Reported December Sales

[jfibs]

The following is the sales results for December by manufactuer. Some report faster than others so i will update as they update:

Ford sales fall 32%; VW, Daimler also drop

Chrissie Thompson
Automotive News
January 5, 2009 - 12:51 pm ET


Ford Motor Co. posted a 32 percent decline in December sales as the U.S. auto industry capped its worst year since the early 1990s.

Ford's drop was its 23rd in the past 24 months. The Volkswagen brand was down 14.4 percent, and Daimler AG plunged 23.5 percent. Subaru of America, the only other automaker to report by midday, slipped 7.7 percent.

Ford's results bolster analysts' forecasts for an industrywide fall of more than one-third. That would be the fourth straight monthly tumble of more than 25 percent, amid the longest U.S. recession since the early 1980s and a national debate over whether the federal government should rescue Chrysler LLC and General Motors.

"No one wants to buy anything," Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of industry analysis, said in an interview before today's figures were released.

A December decline would be the 18th for the industry in the past 19 months .

Lowest sales since 1992

Analysts forecast that December demand would plunge to a new low for the year, to about 10 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis. The annual sales rate, which dropped to 10.3 million in November, has not fallen below 10 million since August 1982.

A December sales decline of 35 percent will put total 2008 light-vehicle sales at 13.2 million in the United States, analysts said. That total would be the lowest since 1992. The 2007 total was 16.2 million.

Sales dropped during the month as President George W. Bush approved $17.4 billion in federal loans on Dec. 19 to GM and Chrysler. The automakers lost their bid to receive the loans from new legislation when the bill died a week earlier in the U.S. Senate.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department also allocated $6 billion to GM's affiliated lender, GMAC Financial Services. That move spurred GM and GMAC to expand auto lending and incentive programs for the last sales days of the month.

GM and Chrysler will report larger declines than Ford, since Ford did not seek immediate federal aid, said Toprak. Ford, which borrowed more than $23 billion in 2006, still seeks a $9 billion credit line if the economic downturn lasts longer than it expects.

"If you wanted to buy a new car in December, Ford seemed to be a safer choice than GM and Chrysler," Toprak said.

The only other time the U.S. auto industry has seen a similar 3 million unit plunge over a single year was during 1974 in the wake of the first oil shock, Ford's chief sales analyst, George Pipas, told reporters Friday, Jan. 2.

"The sales rates have declined like a lead balloon," Pipas said. "We're not looking for the first quarter to be much different from what we saw in the fourth quarter." Ford's sales for the year dropped 20.7 percent.

Subaru's 7.7 percent December drop allowed it to finish just ahead of its 2007 total. Through November, Subaru and Daimler were the only two major automakers to be ahead of the previous year's sales pace. Daimler wasn't able to hold on; its Smart and Mercedes brands finished the year down 1.5 percent.

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by jfibs

GM and Chrysler will report larger declines than Ford, since Ford did not seek immediate federal aid, said Toprak.

While they probably will have larger declines, to say it's because Ford didn't ask for money is retarded. To quote Lisa Simpson "This rock fends off tigers.....well you don't see any tigers around do you?"

[RamJet502]

Its not that nobody wants to buy anything, its that people can't afford to right now.

[jfibs]

News Reporters are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Lately all they know how to do is report bad news and scare the public. They are part of the problem and a big reason the country is in the shape it is.

[jfibs]

December Sales vs Prev year and 2008 vs 2007

Honda -34.7% -7.9%

Ford -34.4% -21.8%

Porsche -25.5% -25%

Isuzu -61.8% -33%

Subaru -7.7% +0.3%

Volkswagen -13.3% -4.4%

More to Follow.

[sigma]

GM down 31.%. Marginally better than Ford and significantly better than Toyota. Bad month all around.

[silvergoat2k6]

I figured that the Traverse would sell significantly better than the other Lambdas...but that's not the case...at least not yet.

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by jfibs

The following is the sales results for December by manufactuer. Some report faster than others so i will update as they update:

Ford sales fall 32%; VW, Daimler also drop

Chrissie Thompson
Automotive News
January 5, 2009 - 12:51 pm ET


Ford Motor Co. posted a 32 percent decline in December sales as the U.S. auto industry capped its worst year since the early 1990s.

Ford's drop was its 23rd in the past 24 months. The Volkswagen brand was down 14.4 percent, and Daimler AG plunged 23.5 percent. Subaru of America, the only other automaker to report by midday, slipped 7.7 percent.

Ford's results bolster analysts' forecasts for an industrywide fall of more than one-third. That would be the fourth straight monthly tumble of more than 25 percent, amid the longest U.S. recession since the early 1980s and a national debate over whether the federal government should rescue Chrysler LLC and General Motors.

"No one wants to buy anything," Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of industry analysis, said in an interview before today's figures were released.

A December decline would be the 18th for the industry in the past 19 months .

