2012 Sales Off and Running

Ward's projected SAAR: 13.9 million units.
Current estimated SAAR: 14.11 million units.

The U.S. LV SAAR crossed the the 14 million unit threshhold for the first time (excluding August 2009's Cash-for-Clunker inflated SAAR) since May 2008, as the U.S. auto industry continues to lead the nation's economic recovery.

Light vehicle sales for the month hit 910,617 units, up 11.5% over year-ago.

GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Company report combined January sales up 7.9% over year-ago. Both months had 24 selling days.

GM, as expected sold fewer vehicles than they did with a surprising incentive push in the first month of 2011, down 6.1% on volume sales of nearly 168,000 vehicles.

Ford improved by 7.9% over year-ago with sales of 134,291 units, but Chrysler continues to outpace the industry on the growth front, with January sales up 44% over like 2011, on volume sales of 100,612.

Toyota sales were up 7.5% for the month on sales of 124,540 units. That's the best year-over-year result for Toyota since the March tsunami and earthquake in Japan took out the company's inventory. Nissan outperformed the current overall industry gain of 9.5%, with deliveries tracking 10.4% over year-ago.

Mazda registered a 68.2% increase in sales over year-ago, with Mazda2 (+5325) and Mazda3 (83.4%) sales providing the bulk of the volume increase.

Subaru sales were up over year ago for the second consecutive month, after an inventory-depletion related seven-month stretch of year-to-year declines. The company sold 22,807 vehicles in January, a 21% gain over like-2011.

Kia sales were up 27.8% over year-ago with daily sales of 1,480 roughly in line with the company's six-month average of 1,539 - which appears to be a rough cap on DSR determined by the company's overall supply.

European automakers are reporting an excellent January so far. Volkswagen brand sales were up 47.9% over year-ago, with Audi reporting a sales increase of nearly 20%. Jaguar Land Rover sales were up nearly 31% on unit sales of 4,190, while Porsche sales climbed 6.3%.

BMW, which pushed hard in December to grab the number one luxury-marque title for 2011, saw sales climb a relatively low 5.8% for its combined BMW and Mini brands. Daimler, which came in second to BMW for annual bragging rights, improved its January sales 23.3% over year-ago.