What would happen when the cash for clunkers sales boom came to an end has been a question many automotive executives in the USA dared not think about. Well, now they have their answers.
September 2009 light duty vehicle sales dropped back to pre-incentive lows with 745,997 cars and light duty trucks sold during the month according to Autodata. This meant that sales were down 22.7 per cent year on year, and dropped 41 per cent compared to August.
Hybrid sales were not immune from the troubles either. Reported sales dropped 4.1 per cent compared to the previous year at 19,977 units (though they do not include sales of the Mercedes S400 Hybrid which went on sale in the USA at the end of August). Compared to August results, this meant that hybrid sales were down 48.4 per cent and market share dropped down to 2.7 per cent from its high of 3.6 per cent in July.
Here is how each manufacturer faired:
Ford: The company reported a six per cent drop in sales year-on-year. However, it sold 2,138 hybrids in September which is 116 per cent up compared to September 2008 – sales of the Milan/Escape hybrid were down 11.3 per cent, but the new Fusion and Milan hybrid accounted for 1,260 units.
General Motors: With 155,679 light vehicles sold, the company suffered a 45 per cent drop compared to the prior year. In total, 1,011 hybrids were delivered in the month.
Honda: Total vehicle sales reached 77,229 a decline of 20 per cent with hybrid sales dropping six per cent to 1,898 units. Sales of the Civic hybrid plummeted by 92.5 per cent to 152 units, but the new Honda Insight sold 1,746 units.
Nissan: Total sales reached 55,393 units – a decrease of seven per cent compared to the previous year. Sales of the Altima Hybrid suffered a particularly significant fall down 26.6 per cent to 345 units.
Toyota: Japanese manufacturer Toyota reported September sales of 126,015 vehicles, which is down 12.6 per cent compared to the previous year – hybrid sales fell to 14,585 units, down 5.3 per cent. The Prius enjoyed a sales surge of one per cent compared to the previous year at 10,984 units, but Camry Hybrid sales dropped 68.7 per cent year-on-year to just 872 units. The Highlander Hybrid sold 269 units, down 70.8 per cent; while Toyota’s luxury division Lexus saw sales of the RX hybrid rise by 57 per cent to 1,168 units, the GS hybrid sell 38 units, up 31 per cent, and the LS600h post 12 units, down 74.5 per cent. The new HS250h meanwhile, sold 1,242 units.
