By The Numbers - September 2009: Post C4C, We're All Alright Edition

by John Neff (RSS feed) on Oct 1st, 2009 at 5:04PM Featured
Here it is, the first full month of sales after the government's popular Cash for Clunkers has ended. The expected result – that auto sales would plummet once the feds stopped handing out free money in exchange for clunkers – didn't exactly happen. Nine brands posted positive sales in September versus the same period in 2008 with another three posting single-digit losses.

Of course, there were automakers that dropped right back into the cellar, including General Motors (-44.98 percent) and Chrysler LLC (-42.06 percent). General Motors, however, is in the process of shrinking, shedding brands and dealers left and right, so its sub-par performance will be par for the course for a while. Chrysler LLC, however, apparently just can't compete with its dated products.

The Koreans have once again remained remarkably popular, with Hyundai sales up an incredible 27.24 percent and Kia enjoying a 24.39-percent rise. Subaru, which can usually be found on the sales podium along with the Koreans, fell back a bit but still managed a 0.70 percent increase. Ford, meanwhile, continues to out play its cross town rivals and delivered a decent -5.08 percent drop for the entire company and -4.06 percent fall for the Ford brand itself. The Blue Oval's September sales performance even bests its competition from Japan with Toyota (-12.65 percent), Honda (-20.07 percent) and Nissan (-7.0 percent) all down more.

Check out how the rest of the industry performed in the chart below.

NOTE: Audi not yet reported.

Brands and companies are both displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in September 2009 and 24 selling days in September 2008, so the change in monthly sales volume will be different than the change in the average daily sales rate for each brand/company.

Brand Volume % 9/09 9/08 DSR*% DSR 9/09 DSR 9/08
Hyundai 27.24 31,511 24,765 22.15 1,260 1,032
Kia 24.39 21,623 17,383 19.42 865 724
Volvo 16.33 4,716 4,054 11.68 189 169
Lexus 11.80 17,939 16,045 7.33 718 669
Mini 9.73 4,128 3,762 5.34 165 157
Porsche 8.44 1,581 1,458 4.10 63 61
BMW 2.06 15,047 14,744 -2.03 602 614
Volkswagen 1.46 17,358 17,109 -2.60 694 713
Subaru 0.70 14,593 14,491 -3.32 584 604
Ford -4.06 98,516 102,685 -7.90 3,941 4,279
Nissan -5.80 48,783 51,786 -9.57 1,951 2,158
Cadillac -8.79 11,339 12,432 -12.44 454 518
Mercedes-Benz -9.55 16,985 18,779 -13.17 679 782
Mazda -11.97 14,234 16,169 -15.49 569 674
Infiniti -15.03 6,610 7,779 -18.43 264 324
Toyota -15.71 108,076 128,215 -19.08 4,323 5,342
Mercury -15.98 5,443 6,478 -19.34 218 270
Honda -19.23 69,970 86,629 -22.46 2,799 3,610
Jeep -19.34 17,287 21,431 -22.56 691 893
Lincoln -21.01 5,980 7,571 -24.17 239 315
Acura -27.39 7,259 9,997 -30.29 290 417
Buick -33.04 9,455 14,121 -35.72 378 588
Mitsubishi -36.13 4,712 7,378 -38.69 188 307
Chevrolet -40.66 102,538 172,803 -43.04 4,102 7,200
Dodge -42.68 35,864 62,572 -44.98 1,435 2,607
Pontiac -52.50 11,079 23,324 -54.40 443 972
GMC -52.96 18,359 39,029 -54.84 734 1,626
Smart -54.22 814 1,778 -56.05 33 74
Suzuki -54.42 1,861 4,083 -56.24 74 170
Chrysler -61.25 9,046 23,346 -62.80 362 973
Saab -72.58 484 1,765 -73.67 19 74
Hummer -81.46 426 2,298 -82.20 17 96
Saturn -83.85 2,993 18,528 -84.49 120 772

COMPANIES
BMW Group 3.62 19,175 18,506 -0.53 767 771
Ford Motor Company -5.08 114,655 120,788 -8.87 4,586 5,033
Nissan North America -7.00 55,393 59,565 -10.72 2,216 2,482
Toyota Mo Co -12.65 126,015 144,260 -16.14 5,041 6,011
Honda America -20.07 77,229 96,626 -23.27 3,089 4,026
Chrysler Group LLC -42.06 62,197 107,349 -44.38 2,488 4,473
General Motors -44.89 156,673 284,300 -47.10 6,267 11,846