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April new-vehicle retail sales tallied 982,000 units, or a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of just over 11 million units,” according to Autodata Corporation.
This looked okay when compared with an admittedly bad April 2009, but the fact remains the auto economy remains weak, and incentives are propping up the market and pulling ahead sales.
It is too early to declare that the auto recession is over. The latest information from the AutoPacific consultancy shows the intent to purchase a new car or truck in the next two years has declined over the January to March period. So there is the first problem — demand does not appear to be strengthening.
Rising fuel prices are also complicating the outlook. The median fuel price paid in March 2010 was $2.82 per gallon, up 13 cents from January 2010 but up 86 cents per gallon from March 2009. However, interest in small cars and hybrids has declined over the last year, according to AutoPacific.
When asked what kind of vehicle respondents would select if they were to replace their primary vehicle today, 22% selected a Small Car in March 2009, but by January 2010 Small Car consideration had fallen to 12% and continued at that level in March 2010. During this time, the price of fuel went up by 44% but the interest in Small Cars went down by 44%. This is an unwelcome trend for Detroit automakers in particular who are about to introduce new small cars such as Ford Fiesta or Focus, or the Chevrolet Cruze, which will feature at least one 40 mpg model.
Detailed charts follow after the jump.
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U.S. Light Vehicle Retail Sales – April 2010 |
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| Apr 2010 | Apr 2009 | % | 2010 CYTD | 2009 CYTD | % | |
| General Motor | 183,614 | 171,258 | 7.2% | 658,867 | 578,028 | 14.0% |
| Cars | 72,490 | 71,085 | 2.0% | 262,253 | 235,760 | 11.2% |
| Light Trucks | 111,124 | 100,173 | 10.9% | 396,614 | 342,268 | 15.9% |
| Ford Motor | 167,283 | 133,979 | 24.9% | 608,991 | 457,172 | 33.2% |
| Cars | 60,499 | 55,067 | 9.9% | 233,155 | 173,167 | 34.6% |
| Light Trucks | 106,784 | 78,912 | 35.3% | 375,836 | 284,005 | 32.3% |
| memo: Volvo | 4,546 | 4,503 | 1.0% | 18,552 | 17,127 | 8.3% |
| Chrysler | 95,703 | 76,682 | 24.8% | 329,918 | 323,890 | 1.9% |
| Cars | 30,527 | 15,558 | 96.2% | 94,187 | 73,685 | 27.8% |
| Light Trucks | 65,176 | 61,124 | 6.6% | 235,731 | 250,205 | -5.8% |
| Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. | 157,439 | 126,540 | 24.4% | 543,125 | 486,212 | 11.7% |
| Cars | 93,407 | 77,851 | 20.0% | 317,515 | 290,667 | 9.2% |
| Light Trucks | 64,032 | 48,689 | 31.5% | 225,610 | 195,545 | 15.4% |
