Auto Sales Figures 2007

Auto Industry Sales a Mixed Bag

This observer was hearing that auto sales have been down, especially in the month of April 2007, with only MOPAR having a boost in showroom sales. At the dealership where I serve it was apparent that our 2 Japanese marques had seen a slump as well (Acura and Subaru). One begins to wonder if only the more affluent buyers can afford new cars anymore, with average prices at $25,000 for even the more basic cars, SUVs, vans and pickups. Most every showroom today has sticker prices approaching $40,000 for various models (where the profits truly kick in).

So a perusal of the Automotive News first quarter sales figures noted a few things for January thru April sales:
++There were American products that showed sales gains, as well as some European makes, and several Asian car/truck lines.
++But, among products that lost sales compared to a year ago, there were American, Asian and European losers.
++I find a surprise nameplate in each category (do you find it amazing, as well?). ++Sales in the magazine break down cars, trucks & SUVs by model, but I lumped together total sales (as that is what affects the bottom line for companies, dealerships & each salesperson).

Lower priced vehicles:
Gainers: Honda, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Toyota and, surprise: Saturn.
Losers: Chevy, Dodge, Ford and, oddly, Hyundai.

Mid-priced makes:
Gaining: None!
Losing: Mercury, Pontiac, Saab, VW, and noteworthy, Subaru.

Luxury nameplates:
Going up: Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes, and surprisingly, Lincoln.
Going down: Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Jaguar, Volvo and interestingly, Acura.

Truck Categories:
Up: Dodge, GMC, Jeep, and noteworthy, Mitsubishi.
Down: Chevy, Ford, Hummer, Isuzu, and oddly, Land Rover.

**As we have all seen in the headlines, the biggest sales gains, both in total number of sales and % sales boost, belongs to Toyota (60,000 and 10% respectively; with a similar bump up for their Lexus line).

**One American product, the Saturn, saw its total sales go up 20% in the 1st quarter, overtaking Buick & Cadillac in total sales (not a good thing for GM's bottom line).

**Generally speaking the most expensive vehicles saw the boosts in sales from Jan. to April 2007, but so did 70% of all the showrooms who sold the cheapest vehicles.

**This observer sees no correlation between brand new models on the showroom floors, nor expensive public advertising, nor proliferation of models available, affecting sales upwards or downwards from one year to the next.

**However, when one takes a look at the J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports quality control and repair problem issues, then one sees that better-perceived quality truly affects sales, at least in this sales period in question, with some few exceptions .

--Torrey Brinkley
The Literature Exchange
Mead, Colorado