U.S. Auto Sales for January

Mitsubishi Motors North America announced January 2010 sales of 4,170, a slight decrease (4 percent) from December sales.

January highlights included:

–  Galant sales were up 22 percent compared to January 2009

–  Endeavor sales were up 128 percent compared to January 2009 and up 145

percent compared to the prior month (December 2009).

–  Outlander sales were virtually even with sales of January 2009.

Hyundai Motor America announced January sales of 30,503 units, up 24 percent versus January 2009. This marks the thirteenth consecutive month of year-over-year retail market share gains for Hyundai.

“While we were surprised and disappointed in the overall weakness of the industry in January, we are encouraged by our strong performance at both ends of the market spectrum. Our fuel-efficient Accent and Elantra entries were up 61 and 133 percent respectively, while our flagship Genesis recorded its best-ever retail segment share,” said Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America’s vice president of national sales.

Volkswagen of America, Inc reported January 2010 sales of 18,019 total units, representing a 41.4 percent increase over January 2009. January marks Volkswagen’s seventh consecutive sales month of growth. Jetta, the top selling European nameplate in the U.S., continued to sell well and posted solid January sales results with sales of 8,893 total units.

Audi reported January U.S. sales of 6,510 cars and SUVs, which accounted for a 37.9% overall increase from January 2009. Sales of the Audi A3 jumped 106.2% largely due to the availability of the A3 TDI clean diesel model, which won the 2010 Green Car of the Year award at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December. Sales of the Audi A4 sedan, the best-selling model in the Audi lineup, rose 60.3% in January 2010 compared to a year earlier.

Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) reported January 2010 sales of 15,694, an increase of 1.8 percent versus January of 2009, and up 6.0 percent on a DSR (daily selling rate) basis (24 selling days in January 2010 compared to 25 selling days last January). The MAZDA6 reported a 14.0 percent increase with sales of 2,884 units, MAZDA5 posted sales of 1,627 units accounting for a 21.4 percent increase and the CX-7 crossover SUV reported a 39.3 percent increase with sales of 1,622 units.

Chrysler Group reported total U.S. sales for January of 57,143 units. U.S. sales decreased 8 percent compared with the same period last year (62,157 units). Inventory (172,803 units) is down 52 percent compared with January 2009 (359,980 units), representing a 73-day supply. Overall industry figures for January are projected to come in at an estimated 10.9 million SAAR.

Subaru of America, Inc., announced a 28-percent sales increase over January 2009. The company sold 15,611 units in January 2010 versus 12,194 units sold in January 2009. The 2010 Subaru Outback and Legacy vehicles posted their best January sales records ever. By selling 5,467 units, the 2010 Subaru Outback more than doubled its January sales with a 117-percent increase over 2009. The 2010 Subaru Legacy sold 2,448 units, which also doubled its previous January sales, at 110-percent over 2009.

U.S. dealers for GM’s brands - Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac - reported retail sales of 102,420, up 3 percent compared to January 2009, and 145,098 total sales (up 30 percent). These results were driven by the continued strong growth of new GM crossovers and passenger cars. For the month, GM dealers reported 146,825 total sales (including other brands), representing a total sales increase of 14 percent from the previous year.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc.,   reported January sales of 98,796 vehicles, a decrease of 8.7 percent over last January, on a daily selling rate basis.

The Toyota Division posted January sales of 83,279 units, a decrease of 12 percent over the same period last year. On January 26, Toyota suspended sales of the eight models involved in the accelerator pedal recall, impacting the Division’s January sales. The eight models represented more than 60 percent of Toyota inventory.

The Lexus Division reported January sales of 15,517 units, an increase of 14.2 percent over the year-ago month.

Total Acura sales for January reached 7,132, off 1.7 percent versus January 2009, based on the daily selling rate*. The MDX luxury SUV posted a 20.3 percent increase for January and was the best-selling Acura model for the month with sales of 2,358 units. The TL sedan posted January sales of 1,986 units and was the top-selling Acura sedan for the month. The TSX sports sedan reached monthly sales of 1,806 units. The RDX turbocharged SUV sold 700 units for the month. In its first full month on sale, the ZDX four-door sports coupe posted sales of 172 units.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., posted total January vehicle sales of 67,479, an increase of 2.9 percent compared to January 2009, based on the daily selling rate,* which involved two fewer selling days. Honda Division posted January sales of 60,347, an increase of 3.5 percent versus January 2009.

Leading Honda January total car sales of 37,736 were Accord, up 35.6 percent to 20,759, and Civic, up 12.1 percent to 14,693. Honda light-truck sales decreased 11.2 percent to 22,611.

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA reported January 2010 sales of 62,572 units versus 53,884 units a year earlier, an increase of 16.1 percent, compared with January 2009. Nissan Division sales rose 19.4 percent for the month, while sales of Infiniti vehicles were 5.7 percent lower than a year before.

Daimler AG reported sales for the Mercedes-Benz Cars division in the U.S. (Mercedes-Benz and smart combined) of 15,436 units, an increase of 26.4 percent compared to January 2009. Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported January sales of 15,158 vehicles, a 45.3 percent improvement over January 2009, starting 2010 with robust momentum.

Higher sales for every brand and in every product category propelled Ford to a 24 percent sales increase in January versus a year ago.

Ford cars were up 43 percent, crossovers were up 20 percent, sport utilities were up 8 percent, and trucks and vans were up 14 percent. Among brands, Ford sales were up 26 percent, Lincoln sales were up 16 percent and Mercury sales were up 6 percent.

Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced January sales of 22,123 units. January sales represent a 0.1-percent increase over the same period in 2009.

• January 2011 US auto sales

• January 2011 US auto sales