Trends in the auto industry continue.
Toyota reported a 17 percent rise in its U.S. sales in August, while GM sales increased 3.9 percent from a year ago as the companies said buyers looked to more fuel-efficient offerings. But Ford’s sales dropped 11.6 percent and sales by Honda and DaimlerChrysler each fell 3.2 percent.
But as usual, some analysis is necessary.
Here are some numbers.
Toyota Motor Corp. said gas-conscious consumers made last month its best-ever August selling period in the United States. It sold 240,178 vehicles in August, up from 205,362 in the same month a year ago.
General Motors Corp. sold 156,723 passenger cars, up 3.9 percent from 150,900 the same month a year ago. And its truck sales rose 4 percent to 206,798 from 198,906.
Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, had sales of 179,165, down 4.2 percent from 187,085 vehicles last year. It sold 34,896 cars, down 15.1 percent to 41,100 from a year ago, and 144,269 trucks, down 1.2 percent from 145,985 in the same month in 2005.
Ford said it sold 253,976 cars and light trucks in August, down from 287,235 in August of last year, when the company set sales records by offering employee price discounts for everyone.
Honda Motor Co. reported record sales of its light trucks, a 14.8 percent increase to 69,385 from 60,451, but its car sales fell 14.5 percent to 81,868 from 95,722. Overall, including the Acura brand, Honda sold 151,253 vehicles for the month compared with 156,173 in August 2005.
Nissan North America Inc. said U.S. auto sales fell as declining sales of its trucks and Infiniti-branded vehicles offset car sales growth. Sales were down 2.7 percent to 89,848 units from 92,365 in August a year ago.
Mazda North American Operations Inc. said August U.S. sales rose modestly on the strength of its all-new CX-7 crossover. Mazda said total August U.S. sales rose 0.8 percent to 22,311 vehicles from 22,135 in the year-ago month.
But we need to make sure we're comparing apples to apples.
The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages that are adjusted for the number of sales days in a month.
The long and short of these numbers is that they are comparing this year's numbers to last years sales figures. Well, just about all the manufacturers were in the middle of the "employee pricing" wars. Sales were up markedly. Unfortunately, profits apparently weren't.
But there are some intriguing numbers.
Sales of the F-Series truck, America’s most popular vehicle, dropped 15 percent in August when compared with August of 2005, which the company said was a record month.
Ford sold 76,804 of the trucks, compared with 90,388 in August of last year. Still, August was the second-best sales month for the F-Series this year, the company said.
Plus...
Ford outsold Toyota in August after its U.S. sales trailed the Japanese automaker in July for the first month ever.
Toyota continues it's glabal march to become the world's largest auto manufacturer. At this point, there's nothing in these numbers to suggest that won't happen soon.
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