August Sales: Detroit Booms But Can't Catch Hyundai. Honda And Toyota Still Dropping

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

With GM, “Fiat Group” and Ford improving their sales volume by 16%, 23% and 9% respectively, Detroit is dominating the headlines in early August sales analysis. But Hyundai Group’s 29% is the big percentage winner, and Nissan had a good volume month as well, up 14%. But the “big two” Japanese are continuing to slide, with Honda off 6% and Toyota down 8%. Hit the jump for our developing table…

AutomakerAug. 2011Aug. 2010Pct. chng.8 month


20118 month


2010Pct. chng.BMW Group23,95424,0080%193,793169,28015% BMW division20,81519,5407%155,929139,23612% Mini3,1094,425–30%37,63629,70427% Rolls-Royce3043–30%228340–33%BMW Group23,95424,0080%193,793169,28015%Daimler AG20,73220,1273%162,406149,0969% Maybach45-20%3643-16% Mercedes-Benz20,32319,6743%159,082144,69610% Smart USA405448–10%3,2884,357–25%Daimler AG20,73220,1273%162,406149,0969%Fiat Group130,46799,89131%884,676722,39323% Chrysler Division22,49717,93725%133,992140,755–5% Chrysler Group127,01399,61128%870,989720,14321% Dodge41,81735,36418%305,368266,74715% Dodge/Ram63,90355,96814%468,769400,44517% Ferrari1371296%1,0921,0316% Fiat3,106–-%11,088–-% Jeep40,61325,70658%268,228178,94350% Maserati21115140%1,5071,21924% Ram22,08620,6047%163,401133,69822%Fiat Group130,46799,89131%884,676722,39323% Ford Motor Co. 174,800157,32711%1,424,8511,308,8879% Ford division166,79414316%1,366,7801,155,71318% Ford/Lincoln/Mercury174,800157,32711%1,424,8511,276,36212% Lincoln8,0066,42825%57,82355,7764% Mercury–7,040–100%24864,873–100% Volvo–––%–32,525–100%Ford Motor Co.174,800157,32711%1,424,8511,308,8879%General Motors218,479185,10518%1,695,0041,462,30816% Buick16,02114,29412%126,493101,12525% Cadillac13,20812,6894%100,44992,3939% Chevrolet152,779131,90916%1,206,3221,052,77315% GMC36,47125,95841%261,740204,55828% Hummer–205–100%–3,344–100% Pontiac–7–100%–954–100% Saab–––%–608–100% Saturn–43–100%–6,553–100%General Motors218,479185,10518%1,695,0041,462,30816%Honda (American)82,321108,729–24%770,265815,075–6% Acura9,05411,534–22%79,13685,668–8% Honda Division73,26797,195–25%691,129729,407–5%Honda (American)82,321108,729–24%770,265815,075–6%Hyundai Group99,69386,06816%772,659601,44429% Hyundai division58,50553,6039%440,863363,49121% Kia41,18832,46527%331,763237,95339%Hyundai Group99,69386,06816%772,659601,44429%Jaguar Land Rover3,6173,958–9%31,11428,5819% Jaguar8101,414–43%8,2048,781–7% Land Rover2,8072,54410%22,91019,80016%Jaguar Land Rover3,6173,958–9%31,11428,5819%Mazda22,63219,73915%165,794156,1906%Mazda22,63219,73915%165,794156,1906%Mitsubishi7,9854,29386%60,07236,43165%Mitsubishi7,9854,29386%60,07236,43165%Nissan91,54176,82719%681,115599,49614% Infiniti9,0249,428–4%63,70266,492–4% Nissan Division82,51767,39922%617,413533,00416%Nissan91,54176,82719%681,115599,49614%Porsche2,1842,0328%20,49415,71930%Porsche2,1842,0328%20,49415,71930%Saab Cars North America36329025%4,2181,499181%Saab Cars North America36329025%4,2181,499181%Subaru20,83722,239–6%174,616172,1821%Subaru20,83722,239–6%174,616172,1821%Suzuki2,4091,83032%18,25815,33119%Suzuki2,4091,83032%18,25815,33119%Toyota129,482148,388–13%1,073,0721,164,154–8% Lexus18,10319,465–7%120,652145,490–17% Scion3,6494,012–9%33,76929,67214% Toyota division107,730124,911–14%918,651988,992–7% Toyota/Scion111,379128,923–14%952,4201,018,664–7%Toyota129,482148,388–13%1,073,0721,164,154–8%Volkswagen35,58232,14211%284,978239,20319% Audi10,2019,18211%75,25665,43915% Bentley1248153%1,10982534% Lamborghini25244%190192–1% VW division25,23222,85510%208,423172,74721%Volkswagen35,58232,14211%284,978239,20319%Volvo Cars NA5,2154,44117%47,1134,441961%Volvo Cars NA5,2154,44117%47,1134,441961%Other (estimate)8688–2%688704–2%TOTAL1,072,379997,5228%8,465,1867,662,41411%
Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Mjz Mjz on Sep 02, 2011

