Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U.S. Auto Sales
After two back-to-back years of record car sales, automakers are officially flatlining. July’s 1.Four million in total sales was down seven percent from 2016, as most automakers fell brief of last year’s impetuous tempo. Now that we’re seven months into the year, the industry is on rhythm to reach 16.7 million sales by December 31, as compared to 17.8 million at this same time in 2016. After poring through data from WardsAuto.com and Automotive News, we’ve uncovered many dark catches sight of. But these are still big numbers that just five years ago would have seemed unlikely.
Winners and Losers
Last month, Subaru bucked all pessimism with a seven percent increase in year-over-year sales (55,703); Ford Motor Company was down eight percent (195,158). The only other brands to post monthly year-over-year gains were Acura, up four percent (14,177), Audi (Legal,824, three percent), Mitsubishi (8025 sales, two percent), Porsche (3901, up one percent), Lexus (28,902, up four percent), and Toyota (193,148, up seven percent). That excludes Alfa Romeo, which just introduced two fresh models (see below).
Losses mounted at Hyundai (54,063, down twenty eight percent including Genesis), General Motors (225,947, down fifteen percent), and Fiat Chrysler (160,223, down eleven percent). Even BMW (26,363, down fourteen percent, including Mini and excluding Rolls-Royce) and Daimler (28,857, down eleven percent, including Mercedes-Benz and Brainy) couldn’t equal their past totals. Tesla, tho’ it doesn’t release monthly sales, was down an estimated twenty four percent (3265). But totaling the year’s sales through July, six automakers are running ahead of 2016: Jaguar Land Rover (65,585, up fifteen percent), Mitsubishi (62,601, up five percent), Nissan (947,983, up two percent), Subaru (360,513, up nine percent), Tesla (23,631, up fourteen percent), and Volkswagen (341,513, up six percent, including Audi and Porsche).
RAV4 and Rogue: Coming for that #1 Spot
Leave behind about Camry and Accord. In 2017, the battle for the best-selling non-pickup in the United States is being fought by the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Rogue. The Nissan has maintained its lead through July, but Toyota managed to stir a whopping 41,804 RAV4s this past month (Nissan sold 32,425 Rogues), narrowing that lead to just around two thousand units. Nissan does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of the smaller Rogue Sport crossover, the sales of which are counted under the larger Rogue umbrella. Nissan denies to break out sales of the two models, but a company spokesman said that sales of the Rogue Sport, which very first hit dealerships in June, are just now ramping up, and it won’t be fully stocked until about September. That might be just enough to help Nissan stick it to Toyota by year’s end.
No matter what happens in this fight, it seems a sure bet at this point that the Toyota Camry’s long-running streak at number one is coming to a close, given that it lags behind both those crossovers by more than 15,000 units for the year to date. Both the RAV4 and the Rogue also seem poised to knock the Honda CR-V off its top-selling-SUV podium, as Honda has only managed to budge 219,017 units through July to the Rogue’s 228,114 and the RAV4’s 226,570.
Inventories Align with Request, But Not These Cars
Sedan sales proceed to slide as customers drive off with similar-size SUVs and crossovers. As a entire, car sales are down fifteen percent through July, while light trucks (which includes crossovers, pickups, and commercial vans) slipped only two percent. Automakers have reacted by curbing production and trimming inventory, so despite the Ford Fusion’s twenty nine percent decline through July, most dealers aren’t suffering a glut of cars on their lots. Through July 1, the Fusion’s estimated days’ supply (calculated by dividing inventory by the average daily sales rate) is seventy seven days. The Honda Accord, at sixty five days’ supply, sells much swifter (Honda dealers stock about 70,000 cars versus Ford’s 54,000 cars). Subaru carries as many cars as Buick (harshly 100,000), albeit they sell almost three times swifter.
