With US petrol prices falling to levels not seen in years, Americans flocked to dealer lots to buy crossovers, SUVs and pickups, driving October light vehicle sales to a healthy 1.28m units, 6.1% ahead of last October and 2.8% ahead of September 2014.
October’s seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) came in at 16.46m sales. This is the eighth consecutive month the SAAR has been above 16m.
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The current average price per (US) gallon is $2.980, about GBP0.49/litre, and with output exceeding demand the price is likely to continue falling. So it’s no surprise that the top three best-selling vehicles were full-size pickups.
Crossovers and SUVs continued to run hot with sales among the major brands up an average of 11.7%, led by Jeep, which was the top SUV brand in October.
For the first ten months of 2014, light trucks have accounted for 51.5% of all sales. That’s the biggest truck share since 2005 and the fourth-largest truck share in peacetime automotive history.
Small cars took it on the chin last month. There were some exceptions, like the Honda Fit, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa, but double-digit deficits were reported by a number of models.
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By GlobalDataIt wasn’t all sad singing and slow walking in the passenger car world; the Ford Fusion set a new October sales record and year-to-date (YTD) sales are on track to be the best since the Fusion was launched in 2005. Chevrolet Cruze sales were up 51.0% and Chrysler’s new 200 posted a 39.9% gain.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sales were up 21.7%, beating the average analyst estimate, with Jeep posting another great month. Jeep sales jumped 51.7% for the month and are now 45.9% ahead of the first ten months of 2013. The surge in truck sales continues to play to Chrysler’s strong suit: 77% of Chrysler’s sales went to pickups, vans and SUVs.
Ford got 71.5% of its October volume from light trucks even though sales of its pickups and commercial vans were down. Ford brand utility sales rose 6.0% and the new MKC drove Lincoln SUV sales up 77.1%. However, the blue oval took a big hit in car sales and that went right to the bottom line as total Ford sales fell 1.8%.
General Motors’ volume was essentially flat. GM sold 417 more vehicles last month than a year ago. The new Colorado and Canyon mid-size pickups are off to a reasonable start in just their second month on the market. They don’t seem to be taking sales from the Nissan Frontier or Toyota Tacoma, both of which reported sales increases.
Chrysler’s growth wasn’t enough to overcome Ford’s shortfall and GM small gain, so the Detroit automakers lost a half-point of market share in October.
Mitsubishi continues to improve, thanks to the Mirage and Outlander Sport, and Subaru reports another monthly sales record. Add Nissan’s 13.3% growth and decent numbers from Honda and Toyota to see the Japanese automakers add an entire point of market share to their hoard.
In addition to the Detroit contribution, part of that Japanese point came from Hyundai-Kia. Kia set a new October sales record but Hyundai finished the month in the red.
The European carmakers chipped in the rest, even though Volkswagen Group posted a 9.7% gain with another record month from Audi and an increase in VW sales as the new Golf/GTI finally kicked in. Volvo was also in the black for the month, but Mercedes-Benz sales were off and Jaguar Land Rover deliveries fell 19.8% with both brands missing their year-ago numbers.
With two months to go, 16.4m sales for the year is looking pretty solid. The automakers show no signs of letting up on incentive spending to keep the pump primed and fleet sales are no longer a taboo topic, so 2014’s final tally may actually top the estimates.
| Manufacturer | Current Month 10/14/2014 | Current Month 10/13/2014 | Volume Change | Daily Sales Rate Change | Market Share 10/14/2014 | Market Share 10/13/2014 | Calendar Year-To-Date 2014 | Calendar Year-To-Date 2013 | Volume Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiat Chrysler Automobiles | 170480 | 140083 | 21.7% | 21.7% | 13.3% | 11.6% | 1726539 | 1497086 | 15.3% |
| Ford Motor Co. | 187897 | 191267 | -1.8% | -1.8% | 14.7% | 15.8% | 2065612 | 2078939 | -0.6% |
| General Motors Co. | 226819 | 226402 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 17.7% | 18.7% | 2434707 | 2343861 | 3.9% |
| Detroit Total | 585196 | 557752 | 4.9% | 4.9% | 45.7% | 46.2% | 6226858 | 5919886 | 5.2% |
| American Honda | 121172 | 114538 | 5.8% | 5.8% | 9.5% | 9.5% | 1281777 | 1273550 | 0.6% |
| Mazda North America | 18798 | 19737 | -4.8% | -4.8% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 259751 | 240228 | 8.1% |
| Mitsubishi | 6199 | 4752 | 30.5% | 30.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 64564 | 49733 | 29.8% |
| Nissan North America | 103117 | 91018 | 13.3% | 13.3% | 8% | 7.5% | 1166389 | 1032134 | 13% |
| Subaru* | 43012 | 34483 | 24.7% | 24.7% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 418497 | 347890 | 20.3% |
| American Suzuki | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 0% | 0% | 0 | 5946 | -100% |
| Toyota Motor Sales | 180580 | 168976 | 6.9% | 6.9% | 14.1% | 14% | 1975368 | 1867155 | 5.8% |
| Japan Total | 472878 | 433504 | 9.1% | 9.1% | 36.9% | 35.9% | 5166346 | 4816636 | 7.3% |
| Hyundai | 50081 | 53555 | -6.5% | -6.5% | 3.9% | 4.4% | 607539 | 601773 | 1% |
| Kia* | 44694 | 39754 | 12.4% | 12.4% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 489711 | 456137 | 7.4% |
| Korea Total | 94775 | 93309 | 1.6% | 1.6% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 1097250 | 1057910 | 3.7% |
| BMW North America | 35902 | 33274 | 7.9% | 7.9% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 311681 | 295474 | 5.5% |
| Daimler AG | 31318 | 32622 | -4% | -4% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 290394 | 269575 | 7.7% |
| Jaguar Land Rover | 4650 | 5801 | -19.8% | -19.8% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 54904 | 53607 | 2.4% |
| Maserati North America* | 1203 | 587 | 104.9% | 104.9% | 0.1% | 0% | 10328 | 2828 | 265.2% |
| Volkswagen Group** | 49412 | 45032 | 9.7% | 9.7% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 488621 | 507684 | -3.8% |
| Volvo Cars North America | 3972 | 3919 | 1.4% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 47823 | 52112 | -8.2% |
| Other (est.) | 1826 | 1716 | 6.4% | 6.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 23782 | 22150 | 7.4% |
| Europe Total | 128283 | 122951 | 4.3% | 4.3% | 10% | 10.2% | 1227533 | 1203430 | 2% |
| Total Light Vehicles | 1281132 | 1207516 | 6.1% | 6.1% | 100% | 100% | 13717987 | 12997862 | 5.5% |
* indicates a sales record.
**Volkswagen Group figures include Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen brands
Other includes estimated sales for Aston-Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maybach, Rolls-Royce and Tesla
Source: Manufacturer’s reported sales
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