A predicted auto sales improvement in August, expected to be the first year-over-year increase in 2017, gave way to decreases for many automakers as Hurricane Harvey’s drastic effects shut down demand in one of the nation’s largest auto markets for the final quarter of the month.
According to Edmunds, Ford, Ram, GMC, Cadillac, and Mitsubishi all claim Texas as their largest market. The period surrounding Labor Day produced 4 percent of America’s new vehicle sales in 2016, but that figure will undoubtedly fall because of Harvey’s devastating impact.
Auto sales were nevertheless bolstered by a 13-percent year-over-year increase in average incentive spends in August, ALG says.
At $3,799 per vehicle — and $4,500-plus at Mercedes-Benz, FCA, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Nissan/Infiniti — the average per-vehicle incentive spend was up 4 percent compared with July. Edmunds nevertheless expected automakers to continue to have problems clearing out remaining inventory. In August 2016, 17 percent of vehicles sold were 2017 models. In August 2017, that figure was likely cut in half.
Positive sales results were still reported by a wide variety of automakers in July. While FCA and Ford Motor Company both posted losses, General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. were up 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively, compared with August 2016.
GM benefited from booming crossover sales: the Buick Encore, Cadillac XT5, Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and GMC Terrain combined for a 52-percent rise to 81,386 sales, equal to three-in-10 GM sales.
Toyota set an all-time monthly record with 42,265 RAV4 sales and also produced a 13-percent Camry improvement.
Subaru reported a record 12,823 Crosstreks sold and a 17-percent Outback increase, plus a 40-percent Impreza improvement. That makes August its 69th consecutive month of growth and its best month ever.
Volkswagen earned more than a fifth of its sales with utility vehicles as the new Tiguan and Atlas combined for more than 5,000 sales.
Yet overall auto sales fell 2 percent in August 2017, the eighth consecutive month of decline. Expect a post-Harvey bump in auto sales, in the southeast Texas region in particular, as automakers compete for replacement vehicle purchases. So horrible is Harvey’s aftermath, however, that such a bump could be rendered imperceptible both by its delay and the gradual nature of the replacement phase.
| Auto Brand | August 2017 | August 2016 | % Change | 2017 YTD | 2016 YTD | % Change |
|
Acura
|
13,132 | 14,246 | -7.8% | 101,180 | 106,914 | -5.4% |
|
Alfa Romeo
|
1,140 | 37 | 2,981% | 6,084 | 377 | 1,514% |
|
Audi
|
19,811 | 19,264 | 2.8% | 141,606 | 134,562 | 5.2% |
|
BMW
|
23,553 | 25,531 | -7.7% | 194,604 | 204,744 | -5.0% |
|
Buick
|
16,811 | 21,678 | -22.5% | 143,093 | 148,845 | -3.9% |
|
Cadillac
|
15,016 | 16,346 | -8.1% | 98,316 | 103,918 | -5.4% |
|
Chevrolet
|
196,007 | 175,965 | 11.4% | 1,316,391 | 1,361,675 | -3.3% |
|
Chrysler
|
12,652 | 18,766 | -32.6% | 128,050 | 167,700 | -23.6% |
|
Dodge
|
43,608 | 44,351 | -1.7% | 335,852 | 352,005 | -4.6% |
|
Fiat
|
2,120 | 2,736 | -22.6% | 19,046 | 22,186 | -14.2% |
| Ford | 200,321 | 204,168 | -1.9% | 1,628,824 | 1,702,211 | -4.3% |
|
Genesis
|
1,803 | 1,497 | 20.4% | 13,366 | 1,497 | 793% |
|
GMC
|
47,718 | 42,440 | 12.4% | 358,305 | 348,164 | 2.9% |
|
Honda
|
132,883 | 135,325 | -1.8% | 987,701 | 987,811 | 0.0% |
|
Hyundai
|
52,507 | 70,518 | -25.5% | 441,367 | 519,581 | -15.1% |
|
Infiniti
|
10,986 | 10,439 | 5.2% | 100,969 | 85,362 | 18.3% |
|
Jaguar
|
3,101 | 3,298 | -6.0% | 26,932 | 17,687 | 52.3% |
|
Jeep
|
73,191 | 86,496 | -15.4% | 548,833 | 630,775 | -13.0% |
|
Kia
|
53,323 | 54,248 | -1.7% | 405,462 | 442,544 | -8.4% |
|
Land Rover
|
6,320 | 6,031 | 4.8% | 48,074 | 48,754 | -1.4% |
|
Lexus
|
30,801 | 30,938 | -0.4% | 193,463 | 210,392 | -8.0% |
|
Lincoln
|
8,708 | 9,243 | -5.8% | 73,290 | 71,638 | 3.2% |
|
Maserati
|
1,103 | 958 | 15.1% | 8,884 | 6,971 | 27.4% |
|
Mazda
|
25,846 | 26,109 | -1.0% | 194,559 | 199,378 | -2.4% |
|
Mercedes-Benz °
|
25,373 | 28,404 | -10.7% | 213,242 | 219,704 | -2.9% |
|
Mercedes-Benz Vans °
|
3,581 | 3,152 | 13.6% | 22,139 | 22,186 | -0.2% |
|
Total Mercedes-Benz °
|
28,954 | 31,556 | -8.2% | 235,381 | 241,890 | -2.8% |
|
Mini
|
4,448 | 4,969 | -10.5% | 31,051 | 34,887 | -11.0% |
|
Mitsubishi
|
8,164 | 7,336 | 11.3% | 70,765 | 67,160 | 5.4% |
|
Nissan
|