How slow is slow? With most cars under one hundred days’ supply, the Buick LaCrosse and Regal register at one hundred seventy one and two hundred thirteen days, respectively. The Lincoln Continental has five thousand five hundred cars across the country, which is a 147-day supply. The Acura RLX (351), Fiat 500L (188), and Chevrolet Impala (182) also are crowding dealers’ lots. Chevy dealers should let you steal a Spark. They’ve got a whopping 26,473-day supply with 11,200 cars on the lot (just seven hundred sixty four Spark hatches sold in July, an eighty two percent decline). If you’re shopping for any of these cars, negotiate the hell out of them.
Here Come the Cash Incentives
As automakers begin clearing space for two thousand eighteen models, they’re helping dealers stir the two thousand seventeen models. In some cases, the deals through July thirty one were lavish. Hyundai slashed thousands from almost every model, with up to $6000 cash back on the two thousand seventeen Sonata, $3750 for the Santa Fe Sport, and $2000 for the Tucson. There were still two thousand sixteen Azera sedans on the lot, with offers of up to $4500 off. Fiat Chrysler and Ford piled on cash rebates, with up to $4000 off a two thousand seventeen Cherokee and $4150 off the two thousand seventeen Fusion. The Expedition carried a maximum $8000 rebate. General Motors was less generous, restricting most rebates to $2000 or lower. Available $1500 rebates off the top-selling Lexus RX and the popular IS helped Lexus scrape out a four percent increase in year-over-year sales (GS F and RC F buyers landed $4000). Camry buyers received up to $3500. There were no rebates at Honda, which has a stringent policy against them. Instead, it suggested lower financing rates (which in July were as low as 0.9 percent on the Accord). BMW rained down as much as $3000 on the two thousand seventeen 3-series, X5, and X6.
Your friend who bought the two thousand seventeen Rolls-Royce Ghost scored a $15,000 discount. But he still should have bought a BMW 7-series.
Alfa Romeo: A Minuscule Starlet Shining through FCA’s Cloudy Skies
Almost all of FCA’s brands were down or, in the case of Ram, vapid in July, leading to an overall ten percent decline compared to July of last year. The only brand to increase sales was Alfa Romeo, the fresh Italian luxury upstart that’s eventually kicking off to sell the Giulia sedan in more significant numbers. After selling just forty three units of the 4C exotic sports car last July, Alfa Romeo shot up to one thousand two hundred twenty five units sold this past month, marking a two thousand seven hundred forty nine percent increase. Despite that eye-popping number, Alfa Romeo is contributing a minuscule amount to the company’s overall sales, with its four thousand nine hundred forty four units sold so far in two thousand seventeen making up 0.Four percent of FCA’s total.
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U.S. Auto Sales
After two back-to-back years of record car sales, automakers are officially flatlining. July’s 1.Four million in total sales was down seven percent from 2016, as most automakers fell brief of last year’s impetuous tempo. Now that we’re seven months into the year, the industry is on tempo to reach 16.7 million sales by December 31, as compared to 17.8 million at this same time in 2016. After poring through data from WardsAuto.com and Automotive News, we’ve uncovered many dark catches sight of. But these are still big numbers that just five years ago would have seemed unlikely.
Winners and Losers
Last month, Subaru bucked all pessimism with a seven percent increase in year-over-year sales (55,703); Ford Motor Company was down eight percent (195,158). The only other brands to post monthly year-over-year gains were Acura, up four percent (14,177), Audi (Legitimate,824, three percent), Mitsubishi (8025 sales, two percent), Porsche (3901, up one percent), Lexus (28,902, up four percent), and Toyota (193,148, up seven percent). That excludes Alfa Romeo, which just introduced two fresh models (see below).
Losses mounted at Hyundai (54,063, down twenty eight percent including Genesis), General Motors (225,947, down fifteen percent), and Fiat Chrysler (160,223, down eleven percent). Even BMW (26,363, down fourteen percent, including Mini and excluding Rolls-Royce) and Daimler (28,857, down eleven percent, including Mercedes-Benz and Clever) couldn’t equal their past totals. Tesla, however it doesn’t release monthly sales, was down an estimated twenty four percent (3265). But totaling the year’s sales through July, six automakers are running ahead of 2016: Jaguar Land Rover (65,585, up fifteen percent), Mitsubishi (62,601, up five percent), Nissan (947,983, up two percent), Subaru (360,513, up nine percent), Tesla (23,631, up fourteen percent), and Volkswagen (341,513, up six percent, including Audi and Porsche).
