After falling below the 14 million-unit market in May — the lowest level since December 2011 — the seasonally adjusted annual rate in June climbed to 14.08 million units, according to figures released by AutoData Corp. Compared to June 2011, sales increased by 22.1 percent, with the industry delivering 1.29 million units last month. Reporting significant gains were Chrysler and Volkswagen, while Japanese makes continued to recapture market share lost after last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
BMW: The BMW Group reported a 3.2 percent increase in sales in June vs. a year ago, with sales topping out at 27,720 units. Year to date, BMW brand sales were up 11.3 percent, while MINI USA’s June sales climbed 14.7 percent (5,995 sales) from June 2011, marking new records for June and year-to-date sales for the German automaker.
Chrysler: The domestic automaker realized its best June totals since 2007. Chrysler reported a 20 percent increase in sales vs. a year ago with 144,811 units sold. For 27 consecutive months, the carmaker has topped its year-over-year results.
Jeep delivered 28 percent more Wrangler models than last year (14,461 units sold), while Fiat reported selling 6,971 300 models. Chrysler’s biggest seller was the Ram pickup, with 22,951 units sold in June, 1,589 more than June 2011.
Ford: Sales jumped 7 percent in the U.S. market from last year, with 207,759 vehicles sold. Year to date, the company has sold 1.14 million vehicles, a 6.6 percent increase vs. the year-ago period. Maintaining its spot as Ford’s best seller was the F-Series pickup, which, with 55,025 units sold (up 11 percent from June 2011), accounted for nearly a quarter of the carmaker’s monthly sales.
Car sales were up 3 percent vs. a year ago, while trucks were up 9. Sales of the Ford Escape were up 28 percent vs. a year ago — the model’s best month ever at 28,500 units sold — while the Fusion set a new sales record for June. Ford Explorer sales were up 35 percent from last year.
General Motors: The Detroit automaker reported a 16 percent increase in sales for June vs. a year ago. Sales totaled 248,750 units sold, marking the best sales month for the company since 2008.
Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac each reported double-digit increases. Driving the 12 percent year-over-year jump in passenger vehicles for the company were Chevrolet Buick and Malibu, which realized sales increases of 32 and 21 percent, respectively, from a year ago.
Honda: The Japanese automaker realized its best June since 2008, with American Honda delivering 124,808 units last month, a 48 percent increase from June 2011. The Honda division realized a 45.6 percent surge vs. last year, as Acura sales increased 76.5 percent compared with the year-ago period. Sales of the Honda Accord topped 28,000 units, a more than 80 percent jump from June 2011. The CR-V recorded another record -breaking month, while Acura sales totaled 15,370 units — the automaker’s best June sales month since 2007.
Hyundai: Despite a slight softening in May, the Korean carmaker recorded its best June ever and beat its all-time sales record for the first half of 2012. Hyundai Motor America sold 63,813 units in June, up 8 percent vs. last year. Year to date, the automaker’s sales were up 10 percent, while retail sales alone were up 13 percent. The Azera maintained strong sales, realizing a 350 percent sales gain vs. last June, with 1,001 units sold. Sales of the Accent spiked 57 percent, while sales of the Sonata jumped 12 percent vs. a year ago.
Mazda: Compared to a year ago, Mazda sales climbed 3.1 percent to 19,911 units delivered in June. Sales for the first half of the year were up 17.5 percent vs. the year-ago period, with 143,797 cars sold. Realizing its best sales month since 2008, Mazda3 sales totaled 8,835 vehicles sold. Also experiencing its best sales month in four years was the Mazda MX-5, with 659 vehicles sold. Officials said the company will double production capacity in Japan for its SKYACTIV technology, which accounted for 55 percent of Mazda’s total sales in June.
Mercedes-Benz: The German automaker realized a 7.6 percent growth in sales last month vs. a year ago, with 22,231 vehicles sold. Not only did the company post an all-time sales record in the U.S. market, it achieved its highest half-year sales in the company’s 47-year history. The C-, E- and M-class models were among the brand’s top-sellers in June. The C-class led the way with 6,506 units sold, while the E-class recorded 5,589 units sold and sales of the M-class totaled 2,891 units.
Mitsubishi: For June, Mitsubishi Motors North America reported a 34 percent decrease in sales from the year-ago period, but sales of models currently in production were up 10.2 percent. Leading the way was the Outlander Sport CUV, which saw sales rise 13 percent from a year ago to 1,461 units. Year-to-date sales of the Outlander Sport were up 2.6 percent. Lancer Evolution sales also continued to grow, rising more than 31 percent in June vs. a year ago. Year-to-date sales were up more than 35 percent. Additionally, sales of the Galant sedan were up 116 percent for the month and up 3.1 percent year to date.
Nissan: The North American division realized a 28.2 percent increase in June, with 92,237 units sold vs. 71,940 a year ago. Nissan Division accounted for 81,801 of the brand’s sales in June, up 24.6 percent from 2011’s 65,659 vehicle sales. Infiniti reported sales of 10,436 units for June 2012, marking a 66.1 percent increase vs. last June’s 6,281 units.
Toyota: Compared to a year ago, sales for Toyota Motor Corp. surged 60.3 percent from a year ago, with 177,795 units sold. Sales of the Toyota Camry, the marques top seller, climbed 50.2 percent with 32,107 vehicles delivered. Sales of the Prius jumped from 4,340 units in June 2011 to 19,150 units sold in June 2012. The Corolla realized a 41.2 percent sales gain vs. a year ago, with 26,647 vehicles sold.
Volkswagen/Audi: The American division reported a 34.2 percent sales increase in June 2012 vs. the year-ago period. Year to date, the manufacturer realized a 35.4 percent increase — the company’s best monthly performance since 1973. Audi accounted for 12,664 of June’s sales, while the Volkswagen Passat sold 10,252 units — the model’s fourth month of sales of more than 10,000 units.
Additionally, the German carmaker sold more than 38,000 vehicle in the first half of the year, company officials touted.
