Mario So Funny

Industry Sales Momentum Downshifted In June

By Dale Buss July 5, 2011

Two forces were fighting to control the steering wheel of the U.S. auto market in June and which one emerges on top in this July’s results will essentially dictate the tale of the industry’s performance in the second half. One influence evident last month was a sort of muscle memory attempting to push the market back toward the gradual recovery that has been underway for a year. Straining in favor of the status quo were higher pickup-truck sales in June and consumer demand that remained strong enough to outstrip the available supplies of small cars across the board. But the offsetting negative momentum at play in June combined trends that have dragged down the market for months now, including higher gasoline prices, the supply hit from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the inability of the U.S. economy to sustain the confidence of Main Streeters.

Call June results a draw, then, between the battling currents. At 1,052,757 units, June sales were up 7 percent from a year earlier and eased 1 percent from May. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 11.4 million units for June was the lowest monthly pace since early 2010 and there was widespread agreement among industry executives that consumers increasingly stayed away from auto showrooms as June faded into the Independence Day weekend late last week. Yet a sense of optimism pervaded their interpretation of the results, because they believed the continued, if feeble, economic recovery, the presence of still-unfulfilled “pent-up demand,” a moderation from the spring peak in gasoline prices and the return of robust inventories of Japanese-brand vehicles all would serve to establish June as the base for better times in the second half of the year.

The best new sign for the market may well have been something that used to cause nothing but frowns among brand executives: the onset of a big new incentive program. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. launched its summer-clearance campaign over the Fourth of July weekend, which meant three good things for the U.S. market and Toyota: the company’s supplies of North American-built models were beginning to return to pre-disaster levels; many Toyota fans who had been sitting on the sidelines could re-engage in vehicle shopping; and the perception of a little relief on prices could help lure Americans back into all brands’ showrooms after many consumers showed hesitance in June about paying higher prices for less selection.

Where Are the Cars?
“Prices are high, and talking with the consumers, that’s definitely a barrier to entry right now,” said Jessica Caldwell, senior U.S. sales analyst for Edmunds.com. Most consumers “could care less about the supply situation, but the end result – higher prices – is scaring them right out of the dealership.”

At the same time, argued Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales for General Motors Co., where sales rose 11 percent in June from a year earlier, “Retail sales were influenced” by tight supplies of Japanese brands. “Some consumers have decided to sit on their hands and delay their purchases,” he agreed. But Johnson believes such hesitance is “temporary. We see a return to our projected SAAR trend line later in the year” and for the U.S. market still to finish 2011 several percentage points higher than a year ago, with total sales of 13 million to 13.5 million units (Edmunds.com continues to project 12.9 million U.S. sales this year).

Johnson said that the most serious constraint on the industry’s June performance was “lack of inventory by some competitors.” Both Toyota and Honda continued to face significant supply problems during the month and largely as a result, June sales by both Toyota and Honda fell by 21 percent. Ford Motor Co. also dealt with “low inventory of our most fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Ken Czubay, the company’s vice president of U.S. sales. “Many owners are delaying purchases until the Ford model they want becomes available,” he said. Still, Ford managed an 11-percent boost in sales for the month over June, 2010, as there were ample inventories of many vehicles in its lineup. And Nissan North America Inc. sales in June surged by 11 percent as well, as the company was able to rebuild inventories in June to a normal-type 62-day supply at the end of the month from a 49-day supply a month earlier.

Pickup For Pickups
The tenuous momentum of the economic recovery also played heavily in June results. The U.S. labor market continues to improve only slowly; consumer sentiment dropped during the month and the leftover effects from the manufacturing slowdown because of Japan’s March 11 natural disaster continued to ripple damagingly throughout the American and global economies. “The recovery has slowed a little bit,” GM’s Johnson said. Mr. Czubay added, “the economic data is mixed. May and June sales softened from the January-to-April base.”

