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In our monthly “just the facts” chart, we publish the sales results for all makers in the U.S. Overall, October of 2009 continued a bad year as light vehicle sales declined 24% year-to-date when compared with 2008, with light trucks dropping more than passenger cars.
A straight percentage comparison could be misleading though, as the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 sent global markets into a tailspin, from which they have not yet recovered.
Prior to the financial meltdown, the U.S. auto market in 2008, though weak compared with 2007, was running much stronger than the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Selling rate of just under 11 million units that we are all enduring as the Great Recession carries on.
While there are signs that a jobless recovery of sorts is underway, people without jobs and the larger group of worried workers, concerned about their future, are not good prospects for a new vehicle purchases.
Among the domestic makers, Chrysler remains in a tenuous position. Second tier Japanese brands – Mitsubishi and Suzuki – are taking big hits. In addition, luxury brands, said to be recession proof, are being hurt as well.
A chart follows.
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U.S. Light Vehicle Retail Sales – October 2009 |
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| Oct 2009 | Oct 2008 | % | 2009 CYTD | 2008 CYTD | % | |
| General Motors | 176,632 | 168,719 | 4.7% | 1,713,535 | 2,581,385 | -33.6% |
| Total Cars | 63,935 | 73,466 | -13.0% | 736,817 | 1,111,176 | -33.7% |
| Total Light Trucks | 112,697 | 95,253 | 18.3% | 976,718 | 1,470,209 | -33.6% |
| memo: Saab. | 513 | 1,975 | -74.0% | 7,441 | 19,337 | -61.5% |
| Ford Motor Company | 136,583 | 132,248 | 3.3% | 1,370,687 | 1,719,918 | -20.3% |
| Total Cars | 47,484 | 43,201 | 9.9% | 523,282 | 630,954 | -17.1% |
| Total Light Trucks | 89,099 | 89,047 | 0.1% | 847,405 | 1,088,964 | -22.2% |
| memo: Volvo | 4,437 | 3,717 | 19.4% | 51,166 | 63,745 | -19.7% |
| Chrysler LLC | 65,803 | 94,530 | -30.4% | 781,319 | 1,278,049 | -38.9% |
| Total Cars | 17,556 | 24,957 | -29.7% | 187,308 | 357,190 | -47.6% |
| Total Light Trucks | 48,247 | 69,573 | -30.7% | 594,011 | 920,859 | -35.5% |
| Toyota Motor Sales | 152,165 | 152,101 | 0.0% | 1,448,589 | 1,945,406 | -25.5% |
| Total Cars | 95,610 | 94,236 | 1.5% | 913,515 | 1,202,360 | -24.0% |
| Total Light Trucks | 56,555 | 57,865 | -2.3% | 535,074 | 743,046 | -28.0% |
| American Honda Motor | 85,502 | 85,864 | -0.4% | 969,638 | 1,266,447 | -23.4% |
| Total Cars | 49,502 | 51,400 | -3.7% | 599,429 | 781,560 | -23.3% |
| Total Light Trucks | 36,000 | 34,464 | 4.5% | 370,209 | 484,887 | -23.7% |
| Nissan North America | 60,115 | 56,945 | 5.6% | 640,411 | 842,643 | -24.0% |
| Total Cars | 39,743 | 39,052 | 1.8% | 429,866 | 525,701 | -18.2% |
| Total Light Trucks | 20,372 | 17,893 | 13.9% | 210,545 | 316,942 | -33.6% |
| VW Group of America | 24,497 | 23,508 | 4.2% | 245,080 | 267,506 | -8.4% |
| Audi | 7,358 | 7,443 | -1.1% | 66,876 | 73,260 | -8.7% |
| Volkswagen. | 17,037 | 15,889 | 7.2% | 176,817 | 191,256 | -7.5% |
| Bentley | 77 | 146 | -47.3% | 1,071 | 2,333 | -54.1% |
| Lamborghini | 25 | 30 | -16.7% | 316 | 657 | -51.9% |