RAV4 and Rogue: Coming for that #1 Spot
Leave behind about Camry and Accord. In 2017, the battle for the best-selling non-pickup in the United States is being fought by the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Rogue. The Nissan has maintained its lead through July, but Toyota managed to budge a whopping 41,804 RAV4s this past month (Nissan sold 32,425 Rogues), narrowing that lead to just around two thousand units. Nissan does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of the smaller Rogue Sport crossover, the sales of which are counted under the larger Rogue umbrella. Nissan turns down to break out sales of the two models, but a company spokesman said that sales of the Rogue Sport, which very first hit dealerships in June, are just now ramping up, and it won’t be fully stocked until about September. That might be just enough to help Nissan stick it to Toyota by year’s end.
No matter what happens in this fight, it seems a sure bet at this point that the Toyota Camry’s long-running streak at number one is coming to a close, given that it lags behind both those crossovers by more than 15,000 units for the year to date. Both the RAV4 and the Rogue also seem poised to knock the Honda CR-V off its top-selling-SUV podium, as Honda has only managed to stir 219,017 units through July to the Rogue’s 228,114 and the RAV4’s 226,570.
Inventories Align with Request, But Not These Cars
Sedan sales proceed to slide as customers drive off with similar-size SUVs and crossovers. As a entire, car sales are down fifteen percent through July, while light trucks (which includes crossovers, pickups, and commercial vans) slipped only two percent. Automakers have reacted by curbing production and trimming inventory, so despite the Ford Fusion’s twenty nine percent decline through July, most dealers aren’t suffering a glut of cars on their lots. Through July 1, the Fusion’s estimated days’ supply (calculated by dividing inventory by the average daily sales rate) is seventy seven days. The Honda Accord, at sixty five days’ supply, sells much quicker (Honda dealers stock about 70,000 cars versus Ford’s 54,000 cars). Subaru carries as many cars as Buick (harshly 100,000), albeit they sell almost three times swifter.
How slow is slow? With most cars under one hundred days’ supply, the Buick LaCrosse and Regal register at one hundred seventy one and two hundred thirteen days, respectively. The Lincoln Continental has five thousand five hundred cars across the country, which is a 147-day supply. The Acura RLX (351), Fiat 500L (188), and Chevrolet Impala (182) also are crowding dealers’ lots. Chevy dealers should let you steal a Spark. They’ve got a whopping 26,473-day supply with 11,200 cars on the lot (just seven hundred sixty four Spark hatches sold in July, an eighty two percent decline). If you’re shopping for any of these cars, negotiate the hell out of them.
Here Come the Cash Incentives
As automakers commence clearing space for two thousand eighteen models, they’re helping dealers stir the two thousand seventeen models. In some cases, the deals through July thirty one were lavish. Hyundai slashed thousands from almost every model, with up to $6000 cash back on the two thousand seventeen Sonata, $3750 for the Santa Fe Sport, and $2000 for the Tucson. There were still two thousand sixteen Azera sedans on the lot, with offers of up to $4500 off. Fiat Chrysler and Ford piled on cash rebates, with up to $4000 off a two thousand seventeen Cherokee and $4150 off the two thousand seventeen Fusion. The Expedition carried a maximum $8000 rebate. General Motors was less generous, restricting most rebates to $2000 or lower. Available $1500 rebates off the top-selling Lexus RX and the popular IS helped Lexus scrape out a four percent increase in year-over-year sales (GS F and RC F buyers landed $4000). Camry buyers received up to $3500. There were no rebates at Honda, which has a stringent policy against them. Instead, it suggested lower financing rates (which in July were as low as 0.9 percent on the Accord). BMW rained down as much as $3000 on the two thousand seventeen 3-series, X5, and X6.
Your mate who bought the two thousand seventeen Rolls-Royce Ghost scored a $15,000 discount. But he still should have bought a BMW 7-series.
