May Car Sales Rebound from April
After disappointing April car sales, May car sales bounced back, beyond analysts' expectations.
May car sales totaled 1,442,513 vehicles, up 8.1 percent from May 2012 and up 12.3 percent from April. That pushed the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales back above the 15-million vehicle sales mark — 15.3 million to be exact. The results surpassed Edmunds.com's forecast of 1.42 million sales for a 15.1 million SAAR. April's 14.9 million SAAR marked the first time since November 2012 that the SAAR slipped below the 15-million mark, causing concern that the auto recovery had stalled.
As it ended up, May 2013 marked the best May since 2007. It was the best month since August 2007 except for March 2013, which May matched, according to Edmunds.com's records.
MEMORIAL DAY PROMOS: Analysts and auto company executives credited the better-than-expected month to robust sales during and after the Memorial Day weekend, when many big promotions occurred.
While the promotions were loud, the deals weren't outlandish. The Total Cost of Incentives (TCI), Edmunds.com's proprietary calculation of incentives, were up about 4 percent in May from April to an average of about $2,430 a vehicle and 9 percent from May 2012. Incentives for Chrysler, Ford, Toyota and Nissan, which recently initiated price cuts on seven models including some core volume ones, were up from April as well as last May. GM incentives were down from April and last May. Honda's incentives, still the lowest among the Big 6 volume sellers, were up from April but down from a year ago.
FUNDAMENTALS REMAIN: Fundamentals remained in place with other factors improving further. Pent-up demand, especially for trucks, continues to unleash. Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell noted that in every month of 2013 so far, the average car trade-in was more than six years old, a sustained elevated trend never before recorded.
Credit is cheap and widely available. Caldwell pointed out the average interest rate on a vehicle loan was 4.17 percent in May, the lowest average for any month in 2013 so far.
The housing, agriculture and energy sectors are improving, boosting truck sales. Overall, consumer confidence is healthier, due to more secure employment conditions as well as climbing housing prices and a booming stock market that are making consumers feel wealthier. The Federal Reserve reported Americans' net worth jumped by $3 trillion in the first quarter to $70 trillion helped by the stock and housing prices.
INTRIGUING RACES: In terms of company match-ups, Ford closed in on General Motors by a scant 6,309 vehicle sales. That compares with a 28,989 margin in May 2012 a year ago and a 25,062 gap in April. The gap has not been that close since March 2011, right after GM had a massive lease pull-ahead program in January and February that pushed its market share to 21 percent but the hangover was lower March sales with a market share that fell to 17.6 percent.
While Nissan had the biggest year-over-year gain among the Big 6, Subaru's was even bigger at 34 percent. Porsche had the largest gain — 38 percent — on far smaller volume. Subaru sped past Volkswagen in the sales rankings for the first time since December 2011, according to Edmunds.com records.
Winners in May — automakers with year-over-year percentage gains above industry average — were: Porsche, up 38 percent; Subaru, up 34 percent; Mazda, up 19 percent; Audi, up 15 percent; Ford, up 14 percent; Chrysler, up 11 percent; Jaguar Land Rover, up 11 percent; BMW, up 10 percent; and Mercedes, up 8 percent. Posting increases below industry average were: Honda, up 5 percent; General Motors, up 4 percent; Toyota, up 3 percent; Hyundai, up 2 percent; Volvo, up 1 percent; and Kia, basically flat. Only Volkswagen and Mitsubishi posted declines. Volkswagen was off 2 percent. Mitsubishi was down 15 percent.
TRUCK BOOM: Manufacturers sold 176,879 trucks in May, up 24 percent from May a year ago. Trucks represented 12.3 percent of all light vehicles sold in the U.S. last May, up 1.6 percentage points from May 2012 and a far cry from the low of 9.3 percent of May 2008 sales. The Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Silverado, in that order, were America's best-selling vehicles in May.
Ford's F-Series sales soared a hefty 31 percent to nearly 72,000 units in May. GM's trucks — the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, which are in sell-down mode — scored a combined 24-percent hike in sales. The latest 2014 versions of Silverado and Sierra are on sale in June. Chrysler's new Ram 1500 posted a 22-percent sales hike. Toyota Tundra sales were 14 percent. Only Nissan did not ride the full-size pickup truck wave with its already low-volume Titan recording sales down 35 percent.
Even more significant is that May typically is not a big truck, which bodes well for the second half , said Edmunds.com's Caldwell. Trucks sell best in the fall and final quarter of the year, especially in December. Some estimates put truck sales at 2 million for 2013, a level not seen since 2007.