Yet especially as gasoline prices moderated as June went on, buyers of fullsize pickup trucks trickled back into the market in bigger proportions than earlier. As a portion of overall sales, fullsize pickups bottomed out at 9.3 percent in April, said George Pipas, Ford’s head of U.S. industry analysis. Then they rose to a 10-percent share in May and in the first three weeks, of June, pickups’ share rose to more than 11 percent, about in line with where many in the industry see them ending up for all of 2011. “That’s an encouraging sign,” Pipas said, “because it suggests that commercial enterprise is still pretty strong and it’s a positive sign to see the segment rebound off that April low as fuel prices declined.”

Agreement came from Johnson that “a lot of fullsize pickup buyers – when there was volatility around fuel prices – were sitting out of the market. They’re coming back now and we expect that to continue as the economy recovers.” GM has come under scrutiny for its enlarging pickup inventories – the company copped to 122 days supply at the end of June – but Johnson fobbed off the concern, saying GM is continuing to experience “good pickup demand” from its commercial business and also from agricultural customers and from the home-improvement side (albeit not the new-home side) of the construction business.

California Hiccup
As a result of stronger sales of Ram trucks and a boom for its Jeep brand, Chrysler Group LLC was able to post a 30-percent gain in June sales over a year earlier. Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America combined to post an explosive 25.4-percent gain in June sales for the group that owns the Korean brands. Yet the entire industry might have ended the month a little better except for what seemed an anomalously bad ending to the month that executives were hoping wasn’t a portent for July. Caldwell said that sales in late June “were very weak” while end-of-month momentum typically can be very strong. She attributed much of the problem to the approach of a holiday weekend beginning the day after the end of the month, when – lured in part by Toyota’s new incentive program, for example – consumers could be expected to populate showrooms again.

Some auto executive also blamed the slowing momentum at the end of the month on a specific development in California, the nation’s largest automotive market. The state’s base sales and use tax declined on July 1 to 7.25 percent from 8.25 percent, and Ford’s Pipas fingered the change as the reason some California consumers presumably chose to wait to make major purchases in July instead of June. A buyer of a $25,000 vehicle would pay $250 less in sales tax, while the annual registration fee also dropped to 0.65% of a car’s value from 1.15%, saving that buyer an additional $125. “We experienced some softness in our California close, and other manufacturers did as well,” Pipas said. The change bit Ford harder than one might expect because the Golden State has become the hottest market for its new Fiesta subcompact.

Bob Carter, Toyota division general manager, agreed, but only to an extent. “Where normally you’d see momentum building during the month, it softened in California in anticipation of the change,” he said. “But it is a stretch to say that’s what contributed to the overall softening of the SAAR. It [was] more about inventory levels and a lack of supply by some key competitors such as ourselves.”

General Motors: Steady As She Goes

To a greater extent than any other major automaker, GM enjoyed a combination of stronger demand and livable inventory levels in June. Sales rose by 11 percent to 215,358 units from 194,828 units a year earlier. Momentum was led by the continuing success of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car and by improved results for each GM brand except Cadillac. “June was fairly decent,” Johnson said, “and we out-performed the industry.” Retail sales for GM were up 16 percent over June, 2010, and the company gained market share both in retail sales and total sales, he said.

Cruze continued to tear up the small-car market, as American consumers seem to have embraced it as a worthy competitor in the crowded small-car segment and, especially, as varying degrees of supply constraints affected rival models ranging form the Toyota Corolla to Ford Focus. For the third month in a row, Cruze posted sales of more than 20,000 units and propelled Chevrolet to an overall 11-percent gain for June. Cruze sales were up 153 percent compared with year-earlier sales of the Cobalt model it replaced. And in June, the Eco version of the car – Chevy’s most fuel-efficient – comprised 17 percent of total Cruze sales, a record and up from 15 percent in May. Meanwhile, sales of Chevrolet Equinox, which the brand touts for its relative fuel efficiency, boomed at 56-percent higher levels than a year earlier. And the Malibu sedan, the best-selling passenger car in America in May, continued with a strong showing in June, up 15 percent from a year ago.

The Buick brand gained 13 percent, GMC 15 percent. Buick’s retail sales gained for the 21st consecutive month, in year-over-year terms, as the brand new Regal moved more than 3,500 units and sales of LaCrosse, the brand’s highest-volume model at this point, were 11 percent higher than a year ago. GMC posted its 21st consecutive month of gains both in total and retail sales, with retail movement of the Acadia CUV up by 23 percent. “Half of customers for Acadia and Terrain are coming from a non-GM brand” to GMC, Johnson crowed.

