Hurricane Sandy impacts Nissan and Hyundai sales, but the industry’s seasonally adjusted annual rate remained above 14 million for the ninth consecutive month.
October sales were up 13.8 percent through October, according to Autodata Corp. Year over year, sales were up 6.9 percent, while October’s seasonally adjusted annual rate came in at 14.29 million units — down from last month’s 14.94 million reading but up from October 2011’s 13.34 million SAAR.
Several automakers, including Volkswagen, reported record sales for October, while Toyota and BMW realized major sales gains vs. a year ago. Nissan and Hyundai attributed their sales declines to Hurricane Sandy.
Audi: The German automaker reported its 22nd consecutive month of record sales in October, posting a 14.5 percent sales increase from a year ago. Sales totaled 11,708 units. On a year-to-date basis, Audi sales increased 18.1 percent vs. 2011, with 112,402 units sold.
BMW: The BMW Group sold 32,339 units in October, up 18.5 percent from October 2011. On a year-to-date basis, sales were up 8.4 percent, with 267,267 units sold so far this year. BMW brand sales increased 20.9 percent vs. a year ago, with 26,451 units retailed for the month.
Chrysler: The domestic automaker has already topped its total sales for 2011, recording a 10 percent increase vs. a year ago. Sales for October totaled 126,185 units. The achievement also marked the 31st straight month of year-over-year sales gains.
Ford: Total U.S. sales for the company were unchanged from a year ago, but retail sales were up 2 percent compared to October 2011. Sales in October totaled 168,456 units, with car sales increasing 2 percent. Sales of utility vehicles were up 2 percent, while F-Series pickup sales were up 8 percent, Econoline sales were up 19 percent and Transit Connect sales were up 22 percent.
General Motors: GM posted its highest October sales in the U.S. market since 2007, with sales totaling 195,764 units — a 3.6 percent rise from a year ago. Passenger cars realized a 15 percent sales increase vs. a year ago. All of GM’s brands increased their retail sales — Chevy by 4.6 percent, GMC up 7.5 percent, Buick up 15.4 percent and Cadillac up 16 percent.
Truck sales were up as well, with crossover sales climbing 3 percent and full-size pickup sales up 8 percent from a year ago.
Honda: The Japanese carmaker posted an 8.8 percent sales gain in October vs. a year ago, with 106,973 units sold. The Honda division sold 94,810 vehicles, up 8.7 percent from October 2011, while Acura’s sales totaled 12,163 units, up 9.4 percent from the same period last year.
Top sellers included the Accord, with 28,349 units sold, a 25 percent increase from a year ago. Civic sales were up 27 percent, with 20,687 units sold, while the CR-V, Crosstour, Ridgline and Fit all recording sales gains in October.
Hyundai: Sales for the Korean automaker totaled 50,271 units in October, a 4 percent decline from a year ago but an 8.2 percent increase on a year-to-date basis. In a press release, Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales, attributes this decline in October to the difficulties caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Mazda: The automaker reported a 1.6 percent increase in sales vs. a year ago, with sales for October totaling 18,622 units. On a year-to-date basis, Mazda’s sales were up 8.8 percent on 228,104 units sold. The Mazda3 realized a 34 percent increase vs. October 2011, with 9,518 units sold. The company reported that its SKYACTIV technology accounted for 81.5 percent of its monthly sales.
Mitsubishi: Total sales for the manufacturer were down 9.1 percent from a year ago on 3,981 units sold. Sales of the Outlander Sport spiked 17.9 percent compared to a year ago with 1,675 units sold, marketing the model’s second best sales month since it hit the market two years ago.
Nissan: Down by 3.2 percent from last October, Nissan sales totaled 79,685 units in October. Al Castignetti, vice president of the Nissan Division, credits this drop to the major disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy on the East coast. The top seller for October was the Versa with 8,311 units sold.
Toyota: The Japanese automaker sold 155,242 units, a 15.8 percent increase vs. a year ago. Toyota reported a 16.8 percent increase on a “daily sales rate” basis vs. the same period a year ago. The Toyota division sold 77,520 units for the month, up 24 percent from last year, while Lexus sales rose 15.2 percent to 11,647 vehicles sold. Hybrids recorded a 69.7 percent sales increase from last year with 24,065 units sold.
Volkswagen: Volkswagen had its best October sales since 1972, with 34,311 units sold, up 22.4 percent from October 2011 and 35.6 percent on year-to-date basis. The carmaker also realized its 26th consecutive month of year-over-year growth. The Passat and Tiguan each reported record sales for October, rolling 8,355 and 2,752 units, respectively.
