U.S. June Auto Sales Top Expectations

From AIADA

June was the U.S. auto market’s best month in six years. Manufacturers sold 1,404,434 vehicles, resulting in a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 15.96 million units. Pick-up sales, up 22.3 percent from a year ago, along with compact vehicles, up 20.6 percent, led the segments in gains. Nissan Motor Co. had its best ever June performance with 104,000 units sold – up 20.6 percent from a year ago. Fellow Japanese manufacturers Honda and Toyota also had strong months with sales up 16.9 and 14.4 percent, respectively.

“Now half-way through 2013, dealers can say confidently that the auto retail recovery is in full swing,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “As home prices rise and consumer confidence improves, we are seeing more and more consumers return to dealerships to replace their aging vehicles.”

Internationals Occupy Majority of Market

In June, international brands continued to occupy a majority share of the U.S. auto market. They held 53.5 percent overall, a slight decrease from the 54.1 percent share they held last month, but up from 53.1 percent in April. International sales for the month totaled 750,613 units, down from 781,743 sold last month, but up from 682,909 in April.

Asian brands captured 44.1 percent of the U.S. auto market down from 45.9 percent in June. With sales of 618,845 units, overall sales were up 9.5 percent over May 2012. European brands occupied 9.4 percent of the U.S. auto market in June, up from 9 percent in May. They sold 131,768 vehicles, resulting in a 6.7 percent sales increase over June 2012.

Domestic brands finished the month with 46.6 percent of the U.S. auto market and sales of 653,821 units, a slight increase over the 45.9 percent share they held in May.

Top Ten List

International nameplates represent five of the top ten selling vehicles in June. At number three behind the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado pickups, the Camry remained the top selling car in the U.S. with sales of 35,870 units. The nameplate was up 11.7 percent over last June when it sold 32,107 units.

Honda made the strongest showing of all international brands, with three models on June’s top ten list. At number five, the Honda Accord sold 31,677 units. The recently redesigned model was up 9.5 percent over last June when it sold 28,924 vehicles. Its Civic compact finished the month at number six and sales of 29,724 units. Its CR-V finished at number ten, selling 26,572 vehicles. The Nissan Altima rounded out the international nameplates on the list, finishing the month in ninth place and selling 26,904 vehicles.

North American Manufacturing Remains Strong

International brands’ North American manufacturing units continued to produce a large share of the vehicles sold in the U.S. in June. Numbers from AutoData Corp. indicate that 35.1 percent of all cars and 25.2 percent of all trucks sold in the U.S. in June were sourced from Asian North American manufacturing facilities. European brand cars sourced from North America represented 3.1 percent of all cars sold in the U.S. Additionally, 1.9 percent of all trucks sold in the U.S. were European brands sourced from North America.

Outlook

Based on June’s unexpectedly strong sales, AutoData Corp. estimated the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) at its highest recorded level since 2007 at 15.96 million units, versus 14.38 million units a year ago. Sales for all brands, unadjusted for business days, were up 13.4 percent from June 2012 and 8.4 percent for the year.