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 Brand | July 2017 | July 2016 | % Change | 2017 YTD | 2016 YTD | % Change |
|
Acura
|
14,177 | 13,674 | 3.7% | 88,048 | 92,668 | -5.0% |
|
Alfa Romeo
|
1,225 | 43 | 2,749% | 4,944 | 340 | 1,354% |
|
Audi
|
18,824 | 18,364 | 2.5% | 121,795 | 115,298 | 5.6% |
|
BMW
|
21,965 | 25,777 | -14.8% | 171,051 | 179,213 | -4.6% |
|
Buick
|
15,966 | 22,960 | -30.5% | 126,282 | 127,167 | -0.7% |
|
Cadillac
|
11,227 | 14,341 | -21.7% | 83,300 | 87,572 | -4.9% |
|
Chevrolet
|
151,502 | 178,820 | -15.3% | 1,120,384 | 1,185,710 | -5.5% |
|
Chrysler
|
13,303 | 19,032 | -30.1% | 115,398 | 148,934 | -22.5% |
|
Dodge
|
31,264 | 35,483 | -11.9% | 292,244 | 307,654 | -5.0% |
|
Fiat
|
2,244 | 2,738 | -18.0% | 16,926 | 19,450 | -13.0% |
| Ford | 190,443 | 206,170 | -7.6% | 1,428,503 | 1,498,043 | -4.6% |
|
Genesis
|
1,644 | — | — | 11,563 | — | — |
|
GMC
|
47,412 | 51,137 | -7.3% | 310,587 | 305,724 | 1.6% |
|
Honda
|
136,803 | 139,125 | -1.7% | 854,818 | 852,486 | 0.3% |
|
Hyundai
|
52,419 | 75,003 | -30.1% | 388,860 | 449,063 | -13.4% |
|
Infiniti
|
10,840 | 9,945 | 9.0% | 89,983 | 74,923 | 20.1% |
|
Jaguar
|
3,166 | 3,398 | -6.8% | 23,831 | 14,389 | 65.6% |
|
Jeep
|
69,351 | 79,036 | -12.3% | 475,642 | 544,279 | -12.6% |
|
Kia
|
56,403 | 59,969 | -5.9% | 352,139 | 388,296 | -9.3% |
|
Land Rover
|
5,915 | 6,075 | -2.6% | 41,754 | 42,723 | -2.3% |
|
Lexus
|
28,902 | 27,890 | 3.6% | 162,662 | 179,454 | -9.4% |
|
Lincoln
|
8,875 | 9,098 | -2.5% | 65,212 | 62,395 | 4.5% |
|
Maserati
|
1,063 | 811 | 31.1% | 7,78 | 6,013 | 29.4% |
|
Mazda
|
27,089 | 27,915 | -3.0% | 168,713 | 173,269 | -2.6% |
|
Mercedes-Benz °
|
25,909 | 28,523 | -15.7% | 187,869 | 191,300 | -1.8% |
|
Mercedes-Benz Vans °
|
2,758 | 3,272 | -15.7% | 18,558 | 19,034 | -2.5% |
|
Total Mercedes-Benz °
|
28,667 | 31,795 | -9.8% | 206,427 | 210,334 | -1.9% |
|
Mini
|
4,398 | 4,774 | -7.9% | 26,603 | 29,918 | -11.1% |
|
Mitsubishi
|
8,025 | 7,890 | 1.7% | 62,601 | 59,824 | 4.6% |
|
Nissan
|
117,455 | 122,530 | -4.1% | 858,000 | 855,666 | 0.3% |
|
Porsche
|
3,901 | 3,878 | 0.6% | 31,469 | 30,586 | 2.9% |
|
Ram
|
44,090 | 44,057 | 0.1% | 323,685 | 304,015 | 6.5% |
|
Smart
|
182 | 493 | -63.1% | 2,165 | 3,086 | -29.8% |
|
Subaru
|
55,703 | 52,093 | 6.9% | 360,513 | 331,551 | 8.7% |
|
Toyota
|
193,155 | 186,380 | 3.6% | 1,214,560 | 1,232,618 | -1.5% |
|
Volkswagen
|
27,091 | 28,758 | -5.8% | 188,329 | 177,772 | 5.9% |
|
Volvo
|
6,967 | 8,584 | -18.8% | 41,072 | 45,238 | -9.2% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
BMW Group
|
26,363 | 30,551 | -13.7% | 197,654 | 209,131 | -5.5% |
|
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
|
161,477 | 180,389 | -10.5% | 1,228,839 | 1,324,672 | -7.2% |
|
Daimler AG
|
28,849 | 32,288 | -10.7% | 208,592 | 213,420 | -2.3% |
|
Ford Motor Co.
