U.S. Auto Sales Results: August 2014 YTD

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Against less lofty expectations, the U.S. auto industry generated more than 1.58 million new vehicle sales in August 2014, a 5.4% improvement compared with the same period last year. The biggest gains came from Nissan and FCA/Chrysler Group, which jointly raised their August sales total from 286,050 to 332,767 units. Jeep and Ram were the only two brands to top 30% in terms of year-over-year growth.

Honda set a sales record with the Accord by topping 51,000 units, but the Honda brand was up just 1.5% as the Civic and CR-V slid back from their very high August 2013 performances. The Toyota RAV4 – not the Honda CR-V; not the Ford Escape – was America’s top-selling utility vehicle. Pickup truck sales jumped 6% as the full-size GM twins combined to outsell the declining Ford F-Series.

AutomakerAugust 2014August 2013% Change2014 YTD2013 YTD% ChangeAcura 15,48717,051-9.2%105,918109,182-3.0%Audi 17,10114,00522.1%116,066101,34614.5%BMW 27,21424,52311.0%211,005188,99711.6%Buick 22,14324,650-10.2%153,298141,8808.0%Cadillac 16,65020,255-17.8%114,008119,586-4.7%Chevrolet 185,930187,740-1.0%1,388,9931,365,5441.7%Chrysler 29,76228,678 3.8%194,285212,495-8.6%Dodge 49,89552,858 -5.6%399,937413,258-3.2%Fiat 3,3624,190 -19.8%32,14129,5858.6%Ford 213,227 212,212 0.5% 1,637,666 1,649,821 -0.7%GMC 47,70043,20210.4%328,152303,2548.2%Honda 151,551149,3811.5%936,464944,267-0.8%Hyundai 70,003 66,101 5.9% 501,448 493,116 1.7%Infiniti 9,164 11,884 -22.9% 77,04371,879 7.2%Jaguar 1,1841,723 -31.3%10,68811,134-4.0%Jeep 68,76646,239 48.7%461,156317,92145.1%Kia 54,66752,025 5.1%403,389378,3806.6%Land Rover 4,4894,938 -9.1%35,31831,97210.5%Lexus 32,80929,79210.1%198,831171,23816.1%Lincoln 8,1468,192-0.6%60,53153,39913.4%Maserati 1,233326278.2%7,8071,862319.3%Mazda 31,30528,10611.4%216,973198,0279.6%Mercedes-Benz 27,07824,761 9.4% 205,894 190,359 8.2%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,8801,390 35.3% 15,577 12,788 21.8% Total Mercedes-Benz 28,958 26,151 10.7% 221,471 203,147 9.0%Mini 5,0066,023-16.9%34,96944,329-21.1%Mitsubishi 6,7865,28128.5%52,80740,84729.3%Nissan 125,224108,61415.3%883,274782,36912.9%Porsche 4,5403,327 36.5%31,75928,45611.6%Ram 46,59433,587 38.7%298,650240,72724.1%Scion 6,1867,698-19.6%41,94948,959-14.3%Smart 1,33499334.3%7,3326,31216.2%Subaru 50,24641,06122.4%333,968281,65218.6%Suzuki ————5,946-100%Toyota 207,105 194,047 6.7% 1,386,729 1,313,525 5.6%Volkswagen 35,18140,342-12.8%244,878282,913-13.4%Volvo 4,9605,518-10.1%39,18444,005-11.0%————— ——BMW-Mini 32,22030,5465.5%245,974233,3265.4%Chrysler Group/FCA 198,379165,55219.8%1,386,1691,213,98614.2%Daimler 30,29227,14411.6%228,803209,4599.2%Ford Motor Company 221,373 220,404 0.4% 1,698,197 1,703,220 -0.3%General Motors 272,423275,847-1.2% 1,984,4511,930,2642.8%Honda Motor Company167,038166,4320.4%1,042,382 1,053,449-1.1%Hyundai-Kia 124,670 118,1265.5%904,837 871,496 3.8%Jaguar-Land Rover 5,6736,661 -14.8%46,006 43,1066.7%Nissan Motor Company 134,388 120,49811.5% 960,317854,24812.4%Toyota Motor Corporation246,100231,5376.3%1,627,509 1,533,7226.1%Volkswagen Group * 56,822 57,674 -1.5% 392,703 412,715 -4.8%———————Industry Total **1,586,3741,503,6655.5% 11,191,06810,651,9575.1%

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

** Industry total includes Automotive News sales estimates for ultra-low-volume automakers and their 1800-unit (August) Tesla sales estimate.

Timothy Cain
Timothy Cain

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  • Jeff Semenak Jeff Semenak on Sep 03, 2014

    Just bought a new Ford Flex SE today. Plenty of power and great space inside. Handles sharply and blue is a great color for it. Awesome highway cruiser. Quiet at speed and, speed is easy to achieve. Well worth 30k, in my opinion. If the editors, want to do a review, I live in Tempe,AZ

  • Mjz Mjz on Sep 04, 2014

    Jeep is really the big story here. Sales up over 22,000 units for the month alone, with a whopping near 50% increase. YTD up an amazing 45% and 144,000 units. Almost all due to the new Cherokee, which everyone predicted would be a major flop. It was the best selling Jeep last month. So much for that.

    • Quentin Quentin on Sep 04, 2014

      Only people with a complete disconnect from reality thought it would flop. No one should be surprised at Jeep's sales, either. Last year, they didn't even compete in the compact CUV segment which is the hottest segment in the US right now. The Cherokee wasn't DOA (like the previous Compass and Patriot) for what the market wanted and the Jeep name has a lot of equity. People love polarizing style. For the market, the Cherokee was well positioned to do well. Most of the naysayers were against the vehicle in a philosophical way rather than thinking it had a poor business case. It doesn't have solid front and rear axles like the beloved XJ. All except for the Trailhawk look to be a Rav4/CRV/Escape with Jeepish styling... they are effectively tall station wagons with AWD rather than offroad capable SUVs. Judging by the Trailhawk youtube videos that Jeep put up where they talk about articulation and then show the Trailhawk with a wheel a solid foot off the ground because the IRS doesn't allow for much articulation, I'm not sure how much of the Trailhawk is just looks versus legit offroad capability. The Cherokee will find a lot of homes as a CUV for hauling the kids around. That is what most people need these days. It won't serve as a replacement for the cult icon XJ Cherokee. That was the main point of criticism. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to sell a lot of cars, don't listen to enthusiasts. A modern XJ would probably struggle to move 50k units a year.

  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
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