Alfa Romeo: A Minuscule Starlet Shining through FCA’s Cloudy Skies
Almost all of FCA’s brands were down or, in the case of Ram, plane in July, leading to an overall ten percent decline compared to July of last year. The only brand to increase sales was Alfa Romeo, the fresh Italian luxury upstart that’s ultimately kicking off to sell the Giulia sedan in more significant numbers. After selling just forty three units of the 4C exotic sports car last July, Alfa Romeo shot up to one thousand two hundred twenty five units sold this past month, marking a two thousand seven hundred forty nine percent increase. Despite that eye-popping number, Alfa Romeo is contributing a minuscule amount to the company’s overall sales, with its four thousand nine hundred forty four units sold so far in two thousand seventeen making up 0.Four percent of FCA’s total.
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U.S. Auto Sales
After two back-to-back years of record car sales, automakers are officially flatlining. July’s 1.Four million in total sales was down seven percent from 2016, as most automakers fell brief of last year’s sweeping tempo. Now that we’re seven months into the year, the industry is on tempo to reach 16.7 million sales by December 31, as compared to 17.8 million at this same time in 2016. After poring through data from WardsAuto.com and Automotive News, we’ve uncovered many dark catches sight of. But these are still big numbers that just five years ago would have seemed unlikely.
Winners and Losers
Last month, Subaru bucked all pessimism with a seven percent increase in year-over-year sales (55,703); Ford Motor Company was down eight percent (195,158). The only other brands to post monthly year-over-year gains were Acura, up four percent (14,177), Audi (Eighteen,824, three percent), Mitsubishi (8025 sales, two percent), Porsche (3901, up one percent), Lexus (28,902, up four percent), and Toyota (193,148, up seven percent). That excludes Alfa Romeo, which just introduced two fresh models (see below).
Losses mounted at Hyundai (54,063, down twenty eight percent including Genesis), General Motors (225,947, down fifteen percent), and Fiat Chrysler (160,223, down eleven percent). Even BMW (26,363, down fourteen percent, including Mini and excluding Rolls-Royce) and Daimler (28,857, down eleven percent, including Mercedes-Benz and Wise) couldn’t equal their past totals. Tesla, however it doesn’t release monthly sales, was down an estimated twenty four percent (3265). But totaling the year’s sales through July, six automakers are running ahead of 2016: Jaguar Land Rover (65,585, up fifteen percent), Mitsubishi (62,601, up five percent), Nissan (947,983, up two percent), Subaru (360,513, up nine percent), Tesla (23,631, up fourteen percent), and Volkswagen (341,513, up six percent, including Audi and Porsche).
RAV4 and Rogue: Coming for that #1 Spot
Leave behind about Camry and Accord. In 2017, the battle for the best-selling non-pickup in the United States is being fought by the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Rogue. The Nissan has maintained its lead through July, but Toyota managed to stir a whopping 41,804 RAV4s this past month (Nissan sold 32,425 Rogues), narrowing that lead to just around two thousand units. Nissan does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of the smaller Rogue Sport crossover, the sales of which are counted under the larger Rogue umbrella. Nissan denies to break out sales of the two models, but a company spokesman said that sales of the Rogue Sport, which very first hit dealerships in June, are just now ramping up, and it won’t be fully stocked until about September. That might be just enough to help Nissan stick it to Toyota by year’s end.
No matter what happens in this fight, it seems a sure bet at this point that the Toyota Camry’s long-running streak at number one is coming to a close, given that it lags behind both those crossovers by more than 15,000 units for the year to date. Both the RAV4 and the Rogue also seem poised to knock the Honda CR-V off its top-selling-SUV podium, as Honda has only managed to stir 219,017 units through July to the Rogue’s 228,114 and the RAV4’s 226,570.