Caldwell pointed out that pent-up demand is even more significant in the truck market than it is with cars. In May, the average truck traded in on a new one was 5.76 years old whereas before the recession truck owners typically traded every three to four years.
Significant for the bottom line of the Big Three in particular is the fact that average transaction prices of pickup trucks, which account for a hefty share of GM, Ford and Chrysler profits, have climbed since 2005 because of less heavy discounting. Average transaction prices for large pickups, including heavy-duty models, have risen to almost $40,000, from about $31,000 in 2005, according to Edmunds.com.
SMALL IS BIG: At the opposite end of the spectrum, small cars and small crossover/SUVs saw continued growth, fueled in part because empty nesters are downsizing and finally young car buyers are easing into the market.
Midsize cars remained the largest volume single segment at 17.8 percent of May sales as has been the case since 2010 though the segment was off its highs of 18 percent. Meantime, small vehicles — compact cars (16.2 percent) subcompact cars (4.9 percent) and small SUV/crossovers (9.9 percent) combined — made up nearly 30 percent of the U.S. vehicle market.
"Younger car buyers, whose presence has been noticeably weaker in recent years, are showing signs of returning to market and boosting new car sales," said Edmunds.com Senior Economist Lacey Plache. "More jobs, higher income, increased household formation, and growing confidence led buyers aged 18 to 34 to buy a greater share of new cars in 2012, and they are largely maintaining these gains so far in 2013."
2013 OUTLOOK: The lift in the May SAAR to 15.1 million over April's 14.9 million should quiet naysayers claiming that new car sales momentum is in decline, noted Edmunds.com's Plache. But, she added, a one month return to an above-15 million SAAR is not enough to guarantee sustained SAARs at this level. And there are warning signs on the horizon.
"While rising consumer confidence from increased wealth (e.g., home prices, stock market performance) should continue to bring car buyers to market, these wealth effects could taper off later this year if the Fed pulls back on its asset-buying programs, which have been propping up stock prices and keeping interest rates low," she said. "What is really needed is a continued and even expanded labor market recovery to give car buyers greater means to make car payments."
Mathematically, to meet Edmunds.com's forecast of 15.5 million vehicle sales for 2013, the industry must grow at an average of 7 percent year-over-year increase compared with 2012. Some months, like July when economic weakness occurred in 2012 and October when Hurricane Sandy hit last fall, should handily beat year-ago numbers. But other months, like September, November and December, were quite strong, making meeting the increase more difficult. On the plus side, lease returns will be stronger in the second half, housing is expected to stay strong and hopefully job growth will improve, said Plache.
Here's a company by company rundown of May car sales:
GENERAL MOTORS: General Motors sold 252,894 vehicles in May, up 3 percent from the year earlier, for its highest sales since September 2008. GM said retail sales rose 9 percent, fleet sales were down 10 percent and the fleet mix was 26 percent of total sales. GM's results were a mixed bag by model and division.
On the plus side, GM boasted that Cadillac is growing faster than it has since 1976. Its 40-percent sales increase to 13,808 vehicles marked its best May since 2007. Cadillac revamped its line in 2012, dropping old models and introducing completely new ones, including the ATS, which kicked in 3,249 sales in May, and the XTS, which added 2,429 units of sales for its best retail month since it launched in summer 2012. The Escalade had its best May since 2008. SRX sales dipped 4 percent. CTS sales plummeted by 41 percent as Cadillac winds down the old model to make room for the new one this fall.
Chevrolet sales were flat though it was GM's volume division's best retail month since August 2009, the height of the government's Cash for Clunkers program, the automaker said. The Chevrolet Sonic had its best month ever with sales of 9,523 cars as it led the subcompact class. Chevrolet Cruze had its best-ever May sales which were 18 percent higher than a year ago at 23,055 vehicles. The Chevrolet Equinox had a best-ever month. Spark, not available a year ago, pitched in 2,581 sales.
However, sales of the brand-new Malibu plummeted 36 percent to 18,899 vehicles despite some of the biggest incentives in the class. In June, GM unveiled the quickly freshened Malibu that goes on sale in the next model year. Camaro sales fell 12 percent. Corvette, in wind-down model to make way for the new model, dropped 26 percent. Chevrolet Volt sales dipped 4 percent to 1,607 units.
