January 2014 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers

Welcome to 2014! Apparently in Chinese Astrology it’s the year of the “wood horse” but let’s hope this timber pony can canter away and carry the auto industry to continuing sales success. Which brands drove away with buckets of cash and which ones took a tumble down the stairs? Let’s take a peek at last month’s showroom winners and losers.

Overall the market took a small slide in 2014’s first month. January’s inhospitable weather likely kept shoppers at home huddled in front of their heat registers instead of out and about shopping for cars. Compared to the same time period in 2013, new-vehicle deliveries declined three percent to a little more than one million units.

Sales moved in the wrong direction, though fortunately the decline wasn’t severe. Still, a number of automakers did post some welcome gains, though these were offset by others that dropped.

Chrysler’s Italian contingency saw strong sales last month. Fiat increased its deliveries by 29 percent compared to January 2013. Regrettably for folks in both Auburn Hills, Mich. and Torino, Italy, sales totaled just 3,222 units. That’s merely a drop in the North American automotive bucket, which is really more like an above-ground swimming pool. But increased sales are increased sales and that’s nothing to gesture threateningly at even though Fiat is Italian.

With legendary capability, Jeep weathered January’s frigid weather far better than other brands. Chrysler’s most rugged division increased its deliveries by 38 percent compared to the same month in 2013. Overall sales fell just short of 42,000 units. The brand-new Cherokee midsize utility vehicle is moving at a pretty-darn-impressive pace, with 10,505 shipped. It accounted for nearly a quarter of the Jeep’s sales.

What is this?! Lincoln’s still in business? Apparently they are. Ford’s tarnished luxury brand posted a block-busting 43 percent sales increase last month. Honest Abe’s performance was buoyed by two vehicles, the new MKZ sedan and the MKX crossover. Dealers delivered 2,122 of the former and 2,479 of the latter. January 2014 was Lincoln’s best month in four years with sales hitting nearly 6,000; watch out Mercedes-Benz! Is a nascent turnaround in the works? Possibly, but more and better product is desperately needed.

And now for January’s biggest losers. Hey, the auto business doesn’t hand out participation trophies so deal with it! Regrettably for Detroit, GM’s two most significant brands both took a tumble. Cadillac and Chevrolet sales both fell by 13 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

Caddy’s deliveries totaled 11,386, down from 13,116 back in 2013. Chevrolet dealers shipped nearly 120,000 cars and trucks, though year-over-year they sold more than 137,000. Again, miserable weather is a likely culprit.

Lincoln is an easy target to make fun of. The brand has been mismanaged for so long it’s downright hilarious. But when this perpetually troubled division outsells a mass-market make from the world’s largest automaker laughter quickly turns into tears.

Toyota’s Scion brand dropped 18 percent last month; deliveries only hit 4,011 units. The FR-S may be a blast to drive but apparently it ain’t helping increase sales (at least not during the dead of winter).

Narrowly beating (or losing to?) Scion are two popular brands: Volkswagen and Dodge. The American and German automakers both suffered through a 19 percent sales drop last month. Dealers delivered just shy of 35,000 Dodges in January; VW stores shipped a whisker fewer than 23,500 units.

Looking for a common denominator to justify their identical declines we actually found one: the miserable Routan minivan. #Scapegoat

Beating all comers is BMW’s MINI division. The maker of pint-sized cars took a 31 percent sales hit last month compared to January 2013. Deliveries totaled just 2,543, down from 3,682 the year prior. Brands including Porsche, Land Rover and even Mitsubishi sold more vehicles. Ouch…

Source: Automotive News