| Mitsubishi Motors N. A. | 3,867 | 7,486 | -48.3% | 46,706 | 87,591 | -46.7% |
| Total Cars | 3,183 | 5,663 | -43.8% | 33,305 | 68,364 | -51.3% |
| Total Light Trucks | 684 | 1,823 | -62.5% | 13,401 | 19,227 | -30.3% |
| Mazda Motor of America | 15,068 | 16,442 | -8.4% | 175,257 | 231,850 | -24.4% |
| Total Cars | 10,571 | 10,702 | -1.2% | 121,478 | 156,051 | -22.2% |
| Total Light Trucks | 4,497 | 5,740 | -21.7% | 53,779 | 75,799 | -29.1% |
| Hyundai Motor America | 31,005 | 20,820 | 48.9% | 373,222 | 358,484 | 4.1% |
| Total Cars | 23,192 | 14,878 | 55.9% | 282,443 | 266,879 | 5.8% |
| Total Light Trucks | 7,813 | 5,942 | 31.5% | 90,779 | 91,605 | -0.9% |
| BMW of North America | 20,641 | 25,526 | -19.1% | 200,121 | 262,141 | -23.7% |
| BMW | 16,443 | 20,203 | -18.6% | 160,666 | 215,836 | -25.6% |
| Mini | 4,176 | 5,272 | -20.8% | 39,172 | 45,966 | -14.8% |
| Rolls Royce | 22 | 51 | -56.9% | 283 | 339 | -16.5% |
| Daimler AG | 18,862 | 17,248 | 9.4% | 166,795 | 212,889 | -21.7% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 18,198 | 15,005 | 21.3% | 153,662 | 192,393 | -20.1% |
| Maybach. | 3 | 7 | -57.1% | 51 | 104 | -51.0% |
| Smart | 661 | 2,236 | -70.4% | 13,082 | 20,392 | -35.8% |
| Subaru of America | 18,169 | 12,917 | 40.7% | 176,590 | 156,706 | 12.7% |
| Total Cars | 12,754 | 7,777 | 64.0% | 105,435 | 97,803 | 7.8% |
| Total Light Trucks | 5,415 | 5,140 | 5.4% | 71,155 | 58,903 | 20.8% |
| Kia Motors America | 22,490 | 15,483 | 45.3% | 261,060 | 243,571 | 7.2% |
| Total Cars | 14,444 | 7,427 | 94.5% | 155,391 | 140,255 | 10.8% |
| Total Light Trucks | 8,046 | 8,056 | -0.1% | 105,669 | 103,316 | 2.3% |
| Isuzu Motors America | 0 | 251 | -100% | 165 | 4,439 | -96.3% |
| American Suzuki Motor | 1,745 | 3,482 | -49.9% | 35,270 | 77,995 | -54.8% |
| Total Cars. | 3 | 658 | -99.5% | 3,774 | 19,865 | -81.0% |
| Total Light Trucks | 1,742 | 2,824 | -38.3% | 31,496 | 58,130 | -45.8% |
| Jaguar Land Rover N.A. | 3,042 | 2,894 | 5.1% | 30,101 | 38,155 | -21.1% |
| Jaguar | 882 | 867 | 1.7% | 9,556 | 12,951 | -26.2% |
| Land Rover. | 2,160 | 2,027 | 6.6% | 20,545 | 25,204 | -18.5% |
| Porsche Cars N.A. | 1,642 | 1,427 | 15.1% | 15,952 | 22,503 | -29.1% |
| Total Cars | 1,170 | 737 | 58.8% | 9,556 | 12,847 | -25.6% |
| Total Light Trucks | 472 | 690 | -31.6% | 6,396 | 9,656 | -33.8% |
| Ferrari of N.A. | 113 | 108 | 4.6% | 1,131 | 1,342 | -15.7% |
| Maserati of N.A. | 111 | 157 | -29.3% | 1,060 | 2,087 | -49.2% |
| PASSENGER CARS | 431,487 | 428,089 | 0.8% | 4,598,806 | 6,002,748 | -23.4% |
| LIGHT TRUCKS | 406,565 | 410,067 | -0.9% | 4,053,883 | 5,598,359 | -27.6% |
| TOTAL LIGHT VEHICLE | 838,052 | 838,156 | 0.0% | 8,652,689 | 11,601,107 | -25.4% |
| Imp. Brand Car Total | 305,070 | 290,471 | 5.0% | 3,188,067 | 3,958,963 | -19.5% |
| Imp. Brand Light Trucks | 158,914 | 157,880 | 0.7% | 1,657,688 | 2,145,874 | -22.7% |
| Imp. Brand Light Veh. | 463,984 | 448,351 | 3.5% | 4,845,755 | 6,104,837 | -20.6% |
| Imp. Sourced Car Total | 144,919 | 151,080 | -4.1% | 1,620,335 | 2,059,904 | -21.3% |
| Imp. Sourced Truck Total | 71,137 | 79,575 | -10.6% | 815,133 | 1,013,771 | -19.6% |
| Transplant Vehicles | 249,387 | 221,111 | 12.8% | 2,443,731 | 3,082,815 | -20.7% |
| GM & Ford Heavy Truck Total | 1,308 | 2,456 | -46.7% | 14,833 | 28,612 | -48.2% |
| Source: AutoData | ||||||