Cadillac’s retail sales rose by 16 percent in the month – but the brand’s overall sales declined by 8 percent for June “due to a continued and planned reduction in Cadillac sales to rental accounts,” Johnson said. Overall, GM’s fleet sales were down by about 2 percent in June compared with June 2010, to about 27 percent of the company’s total. Johnson said that level of fleet sales was “in line” with GM year-to-date “and lower than our domestic competitors.” The fleet dip was due primarily to a decline in sales to daily-rental companies. Meanwhile, commercial-fleet sales posted their 15th straight month of year-to-year increases for GM.

Pickup-truck sales became a point of encouragement for GM again in June. Overall sales of both the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra rose only by 5 percent and 8 percent respectively during the month, but sales of the heavy-duty version of Silverado were up by 23 percent year-to-year. And Johnson said GM’s truck brands figured heavily in the industry-wide growth in momentum in the segment as June closed. Some securities analysts and others have expressed concern that GM’s pickup-truck inventories have grown too flush and questioned the company’s decision to add a third production shift at its Flint, Mich., assembly plant where the heavy-duty versions of its pickups are built.

But Johnson insisted that GM’s 122-day supply of pickups is only “slightly above where we’d like to be,” with GM targeting a 100- to 110-day supply. GM’s retail share of pickup purchases has grown to 40.4 percent for the year to date from 37.7 percent a year ago, and its share of heavy-duty purchases has risen to 36 percent from 33.6 percent. What’s more, GM is trying to build some inventories for the rest of this year in anticipation of production disruption next year as it moves to the next generation of the platform. Those facts – plus the necessity to carry higher inventories of trucks than cars because a higher proportion of retail buyers dictates larger inventory requirements – translate into a relative lack of concern by GM. Still, Johnson said that the company is going to “moderate inventory [of trucks] somewhat with some minor production changes and not with aggressive incentives.”

Ford: Small Cars In Demand

Ford sold 193,415 vehicles in June, up 1 percent from May 2011, the company’s first gain in June over May sales since 2005. The performance continued Ford’s recent record of essentially across-the-board gains, with car sales up 17 percent from a year earlier, utility vehicles up 15 percent and trucks up 9 percent. “Strong demand for Ford’s fuel-efficient cars and crossovers continues, and we now are seeing truck buyers return to the market with significant appetite for our fuel-efficient V6 engines,” Czubay said.

Ford’s two all-new small cars, subcompact Fiesta and compact Focus, combined for 26,920 sales in June, up 66 percent compared with a year earlier. Fiesta and Focus are the fastest-turning models in Ford showrooms Ford said, comprising 40 percent of Ford’s U.S. sales growth over a year earlier. “We offer hatchbacks and sedans in each [vehicle line] and that broadens their appeal,” Czubay said. Moreover, the two models continued to drive retail-share gains in markets beyond the company’s traditional areas of strength. In California, for instance, Ford’s overall retail sales rose by 36 percent in June compared with a year earlier and by 33 percent for the year-to-date, even with the sales-tax glitch at the end of the month. In the Western region as a whole, Ford’s retail sales grew by 30 percent in June, and in the Southeast, they rose by 21 percent.

The new-generation Explorer crossover also has continued to post strong sales increases over the older, less fuel-efficient model it replaced. Sales during the month were 10,422 units, up 56 percent compared with a year earlier and retail sales rose by 259 percent. In the first six months of 2011, Explorer sales totaled, 65,823, surpassing last year’s full-year sales total of 60,687. “Explorer was a first-half surprise for us,” Czubay said. “We didn’t expect such a strong response to this product. [And] customers are buying well-equipped Explorer models.”

