| AUGUST 2016 US LV SALES | |
| FORECAST v REPORTED | UNITS |
| WardsAuto Forecast LV Sales | 1.55 million |
| Current Projected July LV Sales | 1.51 million |
| WardsAuto Forecast LV SAAR | 17.36 million |
| Current Projected July LV SAAR | 16.91 million |
WardsAuto tracks light-vehicle (LV) deliveries throughout sales reporting day. Monthly year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR). August had 26 selling days this year compared with 26 days in 2015, meaning DSR % change will equal straight volume %change for year-over-year comparisons this month.
Related Table
U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table
FINAL SUMMARY:
The light-vehicle market performed below expectations in August. US automakers' sales fell 3.4% from same-month year ago, as deliveries totaled less than 1.51 million units. This brought the first eight months of the 2016 to 11.6 million units, up just 0.5% from like-2015.
Six of the top seven auto groups posted year-over-year declines.
General Motors sold 255,210 cars and light trucks, down 5.2%. Toyota, even with a 5.0% drop in sales, earned a 14.2% market share to surpass Ford and take the No. 2 spot. Ford, with 234,298 LVs sold, took a 8.8% dive, lowering share to 13.9%.
FCA was the only top automaker to beat prior-year, boosting sales 3.0% to take 13.0% of the market.
Next in line was Honda, accounting for 9.9% of the market, which posted a 3.8% decline in deliveries. Nissan was down 6.5% in volume, leading to a 8.3% stake.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate came to 16.91 million units, the third sub-17-million SAAR of this year.
UPDATE 1:22 PM ET:
Hyundai came in flat with year-ago with 72,015 units. Sister-brand Kia took a steep fall of 7.9%, selling 54,248 vehicles in August.
Subaru and Audi were able join the minority of automakers that outperformed like-2015, gaining 14.7% and 2.5%, respectively.
UPDATE 12:50 PM ET:
Results are mixed for the German automakers. Daimler saw a 2.0% rise to 31,917 LVs. BMW and VW continued to undersell year-ago, down 7.2% and 9.1%, respectively.
UPDATE 11:38 AM ET:
Toyota's sales fell 5.0% from year-ago, on 213,125 deliveries. Year-to-date sales are tracking 2.9% behind same-period 2015.
Mazda posted 26,109 units for August, down 12.8%.
UPDATE 10:40 AM ET:
Honda fell short of expectations with a 3.8% decline over same-month year-ago. The automaker delivered 149,571 vehicles in August. Through the first eight months of the year, Honda sales volume is up 3.8%.
Nissan also came in below forecast levels, delivering 124,638 units, down 6.5%. Year-to-date sales are up 5.4%.
UPDATE 9:53 AM ET:
The Detroit Three combined came in 4.2% below year ago.
General Motors came in 5.2% below last year with 256,429 LVs, meeting expectations. The 7-month total was 1,736,197 units, 4.2% less than same-period 2015.
Ford delivered 209,137 light vehicles in July, dropping 9.0% from year-ago. Ford's YTD sales are at 1,736,197 units, up 1.4%.
FCA sold 195,349 LVs in August, 3.0% more than in like-2015. The automaker's year-to-date total has been revised to fit their new tracking methodology. The 1,511,240 units is 4.3% above year-ago.
