June Sales Thread: (FINAL) SAAR Hits 15.9 Million, Best June Since 2006

June 2013 Light Vehicle Sales Volume:
WardsAuto forecast LV Sales:              1.388 million units
Final LV sales:                                      1.397 million units

June 2013 Light Vehicle SAAR:

WardsAuto forecast:        15.79 million
Current Projected SAAR: 15.89 million

Differential bewteen actual and WardsAuto Forecast: 0.6%.

WardsAuto tracks light vehicle (LV) sales throughout the day. Year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR). June had 26 selling days this year and 27 selling days in 2012. Company results appear in the timeline below.

FINAL UPDATE

3:30 p.m.: Kia reported its best June DSR ever (up 2.2% over year-ago), on deliveries of 50,536 units.

Kia's sales brought the final U.S. Light Vehicle sales total to 1.397 million units in June, equating to a 15.9 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), just above WardsAuto's forecast 15.8 million units. It was the highest monthly SAAR since November 2008, and the highest June SAAR rate since 2006.

The industry's monthly DSR was up 13.2% over year-ago. while total sales for the first half of 2013 tracked 7.5% higher than same-period 2012.

June marked the 25th consecutive month of year-over-year growth.

1:45 p.m.: With three companies still to report, a total of eight auto makers so far have reported record June sales.

1:05 p.m. Hyundai also reports best June ever, with 65,007 deliveries - a 5.8% bump in DSR versus year-ago, giving the South Korean auto maker a slight 1.2% improvement in the first-hafl of 2013 compared to teh first six months of 2012.

Daimler was also in the ranks of auto makers reporting their best June sales ever, with daily sales up 11% on 27,186 units, lifting YTD volume sales 9.3% above year-ago.

Mazda record its highest June DSR since 2008, with 22,496 LV sales (up 17.3% on a daily basis) that pushed the auto maker's YTD total a slim 0.8% above year-ago.

12:40 p.m.: BMW had its best June sales ever, with 33,645 BMW & Mini brand deliveries raising the monthly DSR 26% over year-ago, and raising the German auto maker's YTD US LV sales 9%.

Honda daily sales rose 13.9% vs same-month 2012, for the company's second-best June ever, and it's best since June 2008, when rising gas prices helped boost Honda's market share.

Noon: Audi weighs in with 13,706 deliveries, boosting daily sales 12.4% in June, slightly below the auto maker's 14% YTD gain on like-2012.

11:45 a.m.: Nissan reports best June ever. 104,124 LV deliveries lifts auto makers DSR 17.2% over year-ago. YTD sales up 8.1% vs Jan-June 2012.

11:00 a.m.: Detroit 3 combined for best June DSR since 2007. It was also the D3's second sales best DSR in the past 66 months (just behind May's).

10:35 a.m.: Ford reports its best June sales since 2006. The seven-year best DSR for June came on light vehicle deliveries of 230,251 units, lifting the daily sales rate 17.2% over year-ago, and bringing Ford's six-month total LV volume 12.5% over year-ago.

10:25 General Motors reports its best daily sales rate for any month since Septemebr 2008. LV deliveries of 264,843 raise GM's DSR 10.6% in June, bringing YTD sales 8% over like-2012.

10:15 a.m.: Subaru daily sales rate jumps 47% over year-ago on 39,235 deliveries. YTD sales up 24.5%.

VW meanwhile, is moving in the other direction, despite strong Passat and Jetta sales, The company logged a year-over-year DSR gain of just 0.5% (on an actual sales volume decline) while YTD sales through June fall 0.9% below first-half year-ago. An aging portfolio is at least part of the reason the company is lagging rest of industry right now. (See story.)

[9:30 a.m.: Toyota booms in June, above expectations at 195,235 units, boosting DSR 14% over year-ago. It's the company's best year-over-year DSR bump since January, and puts Toyota 6% above year-ago for the first half of 2013.

9:00 a.m.: Chrysler first to report - selling 156,133 light vehicles in June, a 12.6% improvement over year-ago daily sales . June results lift Chrysler half-year total 9.1% above same-period 2012. (See story.)