September auto sales numbers are in and Ford clearly has the upper hand against its rivals, GM and Chrysler. Ford was down only 5.1% compared to September 2008, while Chrysler was down 42% and GM was down 45%.
The cash for clunkers “hangover”, as some call it, affected some automakers more than others. Clearly, Chrysler and GM didn’t fare too well after the CARS program ended, as Chrysler was down only 15% in August. GM was down 20% and Ford was up 17% in August.
Some automakers still were able to do well in September, despite no government incentive for a trade-in vehicle. Hyundai was up 27% in September, compared to being up 47% in August. Kia was up 24.4% in September.
September 2009 sales:
GM: down 45%
Ford: down 5.1%
Chrysler: down 42%
Honda: down 22.5%
Acura: down 30.3%
Nissan: down 5.8%
Infiniti: down 15%
Toyota: down 19.1%
Lexus: up 7.3%
Mercedes-Benz: down 9.6%
smart USA: down 54.2%
BMW: up 2.1%
MINI: up 9.7%
Audi: down 4.9%
Porsche: up 8.4%
Suzuki: down 54%
Hyundai: up 27%
Mazda: down 12%
Kia: up 24.4%
Volkswagen: up 1.5%
Mitsubishi: down 36.1%
Subaru: up 1%
