As the new 2014 models started rolling in, many dealerships held summer sales events to move 2013 vehicles, the results of which produced a 17-percent growth in the industry in August compared to the year prior. The August sales results also put the industry on pace to sell a staggering 15.5 million vehicles by the end of 2013.
General Motors led the way in terms of volume with sales of 275,847 units, for a year-over-year growth of nearly 15 percent, thanks to over 36-percent gains in Buick and Cadillac. Toyota Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. followed closely behind with 231,537 (23-percent growth) and 221,270 (12.2-percent growth) units, respectively.
Honda, Hyundai and Kia set all-time sales records for the month of August. Honda was up nearly 30 percent with the sale of 149,381 units, with Acura adding 17,051 units at 9-percent growth. Hyundai and Kia sold 66,101 and 52,023 units, respectively.
Nissan North America chipped in with 22-percent growth with the sale of 120,498 units. Meanwhile, Chrysler Group LLC rounded off a strong showing from Detroit’s Big Three with 11.5-percent growth, with gains in all brands, especially Ram, which on its own gained nearly 29 percent.
Also of note is Subaru, which has had an impressive showing all year. The brand gained 45 percent in August and beat its all-time U.S. sales record with 41,061 units. Jaguar, Land Rover and the BMW Group had the highest percentage of growth among all auto group with 40 and 35 percent, respectively, albeit with just under 38,000 units sold combined.
Volkswagen Group saw gains as a whole, with Audi posting 21-percent growth. However, the Volkswagen brand remained relatively flat, with a slight dip of 1.6 percent.
