Additional capacity in Asia and North America will boost the German auto maker’s volume in 2016 and beyond, with new plants in China, alone, adding more than 600,000 units annually.
If sales continue at the June/July pace in August, inventory could remain flat or even decline. That could dampen September’s sales somewhat as popular vehicles temporarily will be in short supply.
The light-truck segment could be headed for a 6-year high in market share in 2013. Sales of fullsize models increased 18.8% in July and are up 19.6% year-to-date.
Inventory of domestically made vehicles is somewhat low, leading to a reduction in normally scheduled summer vacation shutdowns at several plants operated by Chrysler, Ford and GM.
Large-pickup deliveries rose 28.1% above year-ago in June, driving the segment’s market penetration upward to 11.8%. First-half sales of the big pickups shot up 21.2%, the highest gain of any of the major segments.
In 2016, the number of EV nameplates in production will total 96, an increase of just five from 2013. By comparison, output of hybrid nameplates will jump from 185 to 234 in the 3-year period, according to a WardsAuto...
WardsAuto will begin estimating General Motors’ monthly North American production by plant, platform and vehicle line starting with May’s results, following the auto maker’s decision to discontinue...
Ford can’t keep up with Explorer demand, even with its Chicago plant working on three shifts and overtime. Sales of the SUV easily will top 200,000 this year for the first time since 2005.