U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: August 2016 YTD

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Expectations from analysts suggested U.S. auto sales would decline by as much as 5 percent in August 2016, a year-over-year drop of more than 70,000 units.

In the end, it wasn’t quite that bad. But August 2016’s 4-percent drop translated to a decline of 55,000 sales for an industry that grew by more than 116,000 sales in the first-half of 2016, a decent rate of expansion given the record-setting pace from one year ago.

There were industry bright spots in August 2016. Subaru reported an all-time monthly record of more than 60,000 sales. This was the best August ever for the Jeep brand. American luxury — Cadillac and Lincoln — was on the rise. Volvo’s resurgence continues apace.

At the same time, however, America’s three largest sellers of automobiles combined to lose 45,776 sales. General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Toyota Motor Corp. all suffered noteworthy declines.

The Toyota Camry, despite a sharp 13-percent loss, was still America’s top-selling car, albeit by a tiny margin. The Honda CR-V was tops among SUVs and crossovers. Ford’s F-Series, outsold by the full-size GM twins, claimed top spot among pickups and vehicles overall. Lexus was America’s top-selling premium brand. Ford was America’s most popular auto brand.

Auto BrandAugust 2016August 2015% Change2016 YTD2015 YTD% ChangeAcura 14,24615,313-7.0%106,914117,315-8.9%Alfa Romeo 3797 -61.9%375451-16.9%Audi 19,26418,7942.5%134,562130,0633.5%BMW 25,53127,755-8.0%204,744223,348-8.3%Buick 21,67822,281-2.7%148,845149,386-0.4%Cadillac 16,34615,7383.9%103,918110,791-6.2%Chevrolet 175,965183,098-3.9%1,361,6751,425,507-4.5%Chrysler 18,75324,132 -22.3%167,151215,211 -22.3%Dodge 44,34042,195 5.1%355,998345,8962.9%Fiat 2,7323,477 -21.4%22,07826,595 -17.0%Ford 204,168 225,244-9.4% 1,702,2111,678,9291.4%Genesis1,497——1,497——GMC 42,44049,363-14.0%348,164362,853-4.0%Honda 135,325140,178-3.5%987,811937,5015.4%Hyundai 70,51872,012-2.1%519,581514,1751.1%Infiniti 10,43910,635-1.8%85,36285,3480.0%Jaguar 3,2981,143189%17,68710,22173.0%Jeep 86,46877,277 11.9%630,182553,37813.9%Kia 54,24858,897-7.9%442,544426,1603.8%Land Rover 6,0315,22515.4%48,75442,54814.6%Lexus 30,93833,487-7.6%210,392222,151-5.3%Lincoln 9,2438,6367.0%71,63865,2849.7%Maserati 9581,245-23.1%6,9717,506-7.1%Mazda 26,10929,938-12.8%199,378216,090-7.7%Mercedes-Benz ° 28,40428,373 0.1% 219,704 220,866 -0.5% Mercedes-Benz Vans ° 3,1522,260 39.5% 22,186 17,957 23.6% Total Mercedes-Benz ° 31,55630,6333.0% 241,293 238,8231.0%Mini 4,9695,109-2.7%34,88740,560-14.0%Mitsubishi 7,3368,289 -11.5%67,16065,7012.2%Nissan 114,199122,716-6.9%969,865915,3586.0%Porsche 5,1815,0083.5%35,76734,8762.6%Ram 44,42643,709 1.6%346,508318,6338.7%Scion 5,6273,89544.5%49,77032,69152.2%Smart 353617-42.8%3,4394,682-26.5%Subaru 60,41852,69714.7%391,969375,6324.4%Toyota 176,560 186,999-5.6% 1,364,996 1,418,160 -3.7%Volkswagen 29,38432,332-9.1%207,156238,074-13.0%Volvo 7,6825,86930.9%52,89240,85429.5%————— ——BMW-Mini 30,50032,864-7.2%239,631263,908-9.2%Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 196,756190,8873.1%1,522,2921,460,1644.3%DaimlerAG31,90931,2502.1%245,329243,5050.7%Ford Motor Co. 213,411 233,880-8.8% 1,773,8491,744,2131.7%General Motors 256,429270,480-5.2%1,962,6022,048,537-4.2%Honda Motor Co.149,571155,491-3.8%1,094,725 1,054,8163.8%Hyundai-Kia 126,262 130,909-3.5% 963,622 940,335 2.5%Jaguar-Land Rover 9,3296,36846.5%66,441 52,76925.9%Nissan Motor Co. 124,638133,351-6.5%1,055,2271,000,7065.4%Toyota Motor Corp. 213,125224,381-5.0%1,625,158 1,673,002-2.9%Volkswagen Group * 54,22856,362-3.8%378,677404,698-6.4%———————Industry Total †1,511,405 1,566,841 -3.5% 11,667,592 11,613,076 0.5%

Source: Manufacturers

[Image Source: Ford Motor Company]

* 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 (2,250 August units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.

Timothy Cain
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  • Hreardon Hreardon on Sep 02, 2016

    The interesting one is how poorly BMW is doing this year. I don't follow them all that closely, but I'm curious to hear what the B&B have to say on the subject.

    • See 3 previous
    • Whatnext Whatnext on Sep 02, 2016

      @dividebytube Can anyone but a serious aficionado tell the difference between Audi's A4 over the same timeline?

  • Philadlj Philadlj on Sep 02, 2016

    GM bright spots (slim pickings, I know): Buick: Encore up 13%, Regal up 11% YoY Cadillac: XT5 outsells next best-selling Cadillac (ATS) by 2-to-1 margin in Aug CT6: 1,242 Aug sales narrowly best BMW 7-Series (by 12), rout Audi A8 (by 892); but 458 below S-Class Chevrolet: Colorado up 25% YoY Malibu up 14% YoY Trax up 24% YoY Volt up 72% YoY GMC: Canyon up 21% YoY Yukon/Yukon XL up 15% YoY

  • Theflyersfan I always thought this gen XC90 could be compared to Mercedes' first-gen M-class. Everyone in every suburban family in every moderate-upper-class neighborhood got one and they were both a dumpster fire of quality. It's looking like Volvo finally worked out the quality issues, but that was a bad launch. And now I shall sound like every car site commenter over the last 25 years and say that Volvo all but killed their excellent line of wagons and replaced them with unreliable, overweight wagons on stilts just so some "I'll be famous on TikTok someday" mom won't be seen in a wagon or minivan dropping the rug rats off at school.
  • Theflyersfan For the stop-and-go slog when sitting on something like The 405 or The Capital Beltway, sure. It's slow and there's time to react if something goes wrong. 85 mph in Texas with lane restriping and construction coming up? Not a chance. Radar cruise control is already glitchy enough with uneven distances, lane keeping assist is so hyperactive that it's turned off, and auto-braking's sole purpose is to launch loose objects in the car forward. Put them together and what could go wrong???
  • Jalop1991 This is easy. The CX-5 is gawdawful uncomfortable.
  • Aaron This is literally my junkyard for my 2001 Chevy Tracker, 1998 Volvo S70, and 2002 Toyota Camry. Glad you could visit!
  • Lou_BC Let me see. Humans are fallible. They can be very greedy. Politicians sell to the highest bidder. What could go wrong?
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