|
199,318 | 215,268 | -7.4% | 1,493,715 | 1,560,438 | -4.3% |
|
General Motors
|
226,107 | 267,258 | -15.4% | 1,640,553 | 1,706,173 | -3.8% |
|
American Honda
|
150,980 | 152,799 | -1.2% | 942,866 | 945,154 | -0.2% |
|
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group
|
110,466 | 134,972 | -18.2% | 752,562 | 837,359 | -10.1% |
|
Jaguar-Land Rover
|
9,081 | 9,473 | -4.1% | 65,585 | 57,112 | 14.8% |
|
Nissan / Infiniti / Mitsubishi
|
136,320 | 140,365 | -2.9% | 1,010,584 | 990,413 | 2.0% |
|
Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Inc.
|
222,057 | 214,270 | 3.6% | 1,377,222 | 1,412,072 | -2.5% |
|
Volkswagen Group *
|
50,189 | 51,514 | -2.6% | 343,114 | 324,798 | 5.6% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
Industry Total †
|
1,416,743
|
1,522,104
|
-6.9%
|
9,873,579
|
10,163,822
|
-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.
If your numbers are correct, American Honda should be showing positive y-o-y growth.
It’s a typo, it should be 150k not 159k.
14177+136803 = 150,980
First monthly decrease for Jaguar in almost two years, it was a very tough month for the dealership I work at as we ran out of 2017 F-Paces, XE’s and F-Types while the XF and the XJ-L are dead in the water. We were expecting 2018’s that were sitting at the port unreleased but had to settle for accepting a few more 2017’s. We normally stock 150 new vehicles, we were down to 87 by mid-month.
Looks like GM would be wise to rethink its passenger car lineup. With most segments dead in the water there is no real-world demand for a lot of their larger sedans. Cadillac not having a 3-row crossover but having the neo-Cimarron ATS is a joke.
Toyota may be on a roll and the 18 Camry isnt even out yet.
Jaguar has the E-Pace and I-Pace coming out next year, the J-Pace (three-row, 7 pax) for 2020? Other than the F-Type, cars aren’t selling.
The Camry is out but is in limited models. The lower trim models are at the dealerships while the higher trim levels and V6 will be release in September. I saw a black on black Camry and it look much better then the white and red models. In black the front end looks decent! LOl!
What amazes me is the taxpayer and consumer pays additional taxes and higher prices when markets are distorted.
So, why, if manufacturers can support their products with incentives does the government allow for subsidies and protectionism.
My train of thought is, if an industry requires protection and tax handouts it had better not be able to afford incentives.
The US vehicle market has peaked, and I do believe the downturn will be significant because of the incentives offered and the cheap, extended loans.
Audi is starting to get uncomfortably close to BMW.
True but the redesigned X3 is about to hit dealerships and that’s just what all of these child free, 30-something empowered career women need to show off their success.
X3 is selling ok a redesign is not going to help it top RDX or NX or Q5.
BMW X3: Because you can’t afford an X5.
Haha funny everyone i have seen who is driving a X3 don’t seem to be happy while driving it (there is half dozen X3s in my community). Perhaps as you said they are mad they cannot afford a X5.
Maybe they don’t need the larger vehicle? And maybe they can’t afford the X5? Those lowly serfs living within their means. Sad. /s
Jeez, the sanctimoniousness on this site is getting out of hand lately.
Cheaper FWD-based models usually sell better, but X3 sales have been restricted due to capacity issues and BMW is planning on greater production for the next gen X3.
And a lot of empty nesters or young couples don’t need anything larger than an X3.
Maybe we should rethink CAFE so carmakers stop building cars customers inherently dont want. The Spark is down 81 pct and the Sonic 47 pct! There is no way GM can make money building these. The Cruze though down from its peak is only down 10 pct. Wouldnt it make more sense to allow more variations of the Cruze and kill these two losers off? That would also free up Orion to build Encores or Envisions in US.
Also lol at pathetic Cimmaron i mean ATS down 63 pct to 777!
I’ll sell Envisions once they are made here.
Few Americans want subcompact cars, and if you do go with a subcompact, why would you go with anything except a Honda Fit (best in segment by a mile) or a Nissan Versa Note (dirt-cheap and bad credit = OK). Chevy and Ford just don’t have anything special to bring to the table here.
I’m actually surprised the Cruze does as well as it does, but compact sedans seem to be the new sweet spot for cars.
“…if you do go with a subcompact, why would you go with anything except a Honda Fit…”
I’d take a Mini Cooper (spotty reliability and all) or a Fiesta ST over a Fit everyday of the week and five times on Sunday.
