International Auto Brands March 2007 Sales Springboard to April and Beyond
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Special to The Auto Channel
By AIADA
Staff
March turned out to be an above average month
for auto sales in the
Toyota Motor Sales USA once again led the way
for International brand automakers, grabbing 15.7 percent of the market
– just shy of No. 2 Ford Motor Company at 16 percent of the market.
Toyota brands, up 11.7 percent as a group in March, were followed by No. 4
DaimlerChrysler Corp., with 13.4 percent of the market; No. 5 American
Honda Motor Co., up 11.3 percent as a group for 9.3 percent of the market;
and No. 6 Nissan North America, whose sales rose 7.8 percent for the month
for 7.2 percent of the market.
Following is a breakdown of
March 2007 monthly sales by International nameplate:
Toyota Division sales rose 12.7 percent last
month for a total of 213,820 units.
Toyota Division light truck sales rose 6.7
percent in March, an all-time best-ever month of 91,939 units sold.
Lexus Up 4.6
Percent
Lexus sales for the month of March rose 4.6
percent for a total of 28,855 units. Year-to-date sales for the luxury
brand are up 7.5 percent, or 73,491 units sold.
Lexus passenger cars reported best-ever March
sales of 18,128 units, up 26.7 percent over March 2006. The ES 350 luxury
sedan led the way with 7,444 units sold, up 75.9 percent. IS 250/300/350
sales reached 5,077 units. The all-new LS 460 hit 3,134 units sold, an
increase of 133.7 percent. Lexus RX 350 sales in March totaled 7,132 units.
The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle reported sales of 1,471 units for
the month.
Scion
Down
Scion posted March sales of 10,978 units. The tC
sports coupe was the volume leader for the niche brand, with March sales of
6,314 units. Scion xB sales reached 2,799 units for the month. xA sales
were down 33.9 percent for a total of 1,865 units.
Honda "Best-Ever"
March
Honda Division posted its best-ever March with
sales of 126,406 units, up 9.5 percent over March 2006. Accord sales rose
18.8 percent to 36,506 units. CR-V sales of 19,658 rose 49.2 percent,
helping the division post record March sales of 55,550 trucks, up 2.8
percent over March 2006. The Pilot also posted record March sales of
14,339, up 6.6 percent. Honda sold a total of 3,199 hybrid vehicles,
including 2,813 Civic Hybrids and 385 Accord hybrids, a combined increase
of 6.7 percent over the same month last year.
Acura Strong
The Acura Division posted strong March sales of
16,986, with record light truck sales of 7,209 units thanks to sales of the
MDX and RDX SUVs. The redesigned 2007 Acura MDX luxury SUV was the
top-selling Acura light truck in March with 4,785 units sold, surpassing
the 4,682 tally of a year ago. Meanwhile, the turbocharged RDX
entry-premium SUV posted total sales of 2,424 units, making March its
second-best month since it was introduced in June, 2006. The TL luxury
performance sedan was Acura’s best-selling model with March sales of
5,769, while the TSX posted near-record sales of
3,232.
Nissan Up 6.6
Percent
Nissan Division sales rose 6.6 percent over last
March for a total of 97,242 units. Year-to-date sales at the Nissan
division reached 246,436, an increase of 5.3 percent. The Altima sedan
continued to be a best-seller for the brand, up 13.7 percent on the sale of
27,521 units. Murano SUV sales were second in terms of volume, up 34.5
percent for the month for a total of 11,822 units sold. Sales of the new
Versa subcompact reached 6,573 units. Other noteworthy gains were made by
the Armada SUV (up 15.9 percent) and the Quest minivan (up 21.1
percent).
Infiniti Up
16.8
Infiniti Division sales rose 16.8 percent in
March on the sale of 13,877 units. Car sales for the unit rose 26 percent
to reach 10,762 units sold for the month. The G35 sedan and coupe reached
combined sales of 7,992 units for the month. Sales
of the M35/M45 reached 2,768 units, up 5.3 percent for the month. FX 35/45
SUV sales rose a subtle 1.0 percent for a total of 2,179 units
sold.