    Sorry Ed, time for you to eat your plate of crow. Would you like it baked, broiled or deep fried? Your continual dire predictions for the "Fiat Group" have proven to be completely unfounded. As for your previous assertion that the Fiat 500 might be a "dud", please note that it sold only 3 units less than the vaunted Mini Cooper, and that without a full dealer distribution network in place. Your 29% increase for the Hyundai group headline was misleading, that was for the total 8 month period, and doesn't reflect the current trend, which shows the "Fiat Group" is kicking a$$ and taking no prisoners.

  • Speed3 Speed3 on Sep 02, 2011

    So we are calling Fiat, Chrysler, and Ferrari the "Fiat Group" now? Also can somebody explain which vehicles are Dodges, Dodge/Ram, and Ram? I am confused. I know splitting off Fiat's truck/van lineup into its own brand worked well in Europe, but I really just think they should have left Dodge alone.

  • Theflyersfan OK, I'm going to stretch the words "positive change" to the breaking point here, but there might be some positive change going on with the beaver grille here. This picture was at Car and Driver. You'll notice that the grille now dives into a larger lower air intake instead of really standing out in a sea of plastic. In darker colors like this blue, it somewhat conceals the absolute obscene amount of real estate this unneeded monstrosity of a failed styling attempt takes up. The Euro front plate might be hiding some sins as well. You be the judge.
  • Theflyersfan I know given the body style they'll sell dozens, but for those of us who grew up wanting a nice Prelude Si with 4WS but our student budgets said no way, it'd be interesting to see if Honda can persuade GenX-ers to open their wallets for one. Civic Type-R powertrain in a coupe body style? Mild hybrid if they have to? The holy grail will still be if Honda gives the ultimate middle finger towards all things EV and hybrid, hides a few engineers in the basement away from spy cameras and leaks, comes up with a limited run of 9,000 rpm engines and gives us the last gasp of the S2000 once again. A send off to remind us of when once they screamed before everything sounds like a whirring appliance.
  • Jeff Nice concept car. One can only dream.
  • Funky D The problem is not exclusively the cost of the vehicle. The problem is that there are too few use cases for BEVs that couldn't be done by a plug-in hybrid, with the latter having the ability to do long-range trips without requiring lengthy recharging and being better able to function in really cold climates.In our particular case, a plug-in hybrid would run in all electric mode for the vast majority of the miles we would drive on a regular basis. It would also charge faster and the battery replacement should be less expensive than its BEV counterpart.So the answer for me is a polite, but firm NO.
  • 3SpeedAutomatic 2012 Ford Escape V6 FWD at 147k miles:Just went thru a heavy maintenance cycle: full brake job with rotors and drums, replace top & bottom radiator hoses, radiator flush, transmission flush, replace valve cover gaskets (still leaks oil, but not as bad as before), & fan belt. Also, #4 fuel injector locked up. About $4.5k spread over 19 months. Sole means of transportation, so don't mind spending the money for reliability. Was going to replace prior to the above maintenance cycle, but COVID screwed up the market ( $4k markup over sticker including $400 for nitrogen in the tires), so bit the bullet. Now serious about replacing, but waiting for used and/or new car prices to fall a bit more. Have my eye on a particular SUV. Last I checked, had a $2.5k discount with great interest rate (better than my CU) for financing. Will keep on driving Escape as long as A/C works. 🚗🚗🚗
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