Subaru, Mercedes, Audi and Toyota dealers had trouble keeping their cars on the lot in April. Based on sales growth data and consumer ratings of autos sold in the United States, the news is not surprising.
Research firm Edmunds uses “days to turn” as a measure of demand. The firm’s definition:
Days to Turn is the average number of days vehicles were in dealer inventory before being sold during the months indicated.
The average days in April was just under 70. Subaru’s number was around 30, Audi’s around 35, Mercedes around 42 and Toyota’s around 44.
Subaru’s sales have surged this year, and April was no exception. Sales last month rose 21.7% to 40,083. For the year sales are up 21.5% to 152,471.
ALSO READ: The Best Selling Cars in the World
Mercedes vies with BMW as the best-selling luxury car in America. Mercedes sales rose 10.9% in April to 28,282. Mercedes and BMW are being chased by the Audi luxury division of Volkswagen. Its all-wheel drive cars have become so popular with American drivers that Mercedes and BMW offer the same feature on most of their cars.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) sales rose 13.3% in April to 199,660. It came close to catching rival Ford Motor co. (NYSE: F), which sold 210,335 cars in April — down .8%
ALSO READ: The World’s Most Valuable Brands
All but one of the hottest four brands rate above average in the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, which is based on “problems per hundred vehicles.” Mercedes ranked second in the survey. Toyota and Subaru were well above average. Only Audi fell below the industry average — by a very modest amount.
Three of the four brands do equally well in the annual Consumer Reports study of best and worst cars. Among the “top scoring cars” there were three Audis, one Mercedes and two Toyota products.
It appears that car sales in the United States, which were so extraordinarily strong in 2012 and 2013, have cooled somewhat this year. Perhaps so many people bought new cars in the past two years that demand has dropped. Perhaps consumer spending has dipped some. For the time being, Audi, Mercedes, Toyota and Subaru are not feeling those effects.
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