Impala sales were down 32 percent as Chevy ramps up the new model. Dealers sold 2,350 of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala that just went on sale. The Impala, with a heavier mix of old than new model, led the large car sales class. Chevy hopes to reverse the percentage of fleet and retail sales of the Impala to be 70 percent retail instead of 70 percent fleet as has been the case in recent years.
Buick sales dropped 3 percent. Enclave sales fell 21 percent though it was recently freshened. Sales of the LaCrosse and Regal also fell double digits; both are slated to go on sale in freshened form soon. Verano sales rose 15 percent to 4,158 units; the Encore small SUV kicked in 2,103 units of sales.
GMC sales were up 3 percent on the strength of 22-percent higher Sierra pickup sales. The rest of GMC's line recorded declines — most of them double digit except for the Acadia, down 3 percent.
FORD: Ford Motor Co. sales in May were 246,585, an increase of 14 percent compared with May 2012, marking the company's best May since 2006. Ford said retail transactions were up 17 percent compared with the same month last year, making for Ford's best May for retail sales since 2005 as sales records were set in numerous corners of the auto industry.
Ford's rollicking sales month was paced by the F-Series pickup, which with 71,604 sales enjoyed its best May since 2005 and a 31-percent gain compared with last year. The May performance of the F-Series and other truck models throughout the industry lent more credence to the widely-held supposition that ballooning truck sales are a leading indicator of not only a recovering economy but a continuing release of pent-up demand for commercial and quasi-commercial light vehicles.
On the passenger-car side of Ford's showroom, it was a best-ever May for several models, including the new-generation Fusion midsize car (up 10 percent to a plump 29,553 deliveries) and its Lincoln cousin, the MKZ (up 42 percent to 3,490 sales). And May was the best month ever for the burgeoning Escape compact crossover, which posted 29,123 sales for a 26-percent increase compared with last May. The result once again made the Escape the third best-selling model in the entire Ford lineup after the F-Series and Fusion and the No. 1 best-selling small SUV in America.
Ford's subcompact Fiesta gained 10 percent on 6,693 sales, while the Focus compact car rang up a 10-percent gain on a solid 27,186 sales. The Mustang dropped 16 percent, however, to 8,797 units and the Taurus full-size sedan was off 5 percent on 6,515 deliveries.
Led by the Escape, all of Ford's utility vehicles save the Flex wagon (down 17 percent on 3,173 sales) and the Expedition full-size SUV (3,817 sales and a 9-percent hike) posted double-digit gains in May, as utilities outgained car sales 17 percent to 9 percent.
The big month for the MKZ pulled the lagging Lincoln unit to a 0.4-percent overall gain compared with last May, but the rest of Lincoln's model line all dropped by double digits for a May that saw the MKS flagship dip below the four-figure sales line with 721 deliveries and the MKX midsize crossover slide 17 percent to 1,831 sales.
TOYOTA: Toyota Motor Sales, which includes the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands, reported May sales 207,952 units, an increase of 3 percent over May 2012.
Toyota Division sales totaled 185,723 units, up 2 percent. Even though sales were down about 1 percent from a year ago, the Toyota Camry remained America's best-selling car with 39,216 sold in May.
Sales of the newly redesigned Avalon soared 262 percent to 7,099 units, with a quarter of them sold being the hybrid version. Prius sales were 10 percent higher at 23,522 units for its best month in a year. Yaris sales plummeted 50 percent; sales of Corolla, being sold down to make way from the just-unveiled new model arriving in the fall, dropped 12 percent.
The new RAV4 posted an 8-percent gain to 20,780 units for its best-ever May. FJ Cruiser sales climbed while Venza, Sienna, Sequoia, Land Cruise and Highlander sales were down and 4Runner sales were flat. The Tacoma and Tundra rode the truck wave with sales up 20 percent and 14 percent, respectively, for their best sales since 2008.
Lexus sales rose 4 percent to 22,229 units, on the strength of the recently freshened ES and LS, which had sales roughly double. CT and GS sales edged higher but sales of everything else in the Lexus line dropped.
Scion sales rose 9 percent on the momentum of the FR-S sports car, which had 1,937 sales compared with only 86 a year ago. Every other Scion model posted a sales decline, however.
Toyota noted its retail sales were up nearly 8 percent and hybrids accounted for 16.7 percent of its mix.
CHRYSLER: Chrysler Group LLC reported sales of 166,596 units, an 11 percent increase compared with May 2012 for its best May since 2007. Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and Fiat all posted year-over-year sales gains.
