slid 3 percent in the United States in June 2017, marking the end to a first-half of 2017 in which U.S. auto sales declined in six consecutive months.

Despite Acura-fuelled improvements at American Honda, RAV4-powered increases at Toyota, Volkswagen’s continued bounce-back from the brink, a 6-percent jump in full-size pickup truck sales, and modest gains at a number of America’s top-selling premium brands, June volume fell by roughly 45,000 units, year-over-year.

June wasn’t a horrible month for auto sales in America, just as the first-half of 2017 was not a dreadful stretch. The comparison with 2016, a record year for auto sales in America, causes 2017 to appear worse than it really is.

Still, auto sales are presently being propped up by average incentives equal to roughly 10 percent of the average transaction price. In June, ALG says transaction prices rose 1.5 percent, year-over-year, to $32,900. But incentives jumped 9.7 percent to $3,550 during the same period.

Even with incentives rising 8 percent, 13 percent, and 7 percent, respectively, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors still combined to lose some 39,000 sales in June 2017. That’s not to say there weren’t bright spots at the traditional Detroit Three: pickup truck sales at Ford jumped 10 percent in June and 5 percent at Ram; SUV/crossover sales shot up 13 percent at General Motors.

Car sales, however, were a challenge for the Detroit Three and many others. Hyundai, notoriously reliant on passenger car volume, posted a 22-percent decline to 52,894 sales, well below that of corporate partner Kia (which outsold Hyundai for the first time ever in May). Hyundai sold only 22,844 Elantras and Sonatas in June 2017, barely more than the number of Elantras sold at this time last year. No volume auto brand reported a worse June drop than Hyundai, which blames a severe cutback in fleet volume for the sharp decline.

On the flip side, the improvements at Acura, Volkswagen, and Subaru were most substantial. Subaru now claims 67 consecutive months of growth. (Audi’s streak stands at 78 months.) Following the sharp reduction in sales before and after the diesel emissions scandal, Volkswagen volume has improved in eight consecutive months. Acura, which suffered through much of the early part of the year, announced a 24-percent increase in June thanks to a huge RDX uptick plus gains from the MDX and and TLX sedan.

Auto BrandJune 2017June 2016% Change2017 YTD2016 YTD% ChangeAcura 14,03811,35223.7%73,87178,994-6.5%Alfa Romeo 1,017362,725%3,7172971,152%Audi 19,41618,4455.3%102,97196,9346.2%BMW 28,96228,8550.4%149,086153,436-2.8%Buick 19,29916,57516.4%110,316104,2075.9%Cadillac 12,58014,263-11.8%72,07373,231-1.6%Chevrolet 169,842181,387-6.4%968,8821,006,890-3.8%Chrysler 19,74123,288-15.2%102,095129,902-21.4%Dodge 42,55049,314-13.7%260,980272,171-4.1%Fiat 2,2422,329-3.7%14,68216,712-12.1%Ford 217,891230,287-5.4%1,238,0601,291,873-4.2%Genesis 1,613——9,919——GMC 41,43442,985-3.6%263,175254,5873.4%Honda 125,755127,363-1.3%718,015713,3610.7%Hyundai 52,89467,511-21.7%336,441374,060-10.1%Infiniti 12,27111,05811.0%79,14364,97821.8%Jaguar 2,9462,7437.4%20,66510,99188.0%Jeep 73,15381,865-10.5%406,291465,243-12.7%Kia 56,14362,572-10.3%295,736328,327-9.9%Land Rover 5,7605,7051.0%35,83936,648-2.2%Lexus 24,39525,779-5.4%133,760151,564-11.7%Lincoln 9,2758,8095.3%56,33753,2975.7%Maserati 9609412.0%6,7785,20230.3%Mazda 22,34226,188-14.7%141,624145,354-2.6%Mercedes-Benz ° 28,99428,473 1.8%161,960 162,777 -0.5% Mercedes-Benz Vans °3,108 3,085 0.7% 15,800 15,762 0.2% Total Mercedes-Benz ° 32,10231,5581.7%177,760178,539-0.4%Mini 4,4104,914-10.3%22,20525,144-11.7%Mitsubishi 7,6258,023-5.0%54,57651,9345.1%Nissan 131,057124,4951.2%740,545733,1361.0%Porsche 4,5164,4820.8%27,56826,7083.2%Ram 48,64545,6896.5%279,595259,9587.6%Smart 226407-44.5%1,9832,593-23.5%Subaru 52,05746,59811.7%304,810279,4589.1%Toyota 177,981172,4783.2%1,021,4051,046,238-2.4%Volkswagen 27,37723,80915.0%161,238149,0148.2%Volvo 7,3038,588-15.0%34,10536,654-7.0%————— ——BMW Group33,37233,769-1.2%171,291178,580-4.1%Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 187,348202,421-7.4%1,067,3601,144,283-6.7%Daimler AG 32,32831,9651.1%179,743181,132-0.8%Ford Motor Co. 227,166239,096-5.0%1,294,3971,345,170-3.8%General Motors 243,155255,210-4.7%1,414,4461,438,915-1.7%American Honda 139,793138,7150.8%791,886792,355-0.1%Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group110,650129,983-14.9%642,096 702,387-8.6%Jaguar-Land Rover 8,7068,4483.1% 56,50447,63918.6%Nissan / Infiniti / Mitsubishi150,953148,5761.6%872,464850,0482.6%Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Inc. 202,376198,2572.1%1,155,1651,197,802-3.6%Volkswagen Group *47,011 42,39810.9%265,357246,5767.6%———————Industry Total †1,474,9701,519,684-2.9% 8,456,8968,641,718-2.1%

[Source: Manufacturers]

* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands

° Mercedes-Benz USA releases sales figures for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the conventional sense, vans excluded, as well as totals for the Metris and Sprinter vans. The complete picture is included here.

† Industry total takes into account Automotive News figures/estimates for brands such as Tesla (4,400 June units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.

[Image: Volkswagen]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.