Mazda Up 47.9
Percent
Mazda’s
Mazda’s
Subaru Car Sales Up 1.7 Percent
Subaru’s March sales dropped 5.4 percent
last month for a total of 18,027 units. Car sales were up 1.7 percent for a
total of 10,976 units. Sales of the Impreza model increased 21 percent over
March 2006 for a total of 3,817 units sold. Subaru Legacy sales hit 7,159
units.
On the light truck side, Subaru Forester
recorded 5,306 units in March. Outback sales reached 4,955 units. Subaru B9
Tribeca, whose new nose was unveiled during media days of the recent New
York Auto Show, reached 1,517 units sold for the
month.
Suzuki Up 1.3
Percent
Suzuki sales reached 11,030 units in March, up
1.3 percent. Light truck sales for the brand rose 28.6 percent thanks to
healthy sales of the XL7 and SX4, which reached 2,213 units and 1,450
units, respectively. Reno/Forenza sales remain relatively flat at 5,048
units sold.
Mitsubishi Up 22
Percent… Again!
One thing you can say about Mitsubishi’s
Eclipse continued to be the brand’s volume
leader at 2,613 units sold, up 5.1 percent from last March. Marking the
best month for outlander in over three years, sales came in at 2,364 units
up 20.9 percent from last month’s volume and up 146.3 percent from
volume in 2006. Lancer sales for the month were rose 40.2 percent to 1,895
units.
Eclipse Spyder sales were 1,302, an increase of
283 percent compared to last March. Endeavor sales rose 7.3 percent to
1,384 units sold.
Isuzu
Down
Isuzu’s
March “Best-Ever”
for Hyundai
Hyundai reported its best March ever with sales
of 41,984 units, up 0.5 percent over last March. Of note, Hyundai’s
light truck sales rose an incredible 64.9 percent last month for a total of
13,988 units. The Hyundai Santa Fe led all models in this category with
8,470 units, an increase of 108.7 percent over last March. For the year,
Kia Record
Q1
Kia reached a record for the first quarter of
2007 in the
The Spectra compact sedan and five-door led in
volume in March with 5,675 units, up 23.3 percent over March 2006. Optima
sales rose from 3,958 units last March to 4,318 units in March 2007. Sales
of the Sportage also rose from 3,412 units in March 2006 to 4,304 units
last month. The launch of the all-new Rondo also proved quite successful
with sales of 1,514 units.
Volkswagen Down 16.3
Percent
Volkswagen’s March 2007 sales declined
16.3 percent for a total of 17,355 units. Year-to-date sales of VW’s
in
Audi Continues Its
Roll
Audi’s
Audi’s A4/S4 models were the volume
leader, with sales last month totaling 3,783 units. A4 sedan sales hit
2,304 units. Sales of the popular Audi Q7 SUV reached 2,075
units.
BMW Up 3.4
Percent
March sales for BMW brand autos rose 3.4 percent
for a total of 25,325 units in March. Year-to-date sales of BMW brand
vehicles were up 6.7 percent, on the sale of 67,360
units.
Car sales for the brand were down 1.2 percent
for the month to 18,746 units, but up 3.5 percent for the quarter. The BMW
3 Series sedan led the pack with sales totaling 7,195 units in March. The 5
Series sedan came in second with 4,207 units sold. March sales of BMW SUVs
were up 18.9 percent for the month to 6,579 units, and up 19.1 percent for
the first three months of 2006. The BMW Z4 was the volume leader, up 11.6
percent on the sale of 11,259 units.
MINI
Down
MINI USA reported March sales of 3,655 units,
down 5.1 percent from the 3,851 cars sold in March 2006. Year-to-date,
MINI’s sales have declined 14.9 percent for a total of 8,073
units.
Mercedes Remains
Flat
Mercedes-Benz
Porsche Up 2.9 Percent
Led by
911/Carrera, Porsche sales rose 2.9 percent in March for a total of 3,278
units. 911/Carrera sales reached 1,054 units for the month, down 6.5
percent from last March. Cayman sales rose 6.8 percent for a total of 598
units sold.
Jaguar
Down
Jaguar sales dropped 10.7 percent last month for
a total of 1,667 units. XK Series sales were up 145.6 percent to be the
volume leader at 506 units sold. S Type sales registered at 479
units.