Their appears to be as much or more to worry about over at Hyundai than Buick, let alone the continued hijinks by the north to destabilize the peninsula.
I parked at the airport today and next to wally park is Avis (or similar cant be certain) and their had to be 50 brand new Santa Fe parked in three rows. Are the dealers struggling to sell the flagship CUV?
The huge decline at Hyundai jumped out to me as well. Hyundai was down over 22,000 cars–more than BMW’s monthly sales. What happened there? Not enough SUV’s and too many sedans? A substantial reduction in fleet sales? Or were last July’s sales abnormally high?
Tucson had its “best month ever” according to Hyundai, but everything else (aka passenger cars) tanked. I don’t know if they had crazy incentives last July or what, but holy crap that’s a big downturn.
http://www.hyundainews.com/us/en/media/pressreleases/48585/hyundai-motor-america-reports-july-sales-and-best-tucson-month-of-all-time
Yep, Hyundai-Kia seems to be in trouble. I don’t understand why they have two brands in essentially the same market segment. Did they learn nothing from GM’s troubles?
That has nothing to do with it.
For instance, combined yearly Sonata/Optima sales have been on par with Accord sales for a # of years, but over the past couple of years, combined sales of the 2 have fallen behind due to a variety of factors.
Besides, Kia is in better shape than Hyundai – due to having the Soul and Niro instead of the Veloster and Ioniq.
Not sure why this jumped at me…even though Lexus is a strong brand this month (slightly larger than its direct competitors), surprised to see it beat Cadillac and Buick combined. Wonder if that has ever happened.
FCA is in big trouble; Fiat is all but dead in US, Jeep has very high incentives on Renegade and Cherokee and new Compass is not selling too well either. Poor Sergio…
Even if FCA built any great vehicles, which they don’t, I would still hesitate to buy it because it’s manufactured by the worst automaker in the world.
I agree. Although, I’d like to see the American taxpayer get Jeep back as purely American non FCA crap heap. Have an upstart American Automobile manufacturer build the Wrangler, Wrangler Pickup, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Grand Wagoneer. Hybrid variants for the greenies, turbo variants with plenty of low end torque, sign us up.
You should try them sometimes. I used to be wary of FCA vehicles, then couldn’t help myself and bought a Challenger. Turned out to be very reliable (close to 100,000 miles now). Now own three FCA vehicles with major mileage on all of them. No major issues on any of them.
I know, sound like a fanboy. Just reporting my facts though.
Well FCA retail sales are now at 90%, kind of amazing for a company known for dumping 20% or more to fleet.
Fiat does have issues not sure if that brand can survive in NA
Cherokee is the only real issue at Jeep compass just a record month for the name plate. The Patriot loss is real but that was a low margin model.
FCA sells more cuvs/SUVs then any other brand in NA.
The real problem with the new Compass is the price. People were used to those $149 a month Patriot/Compass leases. Now, their lease is expired, and they pull up to the Jeep dealer, and a new one is $399. They are going to the Toyota/Honda/Kia/Chevy/Buick/Ford dealers instead. Or around here(Metro Detroit), getting a 300 for $199 a month.
FCA can’t survive like this.
I pity anyone who leases new Compass for that price it will have poor residual rate so they can’t dump it before lease ends. My wife got Cherokee TH when it got released against my advice, pretty much worst vehicle I ever bought.
FCA is the worst automaker in the world? Lada is flattered.
Lada->VAZ technically is a subsidiary of Renault Groupe so i would not call Renault the worst automaker.
FCA’s downturn is right between Ford and GM, so they do not seem especially lame in the former big 3 category.
Mitsubishi on pace to sell over 100k this year. They’re up 1.7%, so much for the death watch.
BMW is moving more iron than Chrysler? Who woulda thunk? Of course Chrysler doesn’t have much to sell!
And I’m still calling dibs on the Mini death watch.
I think one of the issues at MINI is he styling. I don’t know how well my desires would go over with the rest of the MINI customer base, but I’d like to see a less cartoony design aesthetic applied to the cars.
Similar to how the somewhat goofy NC Miata transitioned to the rakish ND.
At some point everyone who wanted a “new Mini” will have gotten one, and many will not be back for another. Same problem the New Beetle had. Once the fad ran its course, game over. Same problem the PT Cruiser had.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, but am a bit surprised Volvo isn’t doing better. Perhaps the new vehicles being at the top of the income spectrum limits demand.
XC90 is facing intense competition from other mid/large lux SUV especially from Fpace (for some reason Jaguar is eating more into Volvo’s XC90 sales than X5 or Q7). They need new XC60s asap but that also will face big competition as RDX, X3 all get revamped in the coming years.
Volvo sales dropping fast even with some well reviewed new products on the lot? Rut Row.