U.S. auto sales continued to climb in December across most automakers. Looking at total 2010 sales, the Detroit Three did well when compared to 2009. Foreign automakers also had a strong 2010, including Kia, Hyundai and Subaru.
General Motors shed four of its eight brands and increased sales in 2010 even without them. GM’s four core brands sold 118,435 more vehicles this year than the company did with eight brands in 2009.
"Our sales this year reflect the impact of GM’s new business model," said Don Johnson, VP, U.S. sales operations. "The consistency of results that we achieved demonstrates the focus on our brands, dealers and customers, and how we compete aggressively for every sale, every day."
Ford‘s 2010 sales totaled 1.935 million, up 19 percent compared to a year ago, which it says is the largest increase of any full-line manufacturer.
"With our balanced line of high-quality, fuel-efficient products, we have a solid foundation to deliver more sales and improved results in 2011," said Ken Czubay, Ford VP, U.S. marketing, sales and service. "Consideration for Ford is increasing beyond our traditional areas of strength – signaling that the seeds of growth already have taken hold."
Chrysler Group finished the year with an increase of 17 percent over 2009. The automaker offered 0 percent auto loan rates for most of 2010 on a wide variety of vehicles and low car loan rates on most other models.
"We are extremely proud of the sales strides we made during this transition year," said Fred Diaz, president and CEO – Ram Truck brand and lead executive for U.S. sales. "Chrysler Group launched 16 all-new or significantly-improved models last year, most of them during the fourth quarter."
December 2010 U.S. auto sales, 2010 total yearly sales
GM: up 15.5% (core brands only), 2010 sales up 21.3% (core brands only), up 6.3% for all brands
Ford: up 6.7%, 2010 sales up 19.4%
Chrysler: up 16%, 2010 sales up 17%
Toyota: down 2.4% (including Scion), 2010 sales down 0.6% (including Scion)
Lexus: down 3.5%, 2010 sales up 6.9%
Honda: up 22.6%, 2010 sales up 5.6%
Acura: up 51.9%, 2010 sales up 27.2%
Nissan: up 26.3%, 2010 sales up 16.9%
Infiniti: up 37.3%, 2010 sales up 27.5%
Mercedes-Benz: up 0.3%, 2010 sales up 13.6%
smart USA: down 34%, 2010 sales down 59.4%
BMW: up 15.7%, 2010 sales up 12%
MINI: up 23.8%, 2010 sales up 0.9%
Porsche: up 21%, 2010 sales up 29%
Audi: up 17%, 2010 sales up 23%
Kia: up 44.6%, 2010 sales up 18.7%
Hyundai: up 33%, 2010 sales up 24%
Subaru: up 15.7%, 2010 sales up 21.8%
Mazda: up 17.7%, 2010 sales up 10.5%
Volkswagen: up 17.1%, 2010 sales up 20.3%
Suzuki: up 40%, 2010 sales down 38%
Mitsubishi: up 12%, 2010 sales up 4%