| American Honda Motor Co. Inc. | 113,697 | 101,029 | 12.5% | 370,109 | 332,014 | 11.5% |
| Cars | 66,547 | 67,514 | -1.4% | 216,789 | 204,300 | 6.1% |
| Light Trucks | 47,150 | 33,515 | 40.7% | 153,320 | 127,714 | 20.0% |
| Nissan North America Inc. | 63,769 | 47,190 | 35.1% | 291,998 | 221,957 | 31.6% |
| Car | 41,519 | 30,249 | 37.3% | 200,683 | 141,989 | 41.3% |
| Light Trucks | 22,250 | 16,941 | 31.3% | 91,315 | 79,968 | 14.2% |
| VW Group of America | 32,596 | 23,448 | 39.0% | 112,567 | 81,740 | 37.7% |
| Audi | 9,319 | 7,010 | 32.9% | 30,634 | 22,818 | 34.3% |
| Volkswagen | 23,135 | 16,289 | 42.0% | 81,418 | 58,413 | 39.4% |
| Bentley | 126 | 112 | 12.5% | 437 | 375 | 16.5% |
| Lamborghini | 16 | 37 | -56.8% | 78 | 134 | -41.8% |
| Mitsubishi Motors N. A. | 3,932 | 3,919 | 0.3% | 17,555 | 17,753 | -1.1% |
| Cars | 2,688 | 2,689 | 0.0% | 11,768 | 12,486 | -5.8% |
| Light Truck | 1,244 | 1,230 | 1.1% | 5,787 | 5,267 | 9.9% |
| Mazda Motor of America | 18,935 | 16,139 | 17.3% | 74,876 | 69,934 | 7.1% |
| Cars | 12,561 | 11,377 | 10.4% | 49,953 | 48,077 | 3.9% |
| Light Trucks | 6,374 | 4,762 | 33.9% | 24,923 | 21,857 | 14.0% |
| Hyundai Motor America | 44,023 | 33,952 | 29.7% | 155,532 | 129,806 | 19.8% |
| Cars | 33,685 | 27,406 | 22.9% | 110,876 | 96,439 | 15.0% |
| Light Trucks | 10,338 | 6,546 | 57.9% | 44,656 | 33,367 | 33.8% |
| BMW of North America Inc. | 21,131 | 19,393 | 9.0% | 76,251 | 70,736 | 7.8% |
| BMW | 17,268 | 15,705 | 10.0% | 63,591 | 58,436 | 8.8% |
| Mini | 3,843 | 3,657 | 5.1% | 12,571 | 12,170 | 3.3% |
| Rolls Royce | 20 | 31 | -35.5% | 89 | 130 | -31.5% |
| Daimler AG | 18,914 | 16,065 | 17.7% | 70,897 | 61,376 | 15.5% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 18,228 | 14,713 | 23.9% | 68,799 | 55,075 | 24.9% |
| Maybach | 6 | 7 | -14.3% | 21 | 19 | 10.5% |
| Smart | 680 | 1,345 | -49.4% | 2,077 | 6,282 | -66.9% |
| Saab Cars North America | 215 | 892 | -75.9% | 956 | 3,824 | -75.0% |
| Cars | 201 | 690 | -70.9% | 895 | 2,648 | -66.2% |
| Light Trucks | 14 | 202 | -93.1% | 61 | 1,176 | -94.8% |
| Subaru of America | 23,198 | 15,649 | 48.2% | 80,692 | 57,181 | 41.1% |
| Cars | 15,335 | 9,127 | 68.0% | 52,430 | 31,302 | 67.5% |
| Light Trucks | 7,863 | 6,522 | 20.6% | 28,262 | 25,879 | 9.2% |
| Kia Motors America | 30,036 | 25,606 | 17.3% | 106,733 | 94,499 | 12.9% |
| Cars | 17,025 | 16,588 | 2.6% | 56,860 | 45,986 | 23.6% |
| Light Trucks | 13,011 | 9,018 | 44.3% | 49,873 | 48,513 | 2.8% |
| Isuzu Motors America | 0 | 0 | NA | 0 | 165 | -100% |
| American Suzuki Motor | 1,950 | 2,543 | -23.3% | 7,611 | 17,674 | -56.9% |
| Cars | 406 | 473 | -14.2% | 1,227 | 3,260 | -62.4% |
| Light Trucks | 1,544 | 2,070 | -25.4% | 6,384 | 14,414 | -55.7% |
