August 2015 U.S. LV Sales Thread: Sales Soar, SAAR Climbs to Decade High

WardsAuto tracks light-vehicle (LV) deliveries throughout sales reporting day. Monthly year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR).  August had 26 selling days this year compared with 27 in 2014, meaning DSR % change will be higher than %volume change in year-over-year comparisons this month. 

Check throughout reporting day for company by company sales updates.
 

Related Table 

U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table

SUMMARY: Despite Labor Day Weekend sales falling into September this year (they were counted in August last year) the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales continued to gain momentum in August, reaching a 10-year high of 17.7 million units, well ahead of consensus forecasts. August marked the fourth consecutive month that the SAAR has rounded to 17 million units or higher. 

Automakers sold 1.57 million light vehicles in August, improving daily sales 3.3%, over same-month year-ago. Sales volume was down roughly 9,000 units, with one less selling day this year than last.  

Light trucks availability helped boost DSR, accounting for 57.3% of all LV deliveries, compared with 52.7% of year-ago sales. 

General Motors led all automakers with a 17.2% sales share for the month, compared to 17.3% the prior year. Ford, bolstered by improved pickup inventories, followed with 14.6% share, well ahead of its 13.8% year-ago share. Toyota's share fell significantly year-over-year from 15.6% last year to 14.3% in 2015.

FCA took the No.4 position with a 12.8% share, ahead of Honda (9.9%).

U.S. automakers delivered 11.56 million light vehicles through the first eight months of the year, a 3.9% improvement on the year-ago YTD tally.  

UPDATE FINAL: Hyundai reported record August sales, and the company's second-best monthly sales volume ever. The South Korea brand delivered 72,012 LVs - a 6.8% gain on year-ago DSR, that brings the company's eight-month total to just over 514,000, a 2.5% improvement over year-ago YTD.

UPDATE 1:40 PM ET

BMW delivered just under 33,000 BMW and Mini-brand LVs in August, a 5.9% year-over-year DSR improvement, that brings the automaker's YTD sales to 264,000  - up 7.3% over year-ago. Rival Daimler beat expectation by 11% in August, delivering 31,267 LVs - a 7.1% jump in daily sales, giving the German automaker a 6.4% YTD lead over 2014.

UPDATE 12:30 PM ET 

Toyota reported 224,381 August LV deliveries, a 5.3% DSR decline from a very strong year-ago results that is directly in line with WardsAuto expectations. Toyota's YTD sales hit 1.67 million through August, a 2.8% improvement over same-period year-ago. 

UPDATE 12:30 PM ET

Volkswagen and Nissan reported sales in line with WardsAuto forecasted levels. Nissan sold 133,351 LVs in August, representing a 3% increase in daily sales, and 4% rise in volume YTD. Volkswagen brand vehicle sales declined 4.6% on a daily basis for a 32,332 total, and a year-to-date drop of 2.8%. 

Mazda DSR fell 1% on nearly 30,000 deliveries putting the automaker 0.4% behind year-ago for the first eight months of 2015. Mitsubishi, on the other hand, increased its DSR by 27% with 8,289 August deliveries, lifting its YTD tally to 65,701, up 24.4%.

UPDATE 11:00 AM ET

Ford daily sales jumped 9.7% over a weak year-ago, thanks to much improved light-truck inventory. Ford sold just over 229,000 light vehicles in August, achieving its best DSR for the month since 2005. Ford's year-to-date sales through eight months are 1.7 million units, up 2.8%.

Honda sales were directly in line with WardsAuto's forecast, at just over 155,000 units, a 3.3% decline in daily sales compared to a strong year-ago bolstered by Labor Day holiday-weekend sales. The result brings Honda's YTD total 1.05 million units, a 1.2% improvement on like 2014. 

9:45 AM ET

General Motors reported sales in line with WardsAuto's forecast, delivering 270,480 LVs in August, a 3.1% improvement over year-ago results on a daily basis. GM's year-to-date tally climbed over 2 million units in August as well, putting the automaker 3.2% ahead of year-ago YTD on a volume basis. 

FCA-US, meanwhile, overshot expectations for August by several thousand units, selling more than 200,000 cars and light. The company's 7,698-unit daily sales rate was a 5.3% improvement on year-ago, and was FCA's highest August DSR in 15 years. The automaker has sold 1.45 million LVs YTD, up 5.4% from same-period year-ago.