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

July 2017 auto sales were expected to decline for a seventh consecutive month, sliding further and faster than at any point this year. In the end, with incentive spending up 5 percent, U.S. auto sales dropped 7 percent in July 2017, a year-over-year decrease worth roughly 105,000 sales.

Detroit was to blame for much of the losses, in part because of steep reductions in fleet volume. General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles combined to lose 76,000 sales. General Motors came within 4,050 sales of losing the top seller’s crown to Toyota as GM July volume fell to a five-year low. At Ford Motor Company, total Ford/Lincoln volume fell to a six-month low. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles suffered steep declines at Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, and Fiat.

Detroit automakers were by no means the only manufacturers losing U.S. auto sales in June. The Honda brand was down 2 percent, Nissan slid 4 percent, Kia and Volkswagen both fell 6 percent, and Hyundai plunged 30 percent.

But there were also bright spots. Audi sales rose 3 percent for its 79th consecutive monthly increase. Subaru sales, rising 7 percent in July, improved for a 68th consecutive month. And at Toyota, where the RAV4 was by far and away America’s top-selling utility vehicle in July, total volume rose 4 percent to 193,155 units, the best month for the brand in 2017 and the second-best of the last two years.

Despite rising Ford F-Series sales and improved midsize volume, pickup truck volume decreased marginally in July 2017. The Honda Civic claimed the title of America’s best-selling car for the first time since January, climbing 11 percent to a July record of 36,683 sales. Minivan volume plunged 23 percent as even the new Honda Odyssey failed to match July 2016’s total. Minivan sales are down 14 percent so far this year. The segment is on track for its worst year since the midst of the recession in 2009.

In July, no automaker reported a worse year-over-year decline than Buick’s 30.5-percent drop. Among brands with measurable sales, Infiniti’s 9-percent uptick was best.

Auto BrandJuly 2017July 2016% Change2017 YTD2016 YTD% ChangeAcura 14,17713,6743.7%88,04892,668-5.0%Alfa Romeo1,225432,749%4,9443401,354%Audi 18,82418,3642.5%121,795115,2985.6%BMW 21,96525,777-14.8%171,051179,213-4.6%Buick 15,96622,960-30.5%126,282127,167-0.7%Cadillac 11,22714,341-21.7%83,30087,572-4.9%Chevrolet 151,502178,820-15.3%1,120,3841,185,710-5.5%Chrysler 13,30319,032-30.1%115,398148,934-22.5%Dodge 31,26435,483-11.9%292,244307,654-5.0%Fiat 2,2442,738-18.0%16,92619,450-13.0%Ford 190,443206,170-7.6%1,428,5031,498,043-4.6%Genesis 1,644——11,563——GMC 47,41251,137-7.3%310,587305,7241.6%Honda 136,803139,125-1.7%854,818852,4860.3%Hyundai 52,41975,003-30.1%388,860449,063-13.4%Infiniti10,8409,9459.0%89,98374,92320.1%Jaguar 3,1663,398-6.8%23,83114,38965.6%Jeep 69,35179,036-12.3%475,642544,279-12.6%Kia 56,40359,969-5.9%352,139388,296-9.3%Land Rover 5,9156,075-2.6%41,75442,723-2.3%Lexus 28,90227,8903.6%162,662179,454-9.4%Lincoln 8,8759,098-2.5%65,21262,3954.5%Maserati 1,06381131.1%7,786,01329.4%Mazda 27,08927,915-3.0%168,713173,269-2.6%Mercedes-Benz °25,909 28,523 -15.7%187,869191,300 -1.8% Mercedes-Benz Vans °2,758 3,272 -15.7% 18,558 19,034 -2.5% Total Mercedes-Benz °28,66731,795-9.8%206,427210,334-1.9%Mini 4,3984,774-7.9%26,60329,918-11.1%Mitsubishi 8,0257,8901.7%62,60159,8244.6%Nissan 117,455122,530-4.1%858,000855,6660.3%Porsche 3,9013,8780.6%31,46930,5862.9%Ram 44,09044,0570.1%323,685304,0156.5%Smart 182493-63.1%2,1653,086-29.8%Subaru 55,70352,0936.9%360,513331,5518.7%Toyota193,155186,3803.6%1,214,5601,232,618-1.5%Volkswagen 27,09128,758-5.8%188,329177,7725.9%Volvo 6,9678,584-18.8%41,07245,238-9.2%————— ——BMW Group 26,36330,551-13.7%197,654209,131-5.5%Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 161,477180,389-10.5%1,228,8391,324,672-7.2%Daimler AG 28,84932,288-10.7%208,592213,420-2.3%Ford Motor Co.199,318215,268-7.4%1,493,7151,560,438-4.3%General Motors 226,107267,258-15.4%1,640,5531,706,173-3.8%American Honda 150,980152,799-1.2%942,866945,154-0.2%Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group110,466134,972-18.2%752,562 837,359-10.1%Jaguar-Land Rover 9,0819,473-4.1%65,58557,11214.8%Nissan / Infiniti / Mitsubishi 136,320140,365-2.9%1,010,584 990,4132.0%Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Inc.222,057214,2703.6%1,377,2221,412,072-2.5%Volkswagen Group * 50,189 51,514-2.6%343,114324,7985.6%———————Industry Total †1,416,7431,522,104-6.9% 9,873,57910,163,822-2.9%

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 July units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.

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.