Eight vehicles set sales records in May. The Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Compass SUVs each recorded their best sales ever. Dodge Avenger and Dodge Challenger, the Fiat 500, the Chrysler 200, and the Ram pickup truck were among vehicles that registered their best sales for the month of May. The Jeep Grand Cherokee had its best month in eight years.
Ram's 24-percent increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler brand. Ram pickup sales climbed 22 percent to 31,672 unit. Ram cargo van sales soared 218 percent to 977 units.
Dodge sales were not far behind with a 23-percent increase. The Dart added 7,448 units of sales. Charger, Challenger, Durango and Journey sales rose double digits. Avenger sales were flat.
Jeep sales were up a scant 1 percent but only because it has not yet introduced the new Cherokee to replace the Liberty. Otherwise, all Jeep models posted double-digit sales increases: Compass, up 42 percent — the biggest increase of any Chrysler model; Patriot, up 13 percent; Wrangler, up 13 percent; and Grand Cherokee, up 21 percent.
Fiat sales edged up 1 percent to 4,051 units as the brand extends it line to include the new and longer 500L as well as a California 500e electric car. Chrysler brand sales dipped 2 percent with Chrysler 200 sales flat, 300 sales down 18 percent and Town & Country minivan sales up 4 percent.
Honda: American Honda reported sales of 140,013 in May, a 4-percent increase compared with May 2012, rolling up big numbers for the Accord midsize sedan and CR-V compact crossover as strengthening consumer-confidence figures and a seeming continued release of pent-up demand fueled sales of Honda's longstanding favorites.
The Accord maintained its upward surge after last year's convincing redesign, notching 33,218 sales for a 12-percent gain in what has become one of the U.S. market's freshest and most competitive segments. The Accord's goodness, however, may be the cause of some of the Civic compact car's 10-percen slide in May, the Civic dropping to a nonetheless healthy 30,268 sales for the month. Despite the drop, the Civic led the compact car sales race.
The aging Fit subcompact also sprung upward in May, posting a 20-percent increase on 4,667 sales. The Insight and CR-Z hybrid models ended up recording almost identical low-volume sales in May, the CR-Z finding 427 takers and the Insight 426 buyers.
An 8.4-percent improvement for the CR-V brought 27,298 sales. The CR-V, Accord and Civic sales combined for almost two-thirds on Honda's entire volume for the month, but the Odyssey minivan helped with a 15-percent jump to 14,200 units and the Pilot midsize crossover surged to 11,963 sales, an 11-percent gain.
Despite an outsized 49-percent gain for the RDX compact crossover (to 4,930 units) and 1,709 nearly incremental sales for the ILX compact sedan, of which only a few had reached showrooms by last May, sales for Honda's Acura premium-vehicle unit nonetheless slid 1.5 percent to a total of 14,364 for the month as most models posted double-digit declines. Acura's best-seller, the MDX midsize crossover, plunged 43 percent to 2,781 units as stocks thinned and buyers anticipated the arrival of the redesigned 2014 model in June.
Other notable decliners for Acura included the entry-level TSX, off 32 percent to 1,948 sales and the TL midsizer (down 18 percent) — although the new-generation RLX combined with the outgoing RL model to post a gain of 446 percent on 273 sales.
NISSAN: Nissan North America, which includes the Nissan and Infiniti brands, chalked up the highest year-over-year percentage gain of any of the Big 6 automakers. It posted sales of 114,457 vehicles, for a 25-percent increase and a new May record. Its performance came on the heels of Nissan division announcing price cuts on seven models, including some of its core models.
Indeed, the automaker's gains came from the Nissan Division with its sales up 31 percent to 106,558 vehicles, smashing the May record set a year ago. Big gains came from: Altima, up 41 percent to 31,940 cars sold; Pathfinder, up 293 percent to 9,340 vehicles and its best-ever May; the revamped Sentra, up 65 percent to 12,504 units; Rogue, up 45 percent to 17,333 units for its best-ever month. The repositioning and re-pricing of the Leaf led to a 319-percent increase to 2,138 units sold in May.
"We are in the midst of launching five all-new, top-selling Nissan models in 15 months, and the effort is paying off," said Jose Munoz, senior vice president for Sales and Marketing, Nissan Americas said. In an interview with Edmunds.com, Munoz credited new product more than price cuts with Nissan's strong May performance.