Also pleasing Ford executives was the fact that F-Series sales rose again in June compared with the year earlier, after dropping in May. With almost 50,000 units moved in June, Czubay said, the F-Series experienced one of its highest-sales months in three years. “That’s positive not just for Ford but as an indication of what’s going on in the economy out there,” he said. There was a nearly 80-day supply of F-Series units available, a level that Czubay said was “comfortable” compared with an 82-day supply at the end of May. Ford continued to experience strong sales of the new 6-cylinder engine options that have been available in the F-150 lineup only since December, especially the new EcoBoost V6.

Even sales of Ford’s troubled Lincoln brand rose in June, by 17 percent compared with a year ago, paced by higher sales for the MKZ, up 31 percent, and MKS, up 18 percent sedans, as well as the MKX crossover, up 36 percent. Ford’s fleet sales for the first half were “right on plan,” Czubay said. Sales to commercial fleets grew by 22 percent while sales to daily-rental customers grew by 3 percent.

Chrysler: Trucks Carry The Load

The Chrysler Group LLC continued to post its own impressive numbers in leading the industry’s gainers for June. Sales increased by 30 percent to 120,394 units compared with 92,482 units a year earlier, leading Chrysler to its best June sales in four years. June marked the company’s fifteenth consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. Trucks and utility vehicles continued to be the main driver of Chrysler’s comeback, comprising 74 percent of its sales in June compared with 68 percent a year earlier.

The Jeep brand led the way. All Jeep models posted at least a double-digit sales gain in June compared with a year earlier, led by Compass, whose sales skyrocketed by 278 percent. The all-new Grand Cherokee posted a 208-percent sales climb over its older version. Meanwhile, Ram trucks posted a 35-percent increase in June over a year ago amid the brand’s 14th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. Dodge posted a 17-percent increase in sales for June, including a big jump for sales of its new version of the Durango crossover.

Chrysler-brand sales overall dropped 8 percent even as the company was winning advertising awards at Cannes for its marketing of the brand and its new vehicles. Sales of the 200 (nee Sebring) were up 82 percent. But sales of the current 300 sedan fell by 24 percent compared with a year earlier as Chrysler readies for production of a significantly new 2012 model beginning later this month. And sales of the Chrysler Town & Country minivan plunged by 29 percent in June, even as sales of its companion Dodge Grand Caravan grew by 25 percent during the month.

Toyota: Turning Point

The importance of the June sales results for Toyota was underscored by the fact that the media conference on Friday was led not by Carter, who usually honchos the call with reporters and analysts, but by Don Esmond, his superior and senior vice president of automotive operations. “June marked a significant turning point for Toyota,” Esmond said, as sales increased compared with the previous month for the first time since Japan’s March 11 disaster. While sales were still way down compared with a year earlier, Esmond noted, eight of Toyota’s 12 North American-built models returned to 100-percent production in early June and the other four will be back to full output by September. “They’re arriving at dealerships and they’re going to help us rapidly increase the rebuilding of our inventory,” he said.

Incentives were relatively low industry-wide throughout June, of course. Toyota’s decision to launch an early round of “summer clearance” incentives encompassing June’s final weekend stemmed, Esmond said, from the return of production to normal levels both in the United States and Japan that will boost inventories this month, “to take advantage of momentum we built in late June” and because of a planned “blitz of new products in the fall.” Toyota began offering zero-percent financing for 36 to 60 months on numerous models as well as additional $500 rebates. Camry leases under special rates began going for under $200 a month. Later this month, the brand will launch a new advertising campaign to match the launch of the significant incentive program. “We’re back in the sales business, and you’ll see us selling and promoting hard as we get deeper into July,” Carter said.

Indeed, the moves should help draw into Toyota showrooms the many would-be customers who simply had decided to wait until the specific Toyota they want becomes available, at a price that makes them comfortable. “We reached an important turning point well in advance of anyone’s initial projections,” Esmond said. “Customers showed patience and a willingness to wait for a new car or truck even when we didn’t have all the answers. Now we have those answers.” Among the vehicles that already gained in June from better days at Toyota was its Tundra pickup truck, with sales now off just 13 percent year-over-year through the first half. “We’re starting to see the release of pent-up demand from ‘needs’ buyers of pickup trucks,” Carter said. “And the stability in fuel prices is bringing more people back to the market.” Carter added that Toyota expects “modest but continual growth” in the U.S. pickup market for the second half.