Inventories Align with Request, But Not These Cars
Sedan sales proceed to slide as customers drive off with similar-size SUVs and crossovers. As a entire, car sales are down fifteen percent through July, while light trucks (which includes crossovers, pickups, and commercial vans) slipped only two percent. Automakers have reacted by curbing production and trimming inventory, so despite the Ford Fusion’s twenty nine percent decline through July, most dealers aren’t suffering a glut of cars on their lots. Through July 1, the Fusion’s estimated days’ supply (calculated by dividing inventory by the average daily sales rate) is seventy seven days. The Honda Accord, at sixty five days’ supply, sells much quicker (Honda dealers stock about 70,000 cars versus Ford’s 54,000 cars). Subaru carries as many cars as Buick (toughly 100,000), albeit they sell almost three times quicker.
How slow is slow? With most cars under one hundred days’ supply, the Buick LaCrosse and Regal register at one hundred seventy one and two hundred thirteen days, respectively. The Lincoln Continental has five thousand five hundred cars across the country, which is a 147-day supply. The Acura RLX (351), Fiat 500L (188), and Chevrolet Impala (182) also are crowding dealers’ lots. Chevy dealers should let you steal a Spark. They’ve got a whopping 26,473-day supply with 11,200 cars on the lot (just seven hundred sixty four Spark hatches sold in July, an eighty two percent decline). If you’re shopping for any of these cars, negotiate the hell out of them.
Here Come the Cash Incentives
As automakers commence clearing space for two thousand eighteen models, they’re helping dealers stir the two thousand seventeen models. In some cases, the deals through July thirty one were lavish. Hyundai slashed thousands from almost every model, with up to $6000 cash back on the two thousand seventeen Sonata, $3750 for the Santa Fe Sport, and $2000 for the Tucson. There were still two thousand sixteen Azera sedans on the lot, with offers of up to $4500 off. Fiat Chrysler and Ford piled on cash rebates, with up to $4000 off a two thousand seventeen Cherokee and $4150 off the two thousand seventeen Fusion. The Expedition carried a maximum $8000 rebate. General Motors was less generous, restricting most rebates to $2000 or lower. Available $1500 rebates off the top-selling Lexus RX and the popular IS helped Lexus scrape out a four percent increase in year-over-year sales (GS F and RC F buyers landed $4000). Camry buyers received up to $3500. There were no rebates at Honda, which has a rigorous policy against them. Instead, it suggested lower financing rates (which in July were as low as 0.9 percent on the Accord). BMW rained down as much as $3000 on the two thousand seventeen 3-series, X5, and X6.
Your friend who bought the two thousand seventeen Rolls-Royce Ghost scored a $15,000 discount. But he still should have bought a BMW 7-series.
Alfa Romeo: A Minuscule Starlet Shining through FCA’s Cloudy Skies
Almost all of FCA’s brands were down or, in the case of Ram, vapid in July, leading to an overall ten percent decline compared to July of last year. The only brand to increase sales was Alfa Romeo, the fresh Italian luxury upstart that’s eventually embarking to sell the Giulia sedan in more significant numbers. After selling just forty three units of the 4C exotic sports car last July, Alfa Romeo shot up to one thousand two hundred twenty five units sold this past month, marking a two thousand seven hundred forty nine percent increase. Despite that eye-popping number, Alfa Romeo is contributing a minuscule amount to the company’s overall sales, with its four thousand nine hundred forty four units sold so far in two thousand seventeen making up 0.Four percent of FCA’s total.
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U.S. Auto Sales
After two back-to-back years of record car sales, automakers are officially flatlining. July’s 1.Four million in total sales was down seven percent from 2016, as most automakers fell brief of last year’s sweeping rhythm. Now that we’re seven months into the year, the industry is on tempo to reach 16.7 million sales by December 31, as compared to 17.8 million at this same time in 2016. After poring through data from WardsAuto.com and Automotive News, we’ve uncovered many dark catches sight of. But these are still big numbers that just five years ago would have seemed unlikely.
Winners and Losers
Last month, Subaru bucked all pessimism with a seven percent increase in year-over-year sales (55,703); Ford Motor Company was down eight percent (195,158). The only other brands to post monthly year-over-year gains were Acura, up four percent (14,177), Audi (Legitimate,824, three percent), Mitsubishi (8025 sales, two percent), Porsche (3901, up one percent), Lexus (28,902, up four percent), and Toyota (193,148, up seven percent). That excludes Alfa Romeo, which just introduced two fresh models (see below).
