September 2012 Sales Breakdown: Chrysler, Volkswagen Win Big

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

September saw big gains for Volkswagen and Honda, two brands that have been pilloried by the motoring press for apparently sub-par products, while Chrysler led the Big Three in gains, if not volume.

Honda and Acura combined sales were up 31 percent overall, with the CR-V posting a 14 percent gain in a very competitive crossover market. Kia and VW were up 35 and 38 percent overall, while Chrysler posted a 12 percent gain overall, while Ford sales were flat and GM posted a 2 percent gain. Over at Good Car Bad Car, Tim Cain has put together sales rankings for September, as well as some interesting observations on the winners and losers of this past month.

AutomakerSept. 2012Sept. 2011Pct. chng.9 month


20129 month


2011Pct. chng.BMW Group26,69225,7794%235,216219,5847% BMW division21,76121,7500%186,397177,6795% Mini4,8993,99923%48,53141,63517% Rolls-Royce32307%2882707%BMW Group26,69225,7794%235,216219,5847%Chrysler Group142,041127,33612%1,250,6701,009,41424% Chrysler Division24,85023,5596%241,466157,55153% Dodge47,35640,07518%391,912345,44414% Dodge/Ram73,77065,43913%611,272534,20914% Fiat4,1762,77351%32,74213,861136% Jeep39,24535,56510%365,190303,79320% Ram26,41425,3644%219,360188,76516%Chrysler Group142,041127,33612%1,250,6701,009,41424%Daimler AG25,98423,9009%214,374186,29415% Maybach4333%362733% Mercedes-Benz24,95023,4287%207,027182,51013% Smart USA1,030469120%7,3113,75795%Daimler AG25,98423,9009%214,374186,29415%Ford Motor Co.174,454174,8600%1,685,0681,599,7115% Ford division167,652167,8420%1,621,1881,534,6226% Lincoln6,8027,018–3%63,88064,841–2% Mercury–––%–248–100%Ford Motor Co.174,454174,8600%1,685,0681,599,7115%General Motors210,245207,1452%1,967,7151,902,1493% Buick14,67313,5998%137,262140,092–2% Cadillac12,57912,741–1%103,512113,190–9% Chevrolet149,801147,6112%1,420,3831,353,9335% GMC33,19233,1940%306,558294,9344%General Motors210,245207,1452%1,967,7151,902,1493%Honda (American)117,21189,53231%1,066,458859,79724% Acura14,36610,01044%115,77389,14630% Honda Division102,84579,52229%950,685770,65123%Honda (American)117,21189,53231%1,066,458859,79724%Hyundai Group108,13087,66023%974,728860,31913% Hyundai division60,02552,05115%539,814492,91410% Kia48,10535,60935%434,914367,40518%Hyundai Group108,13087,66023%974,728860,31913%Jaguar Land Rover4,6403,85121%41,22434,96518% Jaguar1,0041,111–10%9,5509,3153% Land Rover3,6362,74033%31,67425,65024%Jaguar Land Rover4,6403,85121%41,22434,96518%Maserati26919836%1,9841,70516%Maserati26919836%1,9841,70516%Mazda24,13525,521–5%209,482191,31510%Mazda24,13525,521–5%209,482191,31510%Mitsubishi4,8065,803–17%46,12265,875–30%Mitsubishi4,8065,803–17%46,12265,875–30%Nissan91,90792,964–1%866,484774,07912% Infiniti9,4458,47911%86,59672,18120% Nissan Division82,46284,485–2%779,888701,89811%Nissan91,90792,964–1%866,484774,07912%Saab Cars North America–429–100%–4,647–100%Saab–429–100%–4,647–100%Subaru27,68320,93432%245,463195,55026%Subaru27,68320,93432%245,463195,55026%Suzuki1,9212,026–5%19,14920,284–6%Suzuki1,9212,026–5%19,14920,284–6%Toyota171,910121,45142%1,571,4241,194,52332% Lexus20,38614,99536%170,990135,64726% Scion6,7433,83876%56,49037,60750% Toyota division144,781102,61841%1,343,9441,021,26932% Toyota/Scion151,524106,45642%1,400,4341,058,87632%Toyota171,910121,45142%1,571,4241,194,52332%Volkswagen51,65639,11132%450,802344,61731% Audi12,3029,72527%100,69484,98119% Bentley23915158%1,6441,26031% Lamborghini402938%36025342% Porsche2,7362,17026%25,01522,66410% VW division36,33927,03634%323,089235,45937%Volkswagen51,65639,11132%450,802344,61731%Volvo Cars NA4,9775,042–1%51,62652,155–1%Volvo Cars NA4,9775,042–1%51,62652,155–1%TOTAL1,188,8991,053,77013%10,900,1319,519,03215%

Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere.


Source: Automotive News Data Center


Note: *Estimate

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Hreardon Hreardon on Oct 03, 2012

    What's the story with BMW lately? Sales have been relatively flat over the past nine months. Capacity limitations or slow sales, especially on the new F30 3-series?

    • See 2 previous
    • Krhodes1 Krhodes1 on Oct 03, 2012

      @sckid213 I do think that there are a combination of things that are hurting the F30. First of course, is the state of the economy. Pretty crappy for an awful lot of people, and the 1%ers don't buy 3-series, other than for thier kids. Second is that many folks (quite rightly) won't buy the first year of a new model. I sure wouldn't! Thirdly, BMW's new "trim line" bull$hit is KILLING them, per the sales guys at my local dealer. Have lost sales due to not being able to get the trim they want in the color scheme they want. They really need to loosen this up a lot. And finally the well publicized issues with the steering and the slightly odd styling here and there all add up to a good year for Audi.

  • Inside Looking Out Inside Looking Out on Oct 07, 2012

    My theory about it. Many people discovered VW but not their quality problems, not yet - it will take 5 to 6 years for hangover take place and for mainstream customers to realize than German cars are expensive and headache to maintain (in America). It is also well known fact that American public do not trust stuff from American companies and Chrysler is up because it is not American car company anymore. Chrysler claims their cars are imports now (even if from Detroit). If GM and Ford advertise their cars as "imported" as well they would do much better. Heck how life would be much better if we could also import Government, Congress and Healthcare as well.

  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
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