Lexus has been especially wracked by the supply disruptions after March 11, and sales were down by 40 percent in June. The impact cost Toyota’s luxury brand its first-half crown for segment leadership, which was taken over by BMW. But American consumers are still seeking out the Lexus models they want; the new CT 200h hybrid (June sales: 240) was down to a two-day supply at Lexus dealers. And Esmond said that the “majority” of Lexus models are “already back at pre-quake production levels. Models are starting to arrive at ports now. Shipments to Lexus dealers will double in July and increase again in August,” as the pipeleine fills to near-normal levels, he asserted.

Honda: Hit Hard In June

How bad was it for American Honda Motor Co. Inc. in June? Worse even than the recession, that’s how bad. Earthquake-driven supply shortages caught up in full force, the 83,892 units sold amounting to a 24-percent decline – and Honda’s worst June since 1997. There was a minus symbol preceding the sales number for every Honda and Acura vehicle except for, surprisingly, the Japan-made Fit subcompact (sales up 20 percent to 4,912) and Element crossover. Most disappointing for Honda surely was Civic’s performance. Two months after the launch of a new-generation model, Honda typically would expect Civic to be dominating the sales charts. Instead, Civic sales were down 36.5 percent compared with last June and total sales of 17,485 pulled the nameplate to an uncomfortably low (and unfamiliar) position on the compact-car depth chart behind the new compacts of several rivals, led by Chevrolet, which sold 40 percent more Cruzes than Honda did Civics.

Honda’s other mainstay, the Accord midsize lineup, plunged 38.6 percent to just 17,107 sales, while sales for the North-America-made CR-V crossover slid 7.1 percent compared with June, 2010. The Odyssey minivan was down a resounding 25 percent after a mostly strong first half and although a Honda spokesperson recently asserted the company’s commitment to the aged Ridgeline (http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/06/truck-marketing-still-relies-on-down-and-dirty.html), June sales for the midsize pickup truck tumbled to 587 units. It all combined to drag down sales for Honda-division vehicles in June by 24.5 percent. The month was no better for the company’s Acura premium-vehicle arm, where overall sales in June dropped by 22.8 percent to 8,708 units. Every Acura model recorded double-digit sales declines, led by the RL flagship’s 65.2-percent drop to an astounding 59 units. Sales for the TSX entry-level lineup slid 30.7 percent and the MDX and RDX crossovers, which had been rebounding, had respective sales declines of 15.7 percent and 24 percent for the month.

Nissan: Up, Infiniti Hurt By Quake

Nissan North America Inc., which includes Nissan and Infiniti brands, reported June sales were up 11.4 percent from a year ago to 71,941 vehicles sold but they were down 5.5 percent from May. Nissan Division sales were up 16.7 percent to 65,659 vehicles; Infiniti sales dropped 24.3 percent to 6,282 units. The battery-electric Leaf had its best month ever with 1,708 sold. The Rogue crossover had a record June with 7,493 sold. Sentra sales increased 30.5 percent from a year ago to 8,077 vehicles. Nissan Frontier sales climbed 51.7 percent from a year ago as Nissan truck buyers continued to opt for the smaller, more fuel-efficient alternative to the fullsize Titan. Still, Nissan’s body-on-frame trucks and SUVs had a little resurgence this month, “something we hadn’t see in awhile” with sales increases for Pathfinder, Armada and Titan,” Al Castignetti, Nissan Division vice president and general manager, told AutoObserver in an interview. That’s all because of lower gas prices, he submitted.

“We are pretty much through the (inventory) crisis,” said Castignetti.  “In comparison to last month we are much in much better shape, especially on Versa, Sentra, Juke and Rogue (hard hit last month).” Such is not the case with Infiniti, however – every model in the luxury brand’s lineup was down by big double digits in June except the QX56 – Nissan says it is all an inventory issue. “We’ve got 10,000 vehicles on a ship scheduled to dock in July,” said Nissan spokesperson Katherine Zachary.

