Cleveland, Ohio – Auto sales fell slightly in January compared to a year ago, but with fewer selling days last month, the annualized pace of sales increased slightly. Calculating the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in January is always a bit suspect because it tends to be the slowest month of the year for sales, and this year’s numbers are even odder because the month had only 24 selling days, two fewer than in 2015.
That said, sales generated a 17.55 million SAAR, slightly better than December’s 17.50 rate. Results varied by automaker, but for the most part recent trends held – cars were down while trucks and SUVs gained.
Here’s the breakdown by manufacturer:
- General Motors – 203,745, 0.5%. With sales down at Chevrolet and Cadillac, Buick and GMC provided what minimal growth existed at GM. Buick Regal sales more than tripled, making up for declines for the Chevy Cruze and other cars. A notable exception was the Chevy Malibu, up 24%. Half of the Malibus sold were redesigned 2016 models.
- Ford Motor Co. – 173,723, -2.6%. Despite going up against easy 2015 comparable figures, F-Series pickup sales declined 5%. Ford officials say incentive spending is down for the pickup, and average transaction prices grew, so while volumes fell, per-unit profits rose. Vans continued their 2015 strength at Ford with the Transit up 51%.
- Toyota Motor Co. – 161,283, -4.7%. Slight gains for the Camry couldn’t offset big losses for the Corolla, Prius, and Yaris. And Toyota’s generally car-heavy lineup suffered as buyers continued to flock to crossover and SUVs. On the plus side, the 4Runner was up 8%, the Rav4 was up 9%, and the Sienna minivan climbed 23%.
- FCA US LLC – 155,037, 6.9%. Automotive research site Truecar.com data shows Dodge had a massive increase in cash-back incentives from last year, generating a 19% increase in sales, bigger than even Jeep’s gain (15%). Much of that growth came from the Charger sedan and Challenger two-door, vehicles that had rough 2015s.
- Nissan Group – 105,734, 1.6%. Maxima sales more than doubled, and the Sentra gained 12% during the month, softening the blow as all other car fell (the Altima, Nissan’s best seller, was down 16%). Truck sales countered the losses as Quest minivan sales doubled and the Rogue small crossover continued its double-digit gains.
- American Honda Co. – 100,497, -1.7%. Honda fell to No. 6, behind Nissan, as the company’s truck division fell 11%. Bucking the industry trend, cars gained at Honda, thanks mainly to a 43% jump in Civic compact cars. Unfortunately, the company’s truck sales also bucked trends, falling sharply despite low gas prices.
- Hyundai/Kia – 83,316, 0.6%. Hyundai’s sales gain was as thin as Hillary Clinton’s caucus win over Bernie Sanders in Iowa. But even minimal gains were enough to keep sales in record-setting territory. Hyundai, provided almost all of the gains with increases from subcompact and midsized cars and small crossovers. Kia sales were up six – as in six more vehicles than January 2015.
- Volkswagen – 20,079, -14.6%. Tiguan small crossover sales were up 72%, a notable figure as it was the only VW vehicle to post a sales gain. The Golf, the small car that helped VW point to some positive results last year as a diesel emissions scandal hammered sales, fell 5%.
Source: Automakers