January 2016 U.S. LV Sales Thread: 2016 U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales Off to Strong Start

WardsAuto tracks light-vehicle (LV) deliveries throughout sales reporting day. Monthly year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR).  January  had 24 selling days this year compared with 26 in 2015, meaning DSR % change is higher than straight volume %change for year-over-year comparisons this month.

Related Table 

U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table

Overview: U.S. automakers sold 1.14 million light vehicles in over 24 selling days in January, for a  47,590-unit daily sales rate (DSR) a 7.9% improvement in daily sales over same-month 2015. 

The finally tally equated to a 17.46 million-unit seasonally adjusted annual rate, the highest January SAAR since 2006. 

GM led all automakers, with over 200,000 deliveries and a 17.8% share of the market. Ford took the No.2 spot with a 14.8% share, followed by Toyota (14.1%) and FCA (13.5%). Nissan rounded out the Top 5 with a 9.3% share ahead of Honda (8.8%) and Hyundai-Kia (7.3%).

Among volume automakers, only Volkswagen experienced a DSR decline from same-month year-ago.

Today's sales report thread appears below. See related articles for additional details.

UPDATE 1:15 PM ET: Hyundai bested its year-ago volume with 45,011 deliveries and a 9.6% DSR gain in January. BMW's daily sales were up 4%, on 21,230 deliveries of its BMW- and Mini-brand vehicles. Daimler's DSR rose 9.7% on 26,977 LV sales.

Subaru improved on a great year-ago, upping its daily sales 9.1% while delivering 41,101 cars and light trucks in January.

UPDATE NOON ET: Toyota delivered 161,283 LVs in January, a 3.3% DSR gain over like-2015