| Jaguar Land Rover N.A. | 3,645 | 3,324 | 9.7% | 12,736 | 11,920 | 6.8% |
| Jaguar | 896 | 1,281 | -30.1% | 3,271 | 4,030 | -18.8% |
| Land Rover | 2,749 | 2,043 | 34.6% | 9,465 | 7,890 | 20.0% |
| Porsche Cars N.A. | 1,748 | 1,853 | -5.7% | 6,970 | 6,778 | 2.8% |
| Cars | 1,422 | 967 | 47.1% | 5,058 | 3,577 | 41.4% |
| Light Trucks | 326 | 886 | -63.2% | 1,912 | 3,201 | -40.3% |
| Ferrari N.A. | 117 | 116 | 0.9% | 419 | 401 | 4.5% |
| Maserati N.A. | 186 | 108 | 72.2% | 580 | 355 | 63.4% |
| PASSENGER CARS | 505,598 | 432,946 | 16.8% | 1,817,748 | 1,535,590 | 18.4% |
| LIGHT TRUCKS | 476,533 | 386,739 | 23.2% | 1,709,635 | 1,487,825 | 14.9% |
| LIGHT VEHICLE | 982,131 | 819,685 | 19.8% | 3,527,383 | 3,023,415 | 16.7% |
| Imp. Brand Car | 344,732 | 293,840 | 17.3% | 1,238,153 | 1,063,830 | 16.4% |
| Imp. Brand Light Trucks | 195,345 | 148,429 | 31.6% | 710,006 | 617,622 | 15.0% |
| Imp. Brand Light Veh. | 540,077 | 442,269 | 22.1% | 1,948,159 | 1,681,452 | 15.9% |
| Imp. Source Car | 167,858 | 155,306 | 8.1% | 591,453 | 557,906 | 6.0% |
| Imp. Source Truck | 74,926 | 69,563 | 7.7% | 298,957 | 322,009 | -7.2% |
| Transplant Vehicles | 291,584 | 219,590 | 32.8% | 1,035,363 | 809,316 | 27.9% |
| GM & Ford Heavy Truck | 642 | 1,279 | -49.8% | 2,997 | 5,658 | -47.0% |
| Source: Autodata Corp. Percent change based on numeric comparison, not adjusted for selling. Revised: May 3, 2010 | ||||||
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Total U.S. Light Vehicle Retail Sales – SAAR, Million Units |
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| Apr 09 | May 09 | Jun 09 | Jul 09 | Aug 09 | Sep 09 | Oct 09 | Nov 09 | Dec 09 | Jan 10 | Feb 10 | Mar 10 | Apr 10 | |
| Annual Rate | 9.23 | 9.86 | 9.70 | 11.24 | 14.09 | 9.22 | 10.46 | 10.93 | 11.25 | 10.78 | 10.38 | 11.78 | 11.21 |
| Total Car | 4.77 | 4.89 | 5.04 | 6.20 | 8.05 | 5.02 | 5.50 | 5.65 | 6.01 | 5.70 | 5.49 | 6.04 | 5.61 |
| Total Truck | 4.46 | 4.97 | 4.66 | 5.04 | 6.05 | 4.20 | 4.96 | 5.28 | 5.24 | 5.08 | 4.88 | 5.74 | 5.60 |
| Domestic Car | 3.08 | 3.19 | 3.28 | 4.11 | 5.26 | 3.25 | 3.64 | 3.77 | 4.11 | 3.77 | 3.68 | 4.12 | 3.78 |
| Domestic Truck | 3.63 | 4.05 | 3.78 | 4.06 | 4.73 | 3.37 | 4.12 | 4.40 | 4.31 | 4.11 | 4.03 | 4.67 | 4.72 |
| Total Domestic | 6.72 | 7.24 | 7.06 | 8.17 | 10.00 | 6.62 | 7.75 | 8.17 | 8.42 | 7.88 | 7.71 | 8.79 | 8.50 |
| Import Car | 1.69 | 1.71 | 1.76 | 2.09 | 2.78 | 1.77 | 1.87 | 1.88 | 1.89 | 1.92 | 1.81 | 1.92 | 1.83 |
| Import Truck | 0.82 | 0.92 | 0.88 | 0.98 | 1.31 | 0.83 | 0.84 | 0.88 | 0.93 | 0.97 | 0.86 | 1.07 | 0.88 |
| Total Import | 2.51 | 2.63 | 2.64 | 3.07 | 4.09 | 2.60 | 2.71 | 2.76 | 2.82 | 2.90 | 2.67 | 2.99 | 2.70 |
| Courtesy Autodata Corporation | |||||||||||||
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