In contrast, Infiniti sales were down 25 percent from last May. The Infiniti JX crossover posted sales of 2,952 units for its best month since it went on sale in March 2012. Infiniti is awaiting the arrival of new products later this year, including a G replacement.
Hyundai: Hyundai Motor America recorded 68,368 sales in May for a 2-percent gain compared with the same month last year, as the brand continued to struggle to keep sufficient supplies on dealer lots. "Our core products — Elantra, Sonata and Santa Fe — all performed exceptionally well (in May) said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of national sales, in a release. "We're selling each of these three U.S-built products as fast as we can build them."
Hyundai also said the May sales pace represented its fastest-ever daily selling rate. Leading the brand was the Elantra compact car and its 25,090 deliveries, a 33-percent increase. Following was the Sonata midsize sedan, its 20,194 sales essentially flat compared with last May; the Elantra and Sonata combined for two-thirds of Hyundai's total sales for the month.
The strength of Hyundai's two mainstream models came as sales flagged for other players in its lineup. The Tucson compact crossover slid by 21 percent to 3,664 units in what is one of the U.S. market's hottest segments, while the Veloster sport coupe also continued to cool, its 2,826 sales in May representing a 22-percent decline. Also off significantly were the Genesis lineup — down 27 percent to 2,767 deliveries — and the Elantra subcompact, which slid 10 percent to 5,578 sales.
Kia: May finished as yet another record-sales month for Kia Motors America, with sales of 52,327 marking the South Korean brand's best-ever May in the U.S. and edging past sales from May, 2012 by 556 units.
Kia's sales were led by the continuing strength of the Optima midsize sedan, which moved 15,368 copies in May for a 15-percent gain. It was a 28-percent climb on 5,142 sales for the Rio subcompact and a 13-percent gain for the Soul compact hatchback, which found 11,420 buyers in May.
Also chipping in with 466 incremental sales was the all-new Cadenza full-size sedan, which easily outsold its Hyundai Equus cousin. But several Kia models gave up ground in May, most notably the Sorento midsize crossover, which dropped 17 percent to 9,182 sales and the Sportage compact crossover, for which 2,688 sales marked a 22-percent
SUBARU: Subaru of America reported sales of 39,892 vehicles in May, shattering all previous monthly sales records. Subaru sales were 34 percent higher than May 2012, which had been the company's best sales month. Subaru is clearly on track for another record year with sales up 21 percent so far this year. Subaru plans to add more U.S. assembly capacity to keep up.
The new 2014 Subaru Forester led the way with a 38-pecent increase to 10,068 vehicles. Outback sales rose 34 percent to 12,270 units, making it Subaru's best seller. The new XV Crosstrek, an all-wheel-drive crossover, added 5,295 sales in May. The BRZ had a 151-percent increase to 679 sports cars sold. Impreza WRX sales were up 20 percent to 1,829 units, but Impreza sales were down 23 percent at 5,219 percent. Legacy sales were about flat with a year ago at 4,430 units. Tribeca sales were down 38 percent to a scant 102 units.
VOLKSWAGEN: Volkswagen of America reported May sales of 38,013 vehicles for a 2-percent decline over a year ago, a setback for Volkswagen's march to 800,000 sales by 2018.
"In a month in which the industry saw strong growth in the pickup truck segments, an area in which we do not compete, we are pleased to see healthy consumer demand for our passenger cars, especially the growing demand for our TDI Clean Diesels and Hybrid line up," said Jonathan Browning, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, noting Jetta and Passat set sales records.
Volkswagen sold 10,267 of the U.S.-built Passats, up 1 percent with a year ago. Of those sold, 31 percent were diesel powered. Jetta sales totaled 15,910 cars, up 5 percent. Beetle sales rose 24 percent to 3,718 cars. Tiguan sales rose 7 percent to 2,635 vehicles. Golf sales were down 21 percent, Touareg sales were off 16 percent, and CC sales fell 20 percent. In total, diesels accounted for 22.3 percent of Volkswagen's May sales and 21.7 percent of Volkswagen's year-to-date sales.
MERCEDES-BENZ: Mercedes-Benz USA, which includes the Mercedes-Benz brand as well as the Smart brand, reported another month of record highs with sales reaching 27,359, up 8 percent from a year ago.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz branded vehicles totaled 24,713 vehicles, up 10 percent from a year ago, for a record high of 117,535 vehicles for the year to date making Mercedes the luxury brand sales leader so far this year.