Losses mounted at Hyundai (54,063, down twenty eight percent including Genesis), General Motors (225,947, down fifteen percent), and Fiat Chrysler (160,223, down eleven percent). Even BMW (26,363, down fourteen percent, including Mini and excluding Rolls-Royce) and Daimler (28,857, down eleven percent, including Mercedes-Benz and Wise) couldn’t equal their past totals. Tesla, tho’ it doesn’t release monthly sales, was down an estimated twenty four percent (3265). But totaling the year’s sales through July, six automakers are running ahead of 2016: Jaguar Land Rover (65,585, up fifteen percent), Mitsubishi (62,601, up five percent), Nissan (947,983, up two percent), Subaru (360,513, up nine percent), Tesla (23,631, up fourteen percent), and Volkswagen (341,513, up six percent, including Audi and Porsche).
RAV4 and Rogue: Coming for that #1 Spot
Leave behind about Camry and Accord. In 2017, the battle for the best-selling non-pickup in the United States is being fought by the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Rogue. The Nissan has maintained its lead through July, but Toyota managed to budge a whopping 41,804 RAV4s this past month (Nissan sold 32,425 Rogues), narrowing that lead to just around two thousand units. Nissan does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of the smaller Rogue Sport crossover, the sales of which are counted under the larger Rogue umbrella. Nissan turns down to break out sales of the two models, but a company spokesman said that sales of the Rogue Sport, which very first hit dealerships in June, are just now ramping up, and it won’t be fully stocked until about September. That might be just enough to help Nissan stick it to Toyota by year’s end.
No matter what happens in this fight, it seems a sure bet at this point that the Toyota Camry’s long-running streak at number one is coming to a close, given that it lags behind both those crossovers by more than 15,000 units for the year to date. Both the RAV4 and the Rogue also seem poised to knock the Honda CR-V off its top-selling-SUV podium, as Honda has only managed to stir 219,017 units through July to the Rogue’s 228,114 and the RAV4’s 226,570.
Inventories Align with Request, But Not These Cars
Sedan sales proceed to slide as customers drive off with similar-size SUVs and crossovers. As a entire, car sales are down fifteen percent through July, while light trucks (which includes crossovers, pickups, and commercial vans) slipped only two percent. Automakers have reacted by curbing production and trimming inventory, so despite the Ford Fusion’s twenty nine percent decline through July, most dealers aren’t suffering a glut of cars on their lots. Through July 1, the Fusion’s estimated days’ supply (calculated by dividing inventory by the average daily sales rate) is seventy seven days. The Honda Accord, at sixty five days’ supply, sells much quicker (Honda dealers stock about 70,000 cars versus Ford’s 54,000 cars). Subaru carries as many cars as Buick (harshly 100,000), albeit they sell almost three times swifter.
How slow is slow? With most cars under one hundred days’ supply, the Buick LaCrosse and Regal register at one hundred seventy one and two hundred thirteen days, respectively. The Lincoln Continental has five thousand five hundred cars across the country, which is a 147-day supply. The Acura RLX (351), Fiat 500L (188), and Chevrolet Impala (182) also are crowding dealers’ lots. Chevy dealers should let you steal a Spark. They’ve got a whopping 26,473-day supply with 11,200 cars on the lot (just seven hundred sixty four Spark hatches sold in July, an eighty two percent decline). If you’re shopping for any of these cars, negotiate the hell out of them.
