EmailEconomic
Last Update: 04-Jun-13 09:07 ET
Auto Sales
Highlights
- The pullback in motor vehicle sales wasn’t long-lasting. Sales recovered in May and again surpassed 15.0 mln units with 15.3 mln SAAR vehicles sold. That was up from 14.9 mln SAAR in April and was the strongest sales month since 15.38 mln vehicles were sold in February.
- The pickup in sales was nearly evenly split between cars (7.4 mln SAAR from 7.2 mln SAAR) and trucks (7.9 mln SAAR from 7.7 mln SAAR).
- Domestic vehicle sales increased from 11.9 mln SAAR in April to 12.1 mln SAAR in May and are back in-line with trends from January through March. Domestic car sales improved to 5.3 mln SAAR from 5.1 mln SAAR in April while domestic truck sales were virtually unchanged at 6.8 mln SAAR.
- Sales of imported vehicles rose from 3.1 mln SAAR in April to 3.3 mln SAAR in May.
Key Factors
- Year-over-year, sales increased 8% in May.
- All of the motor vehicle manufacturers reported year-over-year increases in May.
- Ford (F) and Chrysler Group picked up market share with sales up 14% y/y and 11% y/y, respectively. Sales at General Motors (GM) increased 3% y/y.
- Sales at Honda were up 5% y/y while Toyota (TM) sales increased 3% y/y.
- Hyundai-Kai, which benefited from large sales growth over the past few years, increased only 2% y/y in May and is down 1% year-to-date. They are the only major motor vehicle manufacturer with sales lagging from this point last year.
- Overall, sales are up 7% year-to-date.
Big Picture
- The motor vehicle industry expects 15.3 mln vehicles to be sold in 2013, up from 14.5 mln vehicles sold in all of 2012.
| Category | MAY | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Light Vehicles | 12.1M | 11.9M | 12.1M | 12.1M | 12.1M |
| Autos | 5.3M | 5.1M | 5.3M | 5.5M | 5.6M |
| Light Trucks | 6.8M | 6.8M | 6.7M | 6.6M | 6.5M |
| Total Light Vehicles (incl imports) | 15.3M | 14.9M | 15.3M | 15.4M | 15.3M |
