No April Fools here. It’s a good-news day for the economy. Unemployment fell to 8.8 percent, with 216,000 jobs added in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says, the lowest level in two years. Manufacturing contributed 17,000 jobs, many of them in the auto industry. Professional and business services added 78,000, although 37 percent of those were temp help jobs.
Manufacturing expanded by its fastest pace in nearly seven years, with help from both U.S. and overseas demand. Here in Michigan, the employment growth rate is running third highest in the nation, though unemployment remains in the double digits. Anecdotally, the Detroit Three are trying to lure computer geeks away from Silicon Valley. They may not be able to handle the weather, but they’ll like the housing prices. And Chrysler LLC is running out of room in its Auburn Hills tech center. So many of the new jobs in the Detroit Metro area are white collar, presumably with healthy salaries.
The automakers estimate March auto sales at 1.2 million units, up about 13.2 percent over March ‘10, counting medium and heavy-duty trucks. The seasonally adjusted average rate (SAAR) is running in the low 13-millions.
Still, statistics show little growth in average hourly rates, further widening this country’s long widening income gap. Sure, blame $3.65 per gallon gas, but perhaps slow income growth also is responsible for American consumers shifting to smaller cars. GM is trumpeting the fact that it sold 50,205 Chevy Cruzes in the first quarter of the year, compared with 48,725 Malibus and 49,541 Impalas. The Malibu and Impala have been trading places as Chevrolet’s number-one sedan in past months, and the Cruze passed them overall for the quarter by being second every month. Of 18,018 Cruzes sold in March, 15,541 were retail and 2,477 were fleet. Of 18,063 ancient Impalas, just 4,572 were retail and 13,491 were fleet.
Ford Motor outsold GM in March, as GM eased up on the incentives that gave it a strong January and February. GM says its March incentives were about the same as Ford and Chrysler’s, but above the industry average, in order to maintain, and gain market share.
B- and c-segment car retail market share for the industry increased from 19 percent in December 2010 to 21 percent in January/February, and to 25 percent in March, says Ford sales analyst George Pipas. Sport/utilities were off 4 points, to 29 percent retail market share, from December to March and full-size pickups were off 3 points, to 10 percent of retail share. Keep in mind these were numbers for the U.S. industry, not just Ford. However, Ford reported big numbers for its pickups and vans, including the Transit Connect, because it sold a lot of trucks to commercial fleets last month.
As evidence of oil price sensitivity, EcoBoost and 3.7-liter V-6 take rates on the F-150 are strong among retail buyers. B- and c-cars, or subcompacts and compacts, leveled off in the last three weeks of March as gas prices leveled (not unlike the spring 2008 scenario).
Pipas said he’s continuing to monitor whether fairly steady gas prices, or reduced small car inventory contributed most to this late-month flattening. Already, Fiesta inventory has dropped from a 60-day supply in late March to 40 days.
I’m concentrating on the Chevy Cruze, because it was the first new compact out after GM and Ford first said consumers were downsizing. They believe the compact segment will eventually pass the midsize segment, permanently, in the U.S. Chevy says its $19,000 Cruze average transaction price is $2,000 more than the soon-replaced Honda Civic and $3,000 more than the Toyota Corolla. Still, compare the Cruze’s ATP with GM’s average for cars, $25,900, reported for the second quarter of 2010.
GM has long claimed it can make money on small cars like the Chevy Cruze, but there’s a much bigger problem coming from the East. The Japanese earthquake and tsunami has affected the country’s domestic market and auto production. It has affected parts production, and power disruptions will affect production across the country for the next several months, at least. Publicly, GM, Ford, Chrysler and their foreign competitors are spinning the looming parts shortage. They’re “continually monitoring the situation” don’t have any shortage of models, yet. That will change later in the year if they don’t find alternate part supplies by mid-May. Second quarter profits across the industry could be in for a big, big hit.
And so, to the numbers …
1. Ford Motor Company: 212,777, up 19 percent.
First quarter: 496,720, up 15.9 percent.
Ford brand sales rose 28.2 percent, to 204,276.F-Series rose 25.3 percent, to 53,272.Twenty-two percent of ‘11 F-150 retail buyers bought the EcoBoost engine and 15 percent bought the 3.7 V-6. Ford’s retail order bank has a 40-percent take rate for the EcoBoost V-6.Fusion sales set a monthly record, at 27,566, up 21 percent. For the quarter, Ford has sold 65,023 Fusions, up 26.5 percent.Fiesta sales neared the 10k level, at 9,787.Escape was up 25 percent, to 23,975.Focus fell 11.9 percent, to 17,178 as the old model sold down. Only a handful of new ’12 Foci are in those numbers.Explorer was up 111.3 percent, to 12,482, and 10,828 of them were the new, unibody, transverse-engine ‘12 model.Explorer looks ready to take over for Flex, which has not been able to catch Chevy Traverse sales. Flex was down 28.8 percent, to 2,468.Lincoln dropped 2.2 percent, to 8,501 last month. Will it follow Mercury into the brand graveyard? Mercury sold 10,486 units in March ’10, and of course, zero last month.