Hyundai: Record June
Hyundai broke last year’s sales record for the month of June and the first-half of the year. The Korean automaker sold 59,209 vehicles in June, a 16-percent increase from June a year ago for the sixth consecutive all-time monthly sales record. Hyundai boasted that 40 percent of vehicles sold in June achieved 40 miles per gallon highway fuel economy, an all-time record for the brand. “With the recent launch of our all-new Accent, Hyundai now has the freshest and most fuel-efficient sedan lineup in the industry with Sonata Hybrid and Elantra sedan rounding out our current trio of 40-mpg vehicles, with the 40-mpg Veloster right around the corner,” said Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America’s executive vice president of national sales.

The recently launched Elantra was Hyundai’s bestseller with 19,992 sold, a hefty 40 percent increase from June last year. Sonata was right behind, selling 18,644 units for a 5 percent increase. Other models posting increases were the Genesis (its 24th consecutive month of year-over-year increase), Tucson, Santa Fe and Veracruz. The Equus flagship kicked in 221 units. Accent sales dropped as Hyundai winds down the old one and launches the new version in the coming weeks.

Kia: Record June, Second Quarter
Kia Motors America set new sales records for June and the second quarter. In June, Kia sold 45,044 vehicles, a 41.2-percent increase over last June. For the quarter, Kia sold 140,330 vehicles, for a 44.1-percent increase over a year ago. “While Kia sales are strong year-over-year, the company suffered a 7 percent decline from May,” noted Edmunds’ Caldwell. “Inventory is playing the big role here. Kia inventory is down more than 40 percent since March. Kia incentives are down 12 percent from last month and are at their lowest levels since February, 2010.”

Still, Kia’s strength is coming from its new models: the U.S.-built Sorento crossover, now Kia’s bestseller with 10,013 sold in June; the just-introduced, U.S.-built Optima midsize sedan, which includes a hybrid version and the quirky and boxy Korean-built Soul. In fact, the Soul had its best sales ever in June, with 11,314 sold. Also higher were sales of the Rio, being wound down to make room for the new 2012 version, the Forte and the Sportage. “Kia has experienced extraordinary momentum,” said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. “By achieving our sixth straight quarterly sales record, it is clear that our fresh lineup continues to attract new consumers to our showrooms as a result of Kia’s aggressive product-led transformation.”

Volkswagen: On a Roll
With June sales totaling 28,444 units, Volkswagen of America Inc. posted a 35-percent increase in June sales over a year earlier and the Audi upscale division of parent Volkswagen AG posted a 17-percent increase during the month for its best June in U.S. sales history. Volkswagen’s year-to-date sales were up more than 22 percent through June in a U.S. market that is increasingly important to the brand. “We’ve been able to achieve a volume in the first half of this year in what took us effectively seven months last year,” said Jonathan Browning, president and CEO of Volkswagen of America. “We expect the momentum to continue.”

Indeed, Volkswagen’s feat was impressive when considering that two of the vehicles that brand executives say will be their highest-volume cars available in the United States at the end of this year – the new Passat and the new Beetle – weren’t available even in older versions in June. Sales of the Jetta sedan, new last year, led the way for VW, up 121 percent over a year earlier.

Meanwhile, sales of the Jetta SportWagen were up only 3 percent, but it wasn’t because Americans didn’t want them: The vast majority of SportWagens are sold as diesel models and the turn rate for the diesel version was 49 percent in May, with a 1-day supply on hand. “We could sell more if we had them,” COO Mark Barnes told AutoObserver. “It’s really an inventory issue; we can’t get enough to sell demand.” Diesel overall accounted for about 21 percent of VW sales in the month. Sales of the Touareg and Tiguan SUVS each were up nearly 50 percent for the month, while sales of VW’s Routan minivan plunged by 31 percent.

BMW: Higher Sales; New Mini Record
The BMW Group, including the BMW and Mini brands combined, reported June sales of 26,865 vehicles, an increase of 15.1 percent from a year ago. BMW-brand sales increased 12.8 percent to 21,637 vehicles. Mini, always popular in periods of high gas prices, had a record June with sales of 5,228 vehicles, up 26 percent from a year ago.