Here Come the Cash Incentives
As automakers begin clearing space for two thousand eighteen models, they’re helping dealers budge the two thousand seventeen models. In some cases, the deals through July thirty one were lavish. Hyundai slashed thousands from almost every model, with up to $6000 cash back on the two thousand seventeen Sonata, $3750 for the Santa Fe Sport, and $2000 for the Tucson. There were still two thousand sixteen Azera sedans on the lot, with offers of up to $4500 off. Fiat Chrysler and Ford piled on cash rebates, with up to $4000 off a two thousand seventeen Cherokee and $4150 off the two thousand seventeen Fusion. The Expedition carried a maximum $8000 rebate. General Motors was less generous, restricting most rebates to $2000 or lower. Available $1500 rebates off the top-selling Lexus RX and the popular IS helped Lexus scrape out a four percent increase in year-over-year sales (GS F and RC F buyers landed $4000). Camry buyers received up to $3500. There were no rebates at Honda, which has a rigorous policy against them. Instead, it suggested lower financing rates (which in July were as low as 0.9 percent on the Accord). BMW rained down as much as $3000 on the two thousand seventeen 3-series, X5, and X6.
Your friend who bought the two thousand seventeen Rolls-Royce Ghost scored a $15,000 discount. But he still should have bought a BMW 7-series.
Alfa Romeo: A Minuscule Starlet Shining through FCA’s Cloudy Skies
Almost all of FCA’s brands were down or, in the case of Ram, plane in July, leading to an overall ten percent decline compared to July of last year. The only brand to increase sales was Alfa Romeo, the fresh Italian luxury upstart that’s ultimately embarking to sell the Giulia sedan in more significant numbers. After selling just forty three units of the 4C exotic sports car last July, Alfa Romeo shot up to one thousand two hundred twenty five units sold this past month, marking a two thousand seven hundred forty nine percent increase. Despite that eye-popping number, Alfa Romeo is contributing a minuscule amount to the company’s overall sales, with its four thousand nine hundred forty four units sold so far in two thousand seventeen making up 0.Four percent of FCA’s total.
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U
Down Times: Takeaways from July two thousand seventeen U.S. Auto Sales
After two back-to-back years of record car sales, automakers are officially flatlining. July’s 1.Four million in total sales was down seven percent from 2016, as most automakers fell brief of last year’s impetuous rhythm. Now that we’re seven months into the year, the industry is on tempo to reach 16.7 million sales by December 31, as compared to 17.8 million at this same time in 2016. After poring through data from WardsAuto.com and Automotive News, we’ve uncovered many dark catches sight of. But these are still big numbers that just five years ago would have seemed unlikely.
Winners and Losers
Last month, Subaru bucked all pessimism with a seven percent increase in year-over-year sales (55,703); Ford Motor Company was down eight percent (195,158). The only other brands to post monthly year-over-year gains were Acura, up four percent (14,177), Audi (Legitimate,824, three percent), Mitsubishi (8025 sales, two percent), Porsche (3901, up one percent), Lexus (28,902, up four percent), and Toyota (193,148, up seven percent). That excludes Alfa Romeo, which just introduced two fresh models (see below).
Losses mounted at Hyundai (54,063, down twenty eight percent including Genesis), General Motors (225,947, down fifteen percent), and Fiat Chrysler (160,223, down eleven percent). Even BMW (26,363, down fourteen percent, including Mini and excluding Rolls-Royce) and Daimler (28,857, down eleven percent, including Mercedes-Benz and Brainy) couldn’t equal their past totals. Tesla, tho’ it doesn’t release monthly sales, was down an estimated twenty four percent (3265). But totaling the year’s sales through July, six automakers are running ahead of 2016: Jaguar Land Rover (65,585, up fifteen percent), Mitsubishi (62,601, up five percent), Nissan (947,983, up two percent), Subaru (360,513, up nine percent), Tesla (23,631, up fourteen percent), and Volkswagen (341,513, up six percent, including Audi and Porsche).
RAV4 and Rogue: Coming for that #1 Spot
Leave behind about Camry and Accord. In 2017, the battle for the best-selling non-pickup in the United States is being fought by the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Rogue. The Nissan has maintained its lead through July, but Toyota managed to stir a whopping 41,804 RAV4s this past month (Nissan sold 32,425 Rogues), narrowing that lead to just around two thousand units. Nissan does have an ace up its sleeve in the form of the smaller Rogue Sport crossover, the sales of which are counted under the larger Rogue umbrella. Nissan denies to break out sales of the two models, but a company spokesman said that sales of the Rogue Sport, which very first hit dealerships in June, are just now ramping up, and it won’t be fully stocked until about September. That might be just enough to help Nissan stick it to Toyota by year’s end.
