With sales results for the first half of the year tricking in over the holiday weekend, brisk deliveries of compact vehicles are helping push sales of Asian carmakers higher as Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai and Kia all reported double-digit sales increases for June and for the second quarter.
FCA US LLC, the truck-and-SUV dependent subsidiary of Stellantis, reported 6% increased for the second quarter but Ram brands sales were up only 3% despite a major push into commercial vehicles, according to the company’s quarterly sales report.
Commercial demand boosts Ram brand, Jeep falters
“We saw increased demand this quarter as market conditions continue to improve and our dealer network makes the necessary adjustments to drive sales growth across our brand portfolios,” said U.S. Head of Sales Jeff Kommor.
The Ram brand’s ProMaster van saw its best-ever quarter in both total and retail U.S. sales, increasing 27% and 58% respectively over the same period last year. Sales of Jeep brand vehicles dropped 3%, at least in part because of parts shortages, which have slowed production of some vehicles.
Meanwhile Subaru of America Inc. reported a 28% increase compared with June 2022. SOA also reported year-to-date sales of 304,092 units, a 15% increase compared with the same period in 2022.
“The first half of 2023 has been a resounding success thanks to the exceptional efforts of our Subaru retailers. This June, their efforts led to our 11th consecutive month of sales growth, an increase of 28% compared to June 2022,” said Jeff Walters, president and Chief Operating Officer.
Nissan Group announced total U.S. second quarter sales for 2023 of 244,353 units, an increase of 33.4% versus the prior year as sales of compact and subcompact such as the Versa, Sentra, Rogue and Kicks all jumped in the second quarter. Nissan brand sales were up 32%, while Infiniti sales climbed 56%.
With cars leading the way and record sales of electrified models, Honda brand sales increased 54% in June while Acura sales were up 65%. For the second quarter, Honda sales were up 42.6% and Acura sales were up 77%.
“American Honda had a strong second quarter with sales of over 110,000 units in each of the last three months. Acura sales are up 80% while Honda posted the largest yearly increase of the top five auto brands,” said Mamadou Diallo, senior vice president of Auto Sales at American Honda Motor Co. Inc.
“It’s exciting to see both our cars and light trucks doing so well and while we now have some industrywide transportation issues to overcome, our dealers are doing a great job with high turn rates to get products in the hands of our customers,” he added.
Kia, Hyundai sales continue to grow
Kia America set an all-time first half volume record of 394,333 vehicles, up 18% over the first half of 2022. Kia’s retail-only sales total for the past six months was 362,933, an increase of 17% over the first half of 2022. Kia closed the month of June with 70,495 total units, an 8% increase during the same period last year, marking the 11th straight month of year-over-year sales growth.
“Kia sales continue to accelerate as consumers respond very positively to Kia’s enhanced lineup of rugged and capable SUV’s, sporty sedans and innovative EVs,” said Eric Watson, vice president, sales operations, Kia America.
“As production continues to improve on models that were in short supply during the pandemic, we are seeing sales strength across our core SUV models with Sportage, Telluride, Sorrento and Seltos as well as the Niro, Soul and Carnival models all seeing year-over-year growth. And with launch of our flagship EV9 all-electric three-row SUV in the second half of the year, we expect to see continued momentum.”
Hyundai Motor America reported total June sales of 69,351 units, an 10% increase compared with June 2022.
“Our award-winning EV line-up continues to build momentum with the best all-time monthly sales for the Ioniq 5 and the first time with over a thousand units sold for the Ioniq 6,” said Randy Parker, CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “Our strong retail partners and the right product at the right time have enabled us to attract new and existing customers to the Hyundai brand.”
In Q2, Hyundai sold 210,164 units and increase of 14% and 394,613 vehicles in the first half an increase of 15%. All-time best Q2 records were set for Elantra HEV, Elantra N, Ioniq 5, Santa Fe PHEV, Santa Fe HEV, Tucson PHEV, Tucson HEV, Santa Cruz and Kona EV. Fleet sales represented 9% of total volume in Q2, according to the company’s monthly sales report.
Tesla also reported another record quarter for both production and deliveries in the three months to June 30. The EV leader said it produced 479,700 cars, and it delivered 466,140 — both exceeding the totals for the first quarter of this year and nearly double the figures for last year. The figures include Tesla production in Europe and China.
Toyota joined other Japanese and South Korean automakers in posting a hefty sales increase during the month of June as the U.S. economy gained strength.
Toyota Motor North America reported U.S. sales in June 2023 of 195,448 vehicles, up 14.9 percent on a volume and daily selling rate basis versus June 2022. Toyota division posted June sales of 168,680 vehicles, up 14.4 percent on a volume and DSR basis. For the first half of 2023, Toyota division reported sales of 889,108 vehicles, down 2.8 percent on a volume and DSR basis.
Lexus division posted June sales of 26,768 vehicles, up 18.1 percent on a volume and DSR basis. For the first half of 2023, Lexus division reported sales of 149,412 vehicles, up 14.0 percent on a volume and DSR basis.
June 2023 sales of electrified vehicles totaled 51,535, representing 26.4 percent of total monthly sales.
For the first half of 2023, TMNA reported U.S. sales of 1,038,520 vehicles, down 0.7 percent on a volume and DSR basis. First half electrified vehicle sales totaled 270,476, representing 26.0 percent of total year-to-date sales.
General Motors and Ford have not yet released sales data for the first half of 2023.
“If you look at Q2 in the aggregate, new vehicle sales appeared to settle into a stable groove, which is a nice departure from the tumult that the industry has witnessed over the last few years. More consumers returned to the market with older trade-ins, which indicates that pent-up demand helped buoy sales,” said Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insights.
“But digging a bit deeper into the data, June tells a slightly conflicting story. After five consecutive months of increasing discounts and vehicles sitting on dealer lots for longer periods of time, June shows that those trends are stalling a bit.”