By the Numbers - August 2008: New Digs Edition

Check it out. We've completely revamped By the Numbers to convey more sales information than before in a much easier to digest way. Now we'll be reporting both the change in monthly sales volume for each brand and automaker as well as the change in their Daily Sales Rate or average number of vehicles sold per day. On to the armchair analysis... Poor sales continued through the month of August as only a handful of brands are able to brag about increased sales. Nissan North America bucked the trend entirely reporting a 13.6% gain for the combined brands of Nissan and Infiniti with each marque reporting its own individual increases. Credit goes to VW (2.9%), as well, which posted a solid number, and the BMW Group (1.0%), which barely earned a positive increase in sales thanks to a strong 34.1% increase in MINI sales. While GM (-20.4%), FoMoCo (-25.6%) and Chrysler LLC (-34.5%) sales were all down in a big way, Toyota MoCo and Honda America were also not immune falling 9.4% and 7.3%, respectively. In this environment, brands should consider a single-digit drop a small victory considering the majority of brands that fell by 10% or more. #comparechart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #comparechart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 80%} #comparechart th { font-size: 80%; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #comparechart th.mainth { font-size: 75%; border-bottom: 1px solid #333; } #comparechart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #comparechart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4; } #comparechart td.yellow { background-color: #ffffcc;}

BY THE NUMBERS - August 2008

Brand Vol. Total Vol. 8/08 Total Vol. 8/07 DSR Daily avg 8/08 Daily avg 8/07

Acura

-8.2%

15,089

16,436

-8.2%

559

609

Audi

-15.9%

6,406

7,620

-15.9%

237

282

BMW

-4.1%

25,462

26,562

-4.1%

943

984

Buick

-7.7%

17,833

19,324

-7.7%

660

716

Cadillac

-20.9%

15,405

19,481

-20.9%

571

722

Chevrolet

-19.2%

185,080

229,012

-19.2%

6,855

8,482

Chrysler

-44.2%

24,337

43,650

-44.2%

901

1,617

Dodge

-24.6%

62,422

82,841

-24.6%

2,312

3,068

Ford

-26.2%

133,088

180,282

-26.1%

4,929

6,677

GMC

-17.6%

42,194

51,222

-17.6%

1,563

1,897

Honda

-7.2%

131,766

141,906

-7.2%

4,880

5,256

HUMMER

-62%

2,160

5,677

-62%

80

210

Hyundai

-8.8%

41,130

45,087

-8.8%

1,523

1,670

Infiniti

8.0%

11,076

10,252

8.0%

410

378

Jeep

-43.7%

23,476

41,712

-43.7%

869

1,545

Kia

-6.7%

25,065

26,874

-6.7%

928

995

Lexus

-9.1%

29,281

32,199

-9.1%

1,084

1,193

Lincoln

-8.5%

9,540

10,423

-8.5%

353

386

Mazda

-4.4%

23,680

24,762

-4.4%

877

917

Mercedes-Benz

-11.8%

18,507

20,980

-11.8%

685

777

Mercury

-31.7%

8,393

12,296

-31.7%

311

455

MINI

34.1%

5,469

4,077

34.1%

203

151

Mitsubishi

-29.3%

9,200

13,020

-29.3%

341

482

Nissan

14.2%

97,417

85,275

14.2%

3,608

3,158

Pontiac

-38.3%

24,257

39,324

-38.3%

898

1,456

Porsche

-44.9%

1,404

2,548

-44.9%

52

94

Saab

-50.1%

1,503

3,011

-50.1%

56

112

Saturn

-3.5%

20,385

21,117

-3.5%

755

782

Subaru

14.2%

18,932

16,573

14.2%

701

614

Suzuki

-31.7%

6,083

8,916

-31.7%

225

330

Toyota

-9.4%

182,252

201,272

-9.4%

6,750

7,455

Volkswagen

2.9%

22,292

21,655

2.9%

826

802

Volvo

-48.8%

4,669

9,119

-48.8%

173

338

COMPANIES

BMW Group

1%

30,931

30,639

1%

1,146

1,135

Chrysler LLC

-34.5%

110,235

168,203

-34.5%

4,083

6,230

FoMoCo

-25.6%

151,021

203,001

-25.6%

5,593

7,519

General Motors

-20.4%

308,817

388,168

-20.4%

11,438

14,377

Honda America

-7.3%

146,855

158,342

-7.3%

5,439

5,864

Nissan NA

13.6%

108,493

95,527

13.6%

4,018

3,538

Toyota Mo Co

-9.4%

211,533

233,471

-9.4%

7,835

8,647

August 2008 had 27 selling days versus 27 selling days for August 2007UPDATE: Audi added and Subaru's sales figures corrected.