No matter what happens in this fight, it seems a sure bet at this point that the Toyota Camry’s long-running streak at number one is coming to a close, given that it lags behind both those crossovers by more than 15,000 units for the year to date. Both the RAV4 and the Rogue also seem poised to knock the Honda CR-V off its top-selling-SUV podium, as Honda has only managed to budge 219,017 units through July to the Rogue’s 228,114 and the RAV4’s 226,570.
Inventories Align with Request, But Not These Cars
Sedan sales proceed to slide as customers drive off with similar-size SUVs and crossovers. As a entire, car sales are down fifteen percent through July, while light trucks (which includes crossovers, pickups, and commercial vans) slipped only two percent. Automakers have reacted by curbing production and trimming inventory, so despite the Ford Fusion’s twenty nine percent decline through July, most dealers aren’t suffering a glut of cars on their lots. Through July 1, the Fusion’s estimated days’ supply (calculated by dividing inventory by the average daily sales rate) is seventy seven days. The Honda Accord, at sixty five days’ supply, sells much swifter (Honda dealers stock about 70,000 cars versus Ford’s 54,000 cars). Subaru carries as many cars as Buick (harshly 100,000), albeit they sell almost three times quicker.
How slow is slow? With most cars under one hundred days’ supply, the Buick LaCrosse and Regal register at one hundred seventy one and two hundred thirteen days, respectively. The Lincoln Continental has five thousand five hundred cars across the country, which is a 147-day supply. The Acura RLX (351), Fiat 500L (188), and Chevrolet Impala (182) also are crowding dealers’ lots. Chevy dealers should let you steal a Spark. They’ve got a whopping 26,473-day supply with 11,200 cars on the lot (just seven hundred sixty four Spark hatches sold in July, an eighty two percent decline). If you’re shopping for any of these cars, negotiate the hell out of them.
Here Come the Cash Incentives
As automakers embark clearing space for two thousand eighteen models, they’re helping dealers stir the two thousand seventeen models. In some cases, the deals through July thirty one were lavish. Hyundai slashed thousands from almost every model, with up to $6000 cash back on the two thousand seventeen Sonata, $3750 for the Santa Fe Sport, and $2000 for the Tucson. There were still two thousand sixteen Azera sedans on the lot, with offers of up to $4500 off. Fiat Chrysler and Ford piled on cash rebates, with up to $4000 off a two thousand seventeen Cherokee and $4150 off the two thousand seventeen Fusion. The Expedition carried a maximum $8000 rebate. General Motors was less generous, restricting most rebates to $2000 or lower. Available $1500 rebates off the top-selling Lexus RX and the popular IS helped Lexus scrape out a four percent increase in year-over-year sales (GS F and RC F buyers landed $4000). Camry buyers received up to $3500. There were no rebates at Honda, which has a stringent policy against them. Instead, it suggested lower financing rates (which in July were as low as 0.9 percent on the Accord). BMW rained down as much as $3000 on the two thousand seventeen 3-series, X5, and X6.
Your mate who bought the two thousand seventeen Rolls-Royce Ghost scored a $15,000 discount. But he still should have bought a BMW 7-series.
Alfa Romeo: A Minuscule Starlet Shining through FCA’s Cloudy Skies
Almost all of FCA’s brands were down or, in the case of Ram, plane in July, leading to an overall ten percent decline compared to July of last year. The only brand to increase sales was Alfa Romeo, the fresh Italian luxury upstart that’s ultimately beginning to sell the Giulia sedan in more significant numbers. After selling just forty three units of the 4C exotic sports car last July, Alfa Romeo shot up to one thousand two hundred twenty five units sold this past month, marking a two thousand seven hundred forty nine percent increase. Despite that eye-popping number, Alfa Romeo is contributing a minuscule amount to the company’s overall sales, with its four thousand nine hundred forty four units sold so far in two thousand seventeen making up 0.Four percent of FCA’s total.