BMW’s Mini division continues to light up American sales statistics. Hummer is doing its part to dim any shining light.
Indeed, Hummer’s downfall is far greater than Mini’s improvement. General Motors’ urban-military SUV-only brand saw sales cut in half than June of ’07. Minis sold at a rate 40.5% greater this June than June of last year. That doesn’t exactly mean that there were 40.5% more Minis sold this June than last, or 54.2% fewer Hummers. Sales rates reflect the daily sales rates; and there were three fewer days to sell cars this June – 24 vs. 27.
Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Suzuki, and Volkswagen all sold at a greater rate this June. That goes against what you’ll hear about the industry as a whole. Moreoever, the success of these companies (and Mini) flies in the face of the U.S. domestic automakers.
Brands that depend on trucks and sport-utility vehicles struggled mightily. Chevrolet dropped 3.5%, Dodge was down 21.3%, Ford fell 19.8%. Toyota, one must admit, sells a lot of SUVs and crossovers under a lot of different names. Struggling to supply customers with what they want (Camry and Yaris sales were lower than last June) and attempting to sell the RAV4, Highlander, Sequoia, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, FJ Cruiser, Tundra, and Tacoma ends you up with 10.3% lower sales this last month, compared to the same period of last year.
Heavily truck/SUV-centric brands like GMC, Land Rover, and Jeep saw sales this June drop 14.6%, 40.5%, and 32.8%, respectively. Contrast this with Daimler’s smart city car maker, a brand that wasn’t available in the States at this time last year. Mini, one possible comparable, sold 4,174 cars in June. Roger Penske’s dealers sold 2,545 smarts, a terrific result.
More to come.
