August 2013 New-Vehicle Sales Surge 17 Percent

Both General Motors and Subaru posted banner sales last month but the industry as a whole did very well in August. Across the board deliveries were up 17 percent in the U.S.

This late-summer boom was the car business’ best performance since 2007. The double-digit increase helped boost the SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate) to 16.1 million units. This is terrific news for manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and of course the economy in general.

Compared to August 2012 BMW Group sales rose by 35 percent, with the roundel division itself increasing by 46 percent. Nearly 25,000 Bimmers were delivered last month.

SEE ALSO: August 2013 Was Subaru’s Best Sales Month… EVER

On a percentage basis Maserati also had a blow-out August, with sales growing by 49 percent, though to be fair they only sold 326 vehicles. Still that’s huge growth compared to the 219 they delivered last year August.

Including its Lexus and Scion divisions Toyota’s overall sales were up 23 percent for the month, while Honda did slightly better. With Acura factored in the Capital H saw deliveries increase by 27 percent.

The Detroit Three also finished August on the right side of zero. GM’s overall sales were up a solid 15 percent while Ford and the Chrysler Group both posted 12 percent increases.

SEE ALSO: GM’s August Sales Best Since September 2008

About the only two brands to lose ground last month were the Volkswagen division and Volvo. VW’s sales were off by 2 percent while the Chinese owned Swedish brand dropped by 13 percent. Do these declines have something to do with the letter “V”?

Overall, dealers shipped some 1.5 million new cars, trucks and crossover vehicles last month. That’s compared to slightly fewer than 1.3 million in August 2012.

But there’s still more good news for the automotive industry. Sales for the first eight months of the year are up 10 percent. Some 10.6 million units have been delivered so far in 2013. That’s compared to just 9.7 million for the same time period last year.

SEE ALSO: GM Chief Economist, Recovery is “Here to Stay”

As GM’s chief economist mentioned in a sales conference call this morning, the economy appears to be on a solid footing, with a recovery that’s “here to stay.”

Source: Automotive News