September Truck Sales Outperform Autos
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
While it is no secret that things are rough for auto dealers right now, in fact, new unit sales are at the lowest level in 15 years, September’s new unit sales data is not all bad news. While recent falling gas prices didn’t necessarily boost sales as much as we would like, and financing of a vehicle has gotten much tougher, American manufacturers took back the lion’s share of new unit U.S. auto sales in September.
For the first time in six months, American auto manufacturing dominated new unit sales with a 52.3 percent market share compared to foreign competitors’ 47.7 percent. This is a big jump from the measly 45.3 percent market share American manufacturers held in August, a month earlier. That said, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that overall sales when adjusted for business days dropped 26.6 percent and 12.8 percent year to date.
On a positive note, truck sales are the top performer for September. Due to recent incentives and falling gas prices, national light truck sales topped 485,342 in September. While this is down 21.8 percent from August of this year, cars fell even more when compared to the previous month with a 23.8 percent decline.
The hot model of the fall is the 2008 Chevy Silverado which has been the No. 1 selling vehicle for both August and September. That’s right, a pick up truck. For those who thought the truck would go the way of the station wagon due to higher CARB standards, guess again.
While larger SUVs may undergo significant changes to meet fuel economy standards, the pick up truck is ingrained in the American work culture. It’s not just a method of getting to work, it’s how many Americans get work done. Alas, I’m preaching to the choir.
Part of the reason Americans are back on top can be explained by the Nissan Altima that fell from the No. 8 spot of top selling vehicles to No. 12 in September. The Chevy Malibu has taken the Altima’s spot on the top ten list. The Toyota Camry which holds the No. 3 spot of top selling vehicles dropped 33 percent from August’s sales.
What do these numbers mean in the grand scheme of things? The final chapter on light trucks has not been written.