“With all that’s gone on in the world in the last month, our own economy and auto market are still volatile places, so you’d better have the right models and business strategy to attract customers in this environment,” said Jim O’Donnell, CEO, BMW of North America. “We’ve been fortunate to have both and that’s why we’re in the market-leading position for the first half of 2011 and more new models are on the way, giving us the opportunity to stay there.”

In June, BMW’s X3 compact crossover nearly tripled sales, with 12,7252 sold. That appeared to come at the expense of sales of the X6 and X5, which were down. The BMW 5-Series, now with a full-year of U.S. sales, posted a nearly 13 percent increase over June 2010. Sales of the flagship 7 Series fell 68 percent to a mere 542 units sold. Convertibles, in particular the Z4 Roadster and the new 6 Series convertible, gained additional traction in June, with the Z4 up almost 120 percent and the 6 Series up nearly 80 percent over the previous June. However, that didn’t spill over into the Mini Cooper Convertible, which had lower sales, as did the hardtop Clubman.

“Fuel prices have moderated in the last month or so but we are still seeing an increase in Mini sales,” said Jim McDowell, Mini USA vice president. “It’s not just the new Countryman that’s popular but the entry hardtop as well, telling me that more Americans are embracing small cars as a rational choice.”

Daimler: Smart Downer; Mercedes Up
Daimler AG, including the Mercedes-Benz and smart brands, had sales of 22,983 units in June, a 17.1 percent increase from last June. Of the total, Mercedes-Benz sold 22,563 vehicles for its best June ever; it was an 18.8 percent improvement over June 2010. Sales of smart cars totaled 330, a 42.8-percent decline from a year ago. This month, Mercedes takes over distribution of smart cars from the Penske Automotive Group.

Mercedes’ highest-volume performers, as always, were the E- and C-Class model lines. The German automaker moved 5,798 copies of the E-Class, up 19.1 percent from a year ago and 4,620 C-Class models, which was a 17-percent decline compared with last June. The U.S.-built M-Class crossover had sales of 3,071, up 44.6 percent from a year ago. Chipping in were the new 2012 CLS-Class four-door, with sales 645.5 percent to 738 units, the GL-Class SUV with 75.9 percent higher sales at 2,585 units and the G-Class with sales up 89.1 percent. Sales of the S-, CL- SL-, SLK-Class were down. Mercedes sold 18 units of its SLS AMG supercar. Sales of diesel models were up 128.4 percent to 1,231 vehicles from 539. Sprinter vans sales soared 162.5 percent to 1,911 units.

Subaru: Inventory Struggle
Subaru of America Inc., still struggling with shortages of vehicles built in quake-ravaged Japan, experienced a sales decline of 8.4 percent to 19,794 vehicles in June. The U.S.-built Legacy and volume-leading Outback had double-digit sales increases – 15.5 percent and 20.8 percent respectively – for their best-ever June. Sales of the Forester and Impreza, both built in Japan, were down double digits, 28.2 percent and 35.1 percent, respectively. “We still have record demand for our products in dealerships; however, we are working through a low inventory period after the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan,” said Thomas J. Doll, Subaru executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Our dealers managed to be incredibly efficient with the inventory available and the situation is improving all the time.”

Customer demand has not abated and dealers are selling vehicles as soon as they arrive at dealerships, added Bill Cyphers, senior vice president of sales. “We continue to outperform our initial expectations for this period thanks to more production arriving than we first anticipated and better efficiency in getting our cars to dealers and out to customers.”

Mazda: Buoyed by People Movers
Mazda North American Operations reported June sales of 19,307 vehicles, up 5.9 percent from a year ago. The higher sales came from its crossovers, which had their best-ever June sales; CX-9 sales were up 14.8 percent to 2,429 units and the CX-7 sales rose 24.8 percent to 2,631 units. The Mazda5 had its best June since 2006 with 1,659 sold, a 56.7-percent increase from a year ago. Sales of the Mazda3 were flat. Mazda2 had 1,081 sales for the month. Sales of Mazda sports cars – the MX-5 Miata and RX-8 – were down again. So too was the Mazda6 midsize sedan.

