International Auto Sales Outpace Domestics in January

The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) has noted that brands sold by America’s 9,600 international nameplate franchises accounted for 57.4 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States last month, up from 55.1 percent in December.

AutoData Corp. reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for December was 17.12 million units versus 17.44 million units a year ago.

Total industry unit deliveries, including all brands and unadjusted for business days, increased 1 percent compared to last January. Sales were down 28 percent compared to December 2017, in part, theorized analysts, due to the blistering cold that blanketed much of the country in January. International nameplate brands were up 6.4 percent from January 2017.

“Last month, international brands outperformed the auto market as a whole,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “Dealers of these brands are starting the year off on a high note and anticipating strong consumer interest in the first quarter, driven in part by tax reform.”

International brands were led last month by BMW (up 5 percent from last January), Nissan (up 12.1 percent), and Toyota (up 17 percent). Toyota had its best month ever for light truck sales and saw the redesigned Camry’s sales climb 21.3 percent to be the most popular sedan in America. Throughout the industry, light trucks continued to drive sales demand last month, rising 8 percent as a segment, while cars lagged, slipping 10.8 percent.

International auto sales in the U.S. totaled 662,412 units in January, down from 882,393 units in December but up from 622,472 units in January 2017. Asian brands occupied 47.6 percent of the January auto market, up from 44.7 in December. Overall, Asian nameplate dealers sold 549,805 vehicles in January, a 6.6 percent increase from January 2017.

European brands sold 112,607 units in January, down from 166,496 units in December, but up 5.7 percent from the 106,556 units they sold in January 2017. They held 9.8 percent of the January U.S. auto market, down from 10.4 percent in December.

Category: General Update, News