Cars and Drivers
Toyota and Chrysler Lead Automaker Sales in August
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Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) sold 246,100 units in August, blowing out the Kelley Blue Book (KBB) estimate of 221,000 and topping the Edmunds.com estimate of nearly 227,000. Sales rose 10.2% year-over-year. The average transaction price rose 1.7% year-over-year as well. Toyota’s market share was 15.1% in July and should improve when August share is calculated.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was forecast to sell up to 217,000 units in August and ended up selling 222,000. Sales of its F-Series pickups slipped and have fallen 0.4% for the year to date. SUV sales remained solid, and transaction prices were higher as well.
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Chrysler sold 198,000 units in August, beating KBB’s estimate of 184,000 and the Edmunds.com estimate of about 191,000. Sales were up 20% year-over-year, as the company’s new Jeep Cherokee remains a top seller, joining the Ram pickups. The average transaction price rose 4.2% year-over-year, and Chrysler’s share of the market should rise above its 12.6% July share.
Volkswagen sold an anemic 35,181 units in August, a drop of 12.8% year-over-year and 13.4% for the year to date. The sales total came in far below the Edmunds.com estimate of nearly 50,000. VW holds just 3.3% market share in the United States, but the company was able to boost its pricing, with a gain of 5.6% in its average transaction price. The Audi group’s sales rose more than 22% from August of 2013 to 17,101 units, its best August and its best month ever.
Nissan reported August sales of 134,000, including 9,000 Infiniti sales. The monthly total of 125,000 Nissan-branded vehicles was a new August record for the company. Sales of the all-electric Leaf rose to nearly 3,200 in the month, up nearly 32%. The sales came at a cost though: KBB reported that Nissan’s average transaction price is down 3.5% year-over-year.
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