97,340 | 114,199 | -14.8% | 955,340 | 969,865 | -1.5% |
|
Porsche
|
4,709 | 5,181 | -9.1% | 36,178 | 35,767 | 1.1% |
|
Ram
|
43,322 | 44,419 | -2.5% | 367,007 | 348,434 | 5.3% |
|
Smart
|
229 | 353 | -35.1% | 2,394 | 3,439 | -30.4% |
|
Subaru
|
63,215 | 60,418 | 4.6% | 423,728 | 391,969 | 8.1% |
|
Toyota
|
196,824 | 182,187 | 8.0% | 1,411,384 | 1,414,805 | -0.2% |
|
Volkswagen
|
32,015 | 29,384 | 9.0% | 220,344 | 207,156 | 6.4% |
|
Volvo
|
7,994 | 7,681 | 4.1% | 49,066 | 52,892 | % |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
BMW Group
|
28,001 | 30,500 | -8.2% | 225,655 | 239,631 | -5.8% |
|
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
|
176,033 | 196,805 | -10.6% | 1,404,872 | 1,521,477 | -7.7% |
|
Daimler AG
|
29,183 | 31,909 | -8.5% | 237,775 | 245,329 | -3.1% |
|
Ford Motor Co.
|
209,029 | 213,411 | -2.1% | 1,702,744 | 1,773,849 | -4.0% |
|
General Motors
|
275,552 | 256,429 | 7.5% | 1,916,105 | 1,962,602 | -2.4% |
|
American Honda
|
146,015 | 149,571 | -2.4% | 1,088,881 | 1,094,725 | -0.5% |
|
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group
|
107,633 | 126,263 | -14.8% | 860,195 | 963,622 | -10.7% |
|
Jaguar-Land Rover
|
9,421 | 9,329 | 1.0% | 75,006 | 66,441 | 12.9% |
|
Nissan / Infiniti / Mitsubishi
|
116,490 | 131,974 | -11.7% | 1,127,074 | 1,122,387 | 0.4% |
|
Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Inc.
|
227,625 | 213,125 | 6.8% | 1,604,847 | 1,625,197 | -1.3% |
|
Volkswagen Group *
|
56,748 | 54,228 | 4.6% | 399,644 | 378,677 | 5.5% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
Industry Total †
|
1,484,826
|
1,512,626
|
-1.8%
|
11,358,405
|
11,676,422
|
-2.7% |
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 August units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.
[Image: General Motors]
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.
What’s going on at Chevy? I’d guess it’s discount city.
According to automotive news, GM incentives were midpack and below FCA Ford, Dimaler and BMW for the month.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20170901/RETAIL01/170909979/u-s-sales-slip-saar-falls-to-16-13-million-on-harvey-impact
Bottom of the article.
So it was all those annoying ads.
Wow! It’s a Chevy!
What’s surprising is how close Audi is to catching BMW. There’s only a 3742 delta between them.
And Subaru keeps going up, nice and steady. And without any increased production
A breakdown of the “12,823 Crosstreks” sold in August would be useful. I accompanied a sibling to a dealer a few weeks ago for some test drives, and both the 2017 and 2018 Crosstrek were offered. As a guess, I’d say more than half of the 12,823 were the outgoing 2017 model.
Now Subaru is outselling VW almost 2:1. They were on par just a few years ago.
Likely a certain little dustup with the EPA has something to do with it!
I used to be a Subaru supplier. I m predisposed to like Subaru.
I had a rental outback last week. OK car. HORRIBLE touch screen.
Got 22 MPG (calculated miles driven/gallons in at turn in (not the lying trip computer))
Anybody else get crappy MPG s in Subies?
I did with a WRX. One could argue that was due to my driving behavior though.
I average 26 mpg in my weekly 50%city/50%hwy commute with the 2.5. My guess is your travel leaned more towards heavier traffic.
Subaru steady as she goes. it’s good to understand marketing.
Or more segments of the population, particularly those in the hipster/Millennial crowd (wearing flannel shirts and hiking boots as a bonus, if only to keep with the usual sterotypes), or folks for whom the AWD is a need/want, can actually afford to put money down on new vehicles.
(As opposed to the usual bromide of said demographics taking residence in their parents’ basements.)
Most people do not need AWD. Only certain areas of this country can really say they need AWD. The rest who think they do, are driving inefficient turds. And they call themselves, “smart.”
This is all until those “smarty-pants” will start getting leaking gaskets etc. Then they will learn that “fancy” costs money
What happened to BMW?
Theory #1: in their drive to increase sales/market share, BMW exposed more drivers to their unreliability and crazy costs. Buyers aren’t returning for a second taste, and old owner stalwarts – who would put up with “German Engineering” – no longer find the BMW the “driver’s car” brand. Throw Mini into the mix – a car brand that appeals to a very small section of the population – and you’re looking at a future shakeup in the company.