Volvo Down 4.4
Percent
Volvo sales in the
The XC90 SUV was the volume leader for the brand
in March with sales totaling 3,197 units. C70 Coupe/Hardtop Convertible
sales started to spike last month for a total of 368 units. Volvo S40 sales
rose from 2,101 units in February to 2,508 units, but were slightly down
year-over-year.
Land Rover Down
Land Rover sales continued their decline in
March, down 11.8 percent on the sale of 3,663 units. Range Rover Sport was
the volume leader for the brand with 1,356 units sold. Ranger Rover/HSE
sales rose 17 percent for a total of 1,159 units.
The chart below details sales
for International brands in March 2007 (Numbers presented are based on
unadjusted data for March 2007):
|
Brand |
March 2007 |
March 2006 |
%Chng |
2007
CYTD |
2006
CYTD |
%Chng |
|
Acura |
16,986
|
17,524
|
-3.1% |
43,661
|
45,651
|
-4.4% |
|
Audi |
8,020
|
6,994
|
14.7% |
21,028
|
17,884
|
17.6% |
|
Bentley |
449
|
360
|
24.7% |
1,085
|
842
|
28.9% |
|
BMW |
25,325
|
24,501
|
3.4% |
67,360
|
63,103
|
6.7% |
|
Ferrari
|
149
|
116
|
28.4% |
400
|
341
|
17.3% |
|
Honda
|
126,406
|
111,282
|
13.6% |
310,547
|
288,193
|
7.8% |
|
Hyundai
|
41,984
|
41,766
|
0.5% |
104,205
|
105,988
|
-1.7% |
|
Infiniti
|
13,877
|
11,886
|
16.8% |
32,545
|
29,187
|
11.5% |
|
Isuzu
|
743
|
947
|
-21.5% |
1,802
|
2,451
|
-26.5% |
|
Jaguar
|
1,667
|
1,866
|
-10.7% |
4,248
|
5,124
|
-17.1% |
|
Kia |
27,567
|
26,004
|
6.0% |
73,603
|
64,833
|
13.5% |
|
Land
Rover |
3,663
|
4,153
|
-11.8% |
10,202
|
11,299
|
-9.7% |
|
Lexus |
28,855
|
27,592
|
4.6% |
73,491
|
68,377
|
7.5% |
|
Maserati |
217
|
201
|
8.0% |
526
|
499
|
5.4% |
|
Maybach [est]
|
15
|
15
|
0.0% |
45
|
45
|
0.0% |
|
Mazda |
37,742
|
25,514
|
47.9% |
79,074
|
67,271
|
17.5% |
|
Mercedes-Benz |
21,627
|
21,432
|
0.9% |
56,030
|
51,287
|
9.2% |
|
Mini |
3,655
|
3,851
|
-5.1% |
8,073
|
9,485
|
-14.9% |
|
Mitsubishi |
12,536
|
10,250
|
22.3% |
31,645
|
25,695
|
23.2% |
|
Nissan |
97,242
|
91,209
|
6.6% |
246,436
|
234,040
|
5.3% |
|
Porsche
|
3,278
|
3,185
|
2.9% |
8,229
|
9,117
|
-9.7% |
|
Rolls Royce
[est] |
30
|
30
|
0.0% |
90
|
90
|
0.0% |
|
Saab |
2,837
|
3,239
|
-12.4% |
7,420
|
8,222
|
-9.8% |
|
Subaru
|
18,027
|
19,048
|
-5.4% |
42,976
|
45,067 |
-4.6% |
|
Suzuki
|
11,030
|
10,887
|
1.3% |
27,794
|
26,639
|
4.3% |
|
Toyota |
213,820
|
189,694
|
12.7% |
532,364
|
476,474
|
11.7% |
|
Volkswagen |
17,355
|
20,730
|
-16.3% |
50,332
|
53,296
|
-5.6% |
|
Volvo
|
10,666
|
11,153
|
-4.4% |
26,953
|
28,451
|
-5.3% |
|
Total
Sales |
745,768 | 685,429 |
8.8% |
1,862,164 |
1,738,951 |
7.1% |
Source: AutoData Corp.
Chart: AIADA
