Luxury Brands Make Gains As Cash For Clunkers Brings Numbers Back To Earth
Year-to-date sales for August 2010 may look poor, but the numbers are actually much closer to reality now that the Cash for Clunkers scheme has wrapped up. Cash for Clunkers, which offered rebates ranging from $3,000-$4,000 on the purchase of a new car and trade-in of a used car, sent sales skyrocketing in 2009, and the best indication of this is how far down they are in August 2010. The numbers are also a good look at what consumer spending is really like in the absence of government stimulus money.
Suzuki saw the biggest drop in sales, with a 68% drop, followed by Mitsubishi at 37 % and Toyota down 34%. Porsche led the industry with a 33% increase, which makes sense considering the apparently strong economy of 2010 versus the much more unstable 2009. Maserati and Jaguar Land Rover were both up 25%, while Chrysler was the only volume manufacturer to post any gains, with sales up 7%.
[Source: Automotive News]
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