2. GM: 206,621 up 9.6 percent.
First quarter: 592,545, up 24.1 percent
Chevy Silverado’s number was 32,555. Add 1,655 Avalanches (yes, Chevy still builds them) and 11,622 GMC Sierras to total 45,832 big trucks.Chevy Colorado was up 25.2 percent, to 2,561 and GMC Canyon was up 24.4 percent, to 765. Obviously, the temporary parts-shortage plant shutdown won’t affect these trucks.Chevy Camaro again beat Ford Mustang, though the gap is really thin. Camaro was up 0.7 percent, to 8,964 and Mustang was up 46.8 percent, to 8,557. Dodge sold 3,989 Challengers, up 24 percent.Impala was GM’s bestselling car, at 18,063 (+15.8 percent), mostly with fleet sales. Cruze was next, at 18,018 and Malibu was off 12.4 percent, to 15,551.Chevy Equinox was up 16.7 percent, to 14,949 and GMC Terrain was up 29 percent, to 6,301.Chevy Traverse was off 4.7 percent, to 8,230. GMC Acadia was off 5.9 percent, to 6,418. Buick Enclave was up 8.4 percent, to 4,899.Buick division was up 20.9 percent, to 15,663. Cadillac was up 4.5 percent, to 12,164.Chevy delivered 608 Volts, Rush.
3. Toyota-Scion-Lexus: 176,222, off 9.2 percent.
First quarter: 433,924, up 11 percent.
Toyota announced mid-year price increases that will affect cars and trucks at dealerships by May. The company says unfavorable exchange rates are responsible, and that the decision was made prior to the earthquake.Toyota reports no shortage of any models as a result of the earthquake. Like everyone else, Toyota is “monitoring” parts and production availability, and Prius and Lexus stand to be most affected.Lexus sales chief Mark Templin says the brand’s “pipeline is full” with Japanese-built models on the way.Corolla sales of 30,234, off 1.7 percent, nearly caught Camry sales, off 16.4 percent, to 31,464.Prius was up 52 percent to 18,605.Toyota has 12,250 Prii in U.S. inventory. It has an 18-day supply, versus 32 days at the beginning of March.Prius V’s August launch date in the U.S. has not been affected, so far.Tundra nosedived 32.9 percent, to 7,515. Tacoma was up 3.5 percent, to 10,144.Lexus division was off 1.5 percent, to 20,682.Lexus delivered 8 LFAs.
4. American Honda (includes Acura): 133,650 up 18.9 percent.
First quarter: 307,978, up 18.5 percent.
Accord beat Camry, with 33,616 sold, up 11.2 percent. Crosstour was off 22.5 percent at 2,083, despite a new ad campaign.Civic beat Corolla, up 33.8 percent to 31,213 as Honda tried to make room for the new model.Insight was up 62.2 percent, to 2,782.Honda sold 1,685 CR-Zs.Acura division was up 3.6 percent, to 12,611.TSX was off 11.9 percent, to 2,810, with 388 of those wagons.
5. Chrysler LLC: 121,730 up 31 percent.
First quarter: 286,950, up 23 percent.
Dodge brand was up 49 percent, to 44,102 and Jeep was up 36 percent, to 33,155.Chrysler sold 6,750 200s, versus 3,783 Sebrings last year (and 975 leftover Sebrings this March).Jeep Patriot was up 109 percent, to 5,602 and Compass was up 108 percent, to 3,703.The new Dodge Charger posted 8,986, up 44 percent, while Avenger was up 92 percent, to 5,954.Ram pickup was up 23 percent, to 21,898. Dakota was up 45 percent, to 1,612.Is this a joke? Fiat sold 500 500s.
6. Nissan North America (with Infiniti): 121,141, up 26.9 percent.
First quarter: 285,358, up 25 percent.
Nissan says this is a U.S. sales record for any month in its history. Despite that, it fell 589 units short of Chrysler.Altima outsold Camry at 32,289, up 31 percent.Sentra was up 104.7 percent, to 17,851 and Versa was off 19.8 percent, to 11,075.Titan was off 21.8 percent, to 1,920, and Frontier was up 12.7 percent, to 4,609.Murano was up 3.5 percent, to 5,682. Nissan sold 4,089 Jukes.Infiniti was up 13.5 percent, to 11,287.