Audi: Another Record Month
Audi reported its sixth consecutive record-setting month, with 10,051 vehicles sold, the third consecutive month that Audi sold more than 10,000 vehicles in the U.S. market. The company cited “significant buyer response” to the all-new, 2012 A7, with 772 sold. Audi moved nearly 500 units of its flagship A8 sedan, a 731-percent increase over a year ago. Five models overall reported year-to-year sales increases in June. Diesel power also continued to be popular for Audi, as the technology comprised 46 percent of sales of the A3 in June.

Volvo: Much-Improved Performance
Volvo Cars, which had been missing out on the recovery of auto sales in some months, had a much-improved performance in June, with sales up 42.1 percent to 7,100 vehicles sold. The reason was its new S60 midsize sedan, which was the Swedish automaker’s best-seller with 2,430 sold. Other models in plus territory from a year ago were the XC60 and XC90 crossovers as well as the C30 coupe. The rest of Volvo’s lineup saw declines.

Mitsubishi: Sales Double From Year Ago
Mitsubishi Motors North America saw sales nearly double in June compared with a year ago. Mitsubishi sold 8,299 vehicles, an increase of 97.7 percent from June, 2010. The month marked the first in nearly three years (August, 2008) that Mitsubishi sold more than 8,000 vehicles. It was Mitsubishi’s best June sales total since 2007 and the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year increase.

The Outlander and Outlander Sport led the charge. Mitsubishi’s SUV and crossover sales were up 260 percent June-to-June. Mitsubishi car sales rose 41 percent. Sales of vehicle built at Mitsubishi’s Normal, Ill., plant soared 243 percent. “We are pleased that Mitsubishi’s message of styling, fuel efficiency and value are resonating with customers,” said MMNA President & CEO Yoichi Yokozawa. “We feel that we are just at the beginning of an extended period of growth in the U.S. market.”

Jaguar Land Rover: Land Rover Up; Jag Down
Jaguar Land Rover North America sales rose a scant 3 percent to 4,408 cars and SUVs in June. Land Rover sales were up 13 percent to 3,125; Jaguar sales were down 14 percent to 1,389 vehicles. Despite the decline, it was Jaguar’s biggest month of calendar 2011 for sales.

The Range Rover Sport was Land Rover’s volume leader with 1,233 units sold, a 21-percent increase. Sales for the LR4 increased 12 percent to 757 units. Range Rover sales of 935 units was a 35-percent gain. Sales of the Jaguar XK, at 261 units, were up 48 percent, the only model in the Jaguar lineup to improve. The XJ had sales of 652 units; the XF 476 units.

Porsche: Strength From Cayenne
Porsche Cars North America sold 2,546 vehicles in June, up 19 percent from a year ago. As has been the case of late, sales of the revamped Cayenne SUV, which now includes a hybrid, are soaring – and approaching half of all Porsche sales. In June, 1,009 Cayennes were sold, compared with 496 a year ago. The Panamera had been a gainer but slipped in June with 609 sold to last June’s 739. Sales of the 911 edged higher to 596 units, compared with 544. Boxster/Cayman sales were off slightly.

Suzuki: Kizashi Sales Dip; Others Rise
Suzuki sold 2,278 vehicles in June, a 12 percent rise from last June. In a shift in the pattern of late, Kizashi sales dipped to 552 units, a 23 percent rise, while sales of the Nissan Frontier-based Equator rose 74 percent to 207 units sold, sales of the volume-leading SX4 soared 33 percent to 1,105 sold and Grand Vitara sales climbed 17 percent to 410 sold.

Saab: Tough Business Month
June was a tough month for Saab as it struggled for survival, seeking funding and turning its assembly lines on and off. In the U.S., Saab sold 323 cars in June, more than the 216 vehicles it sold in June last year when it was just getting back into business under new ownership. In June, Saab sold 216 9-3 and 107 9-5 cars. Last year, Saab sold 204 9-3 models, only five 9-5s and 7 9-7X SUVs, a since-discontinued model that was based on the Chevrolet TrailBlazer.

Dale Buss:  is a frequent contributor to AutoObserver.com.