Economy Takes a Toll on June Auto Sales

Automakers released their June sales numbers Tuesday, and the news is bleak. In the U.S., overall sales are down 18.3 percent from June of 2007, and 10.1 percent year-to-date. Skyrocketing fuel prices are impacting every aspect of the American economy, and cash-strapped consumers are delaying or completely foregoing new car purchases. When they do buy a new vehicle, many Americans are avoiding gas guzzling trucks and SUVs. The Ford F-150, for example, came in as number five on the list of top-selling vehicles in June. That marked its second month in a row at the five spot; a dramatic fall from grace for a vehicle that, through April, was the biggest seller in America since 1977.

International Makes Gains in Popularity
International makes took six of the top 10 vehicle sales positions in June 2008. According to numbers from AutoData Corp., one of the biggest leaps from June of 2007 was made by the Honda Accord/Hybrid, which moved up the ranks from number eight to number four with a 37.3 percent increase in sales. One of the biggest leaps from June of 2007 was made by the Honda Accord/Hybrid, which moved up the ranks from number eight to number four with a 37.3 percent increase in sales. The Toyota Corolla/Matrix hit the number one mark with 5,681 more vehicles sold in June of this year over last year – a 15.6 percent increase. Another Toyota car, the Camry, came in at number two. Both makes were down slightly for the year, but the Honda Civic (number three in sales) and Honda Accord (number four) were both up year to date with 17.9 percent and 12.9 percent respective sales increases. Note: There were 24 selling days in June 2008 versus the 27 days in June 2007.

Truck Sales Continue to Tumble
The Detroit Three continue to sell more trucks than cars, but their margins are shrinking. In June of 2007, domestic automakers sold 467,432 trucks. This month, Detroit Three truck sales were down to 342,193. That’s a 26.8 percent drop, made worse by the fact that their share of the truck segment has gone from 32.1 to 28.8 percent. Not a huge decrease, but notable as international brands continue to make inroads in the U.S.

Meanwhile, car sales are on the rise. Asian automakers saw cars jump 1.9 percent from 374,448 to 381,545. In the same period, their share of the car market increased from 25.7 to 32.1 percent, suggesting that consumers are drawn to their fuel efficient fleets. Despite a 3.7 percent drop in car sales, European automakers also saw a small rise in their share of the car market, from 5.5 to 6.5 percent

International Brands Up in Second Quarter
International nameplates claimed a majority share of the car market in June, with 54.2 percent of the market versus 49.8 percent at this time last year. International brands also sold 100,358 more vehicles than the domestic brands this month, despite an overall downturn within the industry. Asian brands have a 46.2 percent share of the market, Europeans have an 8.0 percent share, and domestic brands finish the month off with 45.8 percent. The second quarter of 2008 is up slightly for the international industry with 1,783,003 cars sold in the first quarter of the year and 2,076,918 sold in the second quarter. Note: Numbers include car and truck totals.

See below for a complete breakdown of June 2008 monthly and year-to-date sales by international nameplate.