7. Hyundai: 61,873, up 32 percent.
First quarter: 142,620, up 27.9 percent.
Add Kia sales for a total of 106,052, still seventh.Sold 22,894 Sonatas, up 20.9 percent.Good month for the new Elantra at 19,255, up 134 percent.Hyundai says 28 percent of its March sales units are rated 40 mpg highway, or higher.
8. Kia: 44,179, up 44.7 percent.
First quarter: 104,774, up 36.6 percent.
Bestseller Sorento was up 1,866 units, to 11,071.Soul nearly doubled, to 10,028.Optima was up 89.7 percent, to 6,891.
9. Mazda: 30,905, up 33.3 percent.
First quarter: 64,559, up 15.4 percent.
Passed Subaru, VW, BMW Group and Daimler since last calendar year’s numbers, with all models posting increases except the lame-duck Tribute (they still make -that?).The 5 minivan was up 139.4 percent, to 3,866.The 6 was up 15.3 percent, to 4,135.3 is the bestseller, at 12,467, up 9.8 percent.CX-9 was up 22.5 percent, to 3,635.CX-7 was up 30.7 percent, to 3,407.Spring is here: Miata was up 7 percent, to 645.
10. Volkswagen of America: 27,176, up 22.7 percent.
First quarter: 67,039, up 15.0 percent.
Best sales month in seven years, enough to move it ahead of Subaru and BMW Group.Add in Audi for a total of 36,944.Jetta was up 84.5 percent, to 16,969. Maybe there’s something to selling on price after all.CC was up 16.9 percent, to 2,331.Tiguan was up 12.5 percent, to 1,970.Golf was up 5.8 percent, to 3,106.
11. Subaru: 26,916, up 13.2 percent.
First quarter: 67,457, up 17.3 percent.
Slid behind Mazda and VW, but passed BMW Group.Outback was up 37.8 percent, to 10,498.Forester fell 9.9 percent, to 7,629.Legacy was up 27.6 percent, to 4,450.
12. BMW Group: 26,382, up 21.7 percent.
First quarter: 64,958, up 18 percent.
The new X3 posted 2,648 units, up 270 percent.5 Series was up 55.6 percent, to 4,491.Mini brand had its second-best sales month, ever in the U.S., at 6,087, up 68.6 percent. Its best month came the last time oil prices were rising; 6,312 units in May 2008.
13. Daimler AG: 22,971, up 11 percent.
First quarter: 57,262, up 10.2 percent.
Mercedes-Benz sold 21,484, up 9.4 percent.Smart sold 1,062, up 175.1 percent and Sprinter sold 425, off 37.2 percent.C-Class was up 8.9 percent, to 6,542.E-Class was up 21.1 percent, to 6,107.
14. Audi: 9,818, up 14.3 percent.
First quarter: 25,383, up 19.1 percent.
A4 was the bestseller, up 12.1 percent, to 3,428.R8 was the biggest gainer, up 103.8 percent, to 106.Q5 was up 22.5 percent, to 2,083.
15. Mitsubishi: 7,560, up 39 percent.
First quarter: 20,167, up 48 percent.
Outlander Sport was up 8.6 percent, to 1,401.
16. Volvo: 6,369, up 21.6 percent.
First-quarter sales are up 10.2 percent.Sold 1,952 S60s.
17. Jaguar/Land Rover: 4,315 up 16 percent.
Up 18 percent for the first quarter
Land Rover was up 26 percent, to 3,441.Jaguar was off 11 percent, to 874.
18. Porsche: 2,588, up 36 percent.
First quarter: 7,007, up 34 percent.
Cayenne sold 1,049, up from 397 in March ’10.Panamera sold 654, up from 542.911 was off, to 609 from 615. Boxster/Cayman fell to 276 from 351.
19. American Suzuki: 2,497, up 11 percent.
First quarter: 6,702, up 18 percent.
SX4 is the bestseller, off 14 percent to 1,070.Kizashi was up 77 percent, to 703.
Saab Cars North America: N/A
Compacts in March:
1.) Honda Civic: 31,213
2.) Toyota Corolla: 30,234
3.) Hyundai Elantra: 19,255
4.) Chevy Cruze: 18,018
5.) Nissan Sentra: 17,851
Midsize cars in March:
1.) Honda Accord: 33,616
2.) Nissan Altima: 32,289
3.) Toyota Camry: 31,464
4.) Ford Fusion: 27,566
View the original article here
No comments:
Post a Comment