"We've seen five consecutive months of best-ever sales in 2013," said Steve Cannon , president and CEO of MBUSA. "Strong momentum carries across the entire product line from our entry models straight up to the high end, which is ahead 24 percent for the year. We expect to build on that pace as more of our completely redesigned E-Class models roll into dealer showrooms."
Top performers for the Mercedes brand were the volume-leading C-Class, with sales up 21 percent at 8,013 vehicles sold. The E-Class had sales of 4,930 cars, down 12 percent from a year ago. The mid-cycle refreshed 2014 E-Class is just arriving in dealerships. The M-Class had sales of 3,219 vehicles, roughly even from a year ago. The GL-Class had a 41 percent increase; the GLK-Class was up 28 percent. Sales of S-Class, which gets a remake in the fall, were up 16 percent.
Diesels accounted for 1,503 sales, up 48 percent from a year ago. Smart sold 818 cars, up 16 percent. Sprinter posted sales of 1,828 vans, down 10 percent.
BMW: The BMW Group, including the BMW and Mini brands, reported May sales of 31,174 vehicles, an increase of 10 percent. BMW-branded vehicles had sales up 14 percent to 25,230 vehicles. Mini sold 5,944 automobiles, down 3 percent.
The 3 Series was BMW's top performer, up 47 percent to 9,307 vehicles. "The newly introduced 320i bringing significant numbers of entirely new customers to the brand," said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America. "All the indicators from our dealers confirm that consumer confidence is increasing and we expect more successful months ahead." Other strong results were turned in by the Z4 Roadster, 6 Series and X6. Double-digit declines were posted by the 5 and 7 Series as well as the X3 and X5.
MAZDA: Mazda North American Operations reported May U.S. sales of 24,270 vehicles, up 19 percent from a year ago for the Japanese automaker's best May since 2008.
Mazda's strength came from its core models. The Mazda3 posted a 5-percent hike to 8,935 vehicles. The new Mazda6, introduced in January, gained traction with sales up 72 percent to 3,944 for its best May since 2008. The CX-5 gained 79 percent to 7,128 vehicles for its best-ever month. Niche models the MX-5 Miata, which had its best month since April 2012, and CX-9 posted gains as well. Mazda2 and Mazda5 sales fell. Vehicles equipped with Mazda's new fuel-efficient SkyActive technology accounted for 73.6 percent of the automaker's May sales.
AUDI: Audi reported May sales of 13,228 vehicles, a 15-percent increase from last year. This May surpassed the previous May record set a year ago and was Audi's third-best month of sales ever. "Our sales momentum is playing out across the country and across our product lineup," said Mark Del Rosso, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Audi of America.
Audi A5 sales soared 48 percent. Audi Q5 sales climbed 45 percent for its second-best month ever. Q7 sales jumped 38 percent. Sales of what Audi calls its premium vehicles (A8, A7, A6 and Q7) increased 20 percent and represented 32 percent of all Audi sales. Posting declines were the A4, A7, R8 and TT. The AllRoad added 412 units of sales.
VOLVO: Volvo Cars of North America reported May sales of 6,329 vehicles, up 1 percent. The S60 sports sedan set a new monthly sales record with 2,739 units sold, the highest monthly volume since the new S60 began selling in 2010 and up 29 percent from a year ago. The XC60 finished the month with 1,915 units sold, the second best month on record for the crossover. The rest of Volvo's line posted hefty double-digit declines.
JAGUAR LAND ROVER: Jaguar Land Rover North America reported May sales of 4,989, up 11 percent for its best May since 2007. Posting its highest first five months of U.S. sales ever, Land Rover sales, driven by higher Range Rover and Evoque sales, were 3,554 units, up 3 percent. Jaguar sales, fueled by the XF and helped by the XJ, totaled 1,435 units, 33 percent, its highest percentage increase this year.
MITSUBISHI: Mitsubishi Motors North America reported sales down 15 percent of 4,715 vehicles. Mitsubishi sold 2,226 Outlander Sport models, a 79-percent increase from a year ago and its second highest monthly total ever. Also posting gains were the Lancer, Lancer Evo, Lancer Sportback and the electric i model, which had sales of 91 units. The rest of Mitsubishi's line posted declines.
PORSCHE: Porsche Cars North America posted May sales of 3,928 vehicles, up 38 percent, for Porsche's best May sales ever and its second best month ever. The Cayenne continued to be the top-seller, with 1,765 vehicles sold in May — a 50 percent increase. Sales of the Boxster, Cayman and 911 were up as well. Panamera sales were off by nearly half.