Lowest sales since 1992

Analysts forecast that December demand would plunge to a new low for the year, to about 10 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis. The annual sales rate, which dropped to 10.3 million in November, has not fallen below 10 million since August 1982.

A December sales decline of 35 percent will put total 2008 light-vehicle sales at 13.2 million in the United States, analysts said. That total would be the lowest since 1992. The 2007 total was 16.2 million.

Sales dropped during the month as President George W. Bush approved $17.4 billion in federal loans on Dec. 19 to GM and Chrysler. The automakers lost their bid to receive the loans from new legislation when the bill died a week earlier in the U.S. Senate.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department also allocated $6 billion to GM's affiliated lender, GMAC Financial Services. That move spurred GM and GMAC to expand auto lending and incentive programs for the last sales days of the month.

GM and Chrysler will report larger declines than Ford, since Ford did not seek immediate federal aid, said Toprak. Ford, which borrowed more than $23 billion in 2006, still seeks a $9 billion credit line if the economic downturn lasts longer than it expects.

"If you wanted to buy a new car in December, Ford seemed to be a safer choice than GM and Chrysler," Toprak said.

The only other time the U.S. auto industry has seen a similar 3 million unit plunge over a single year was during 1974 in the wake of the first oil shock, Ford's chief sales analyst, George Pipas, told reporters Friday, Jan. 2.

"The sales rates have declined like a lead balloon," Pipas said. "We're not looking for the first quarter to be much different from what we saw in the fourth quarter." Ford's sales for the year dropped 20.7 percent.

Subaru's 7.7 percent December drop allowed it to finish just ahead of its 2007 total. Through November, Subaru and Daimler were the only two major automakers to be ahead of the previous year's sales pace. Daimler wasn't able to hold on; its Smart and Mercedes brands finished the year down 1.5 percent.

Looks like VW had a pretty good month. Wonder why Subaru did so well compared to others?

[jfibs]

General Motors - -31.2% -22.7% #1 in United States by 737,159
Daimler- -23.5% -1.5%
Toyota- -36.7% -15.4% #2 in United States

[Stéphane Dumas]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

Looks like VW had a pretty good month. Wonder why Subaru did so well compared to others?

maybe buyers wants to buy real Subaru before they became "Toybaru" or "Subyota"

[silvergoat2k6]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

Looks like VW had a pretty good month. Wonder why Subaru did so well compared to others?

VW is still doing the "sign then drive" thing...and Subaru is offering some pretty good lease/finance deals these days. That's my guess anyways.

[zete]

It all remains ugly. I think we may be seeing long term numbers now, though I think Mercedes and BMW will still suffer more falls as folks back away from luxury items. We're obviously looking at a 9.5 - 10.5M car market for 2009 unless things improve drastically.

[eyekickbootie]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

Looks like VW had a pretty good month. Wonder why Subaru did so well compared to others?

Why did Subaru do so well? Uniqueness, customer loyalty and an upscale customer base.

Name an AWD/4WD vehicle available with a manual transmission that can be had for under 20K. The list is exactly two: Subaru Impreza and Suzuki SX4.

AWD/4WD is damn near a necessity in some areas of the country. In mountain areas, tough and frugal sells. Also MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. Are you listening GM, Ford and Chrysler? Apparently not.

Subaru customers are affluent (less likely to be affected by the downturn), and loyal (I know a lot of Subaru owners who won't even consider anything but another Subaru.)

GM had their chance with Subaru AND Suzuki and blew it. An Impreza or SX4 rebadged as a Saturn or Pontiac would sell like hotcakes in snow country.

The Vibe is Auto only and doesn't sell as well as it could for that reason.

[erasmus]

Originally Posted by eyekickbootie

Why did Subaru do so well? Uniqueness, customer loyalty and an upscale customer base.

Name an AWD/4WD vehicle available with a manual transmission that can be had for under 20K. The list is exactly two: Subaru Impreza and Suzuki SX4.

AWD/4WD is damn near a necessity in some areas of the country. In mountain areas, tough and frugal sells. Also MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. Are you listening GM, Ford and Chrysler? Apparently not.

Subaru customers are affluent (less likely to be affected by the downturn), and loyal (I know a lot of Subaru owners who won't even consider anything but another Subaru.)

GM had their chance with Subaru AND Suzuki and blew it. An Impreza or SX4 rebadged as a Saturn or Pontiac would sell like hotcakes in snow country.

The Vibe is Auto only and doesn't sell as well as it could for that reason.

You do realize GM sold more cars in December then Subaru did all year.

[JeffInDFW]

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Chrysler says its December U.S. sales plunged 53 percent, blaming a tough economy with driving customers from showrooms.
Chrysler sold a total of 89,813 vehicles compared with 191,423 in the same month last year. Despite the drop, the month's sales were up about 5 percent from November levels.

The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company said car sales tumbled 59 percent, while truck sales tumbled 51 percent.

For the full year 2008, Chrysler said its sales slid 30 percent to 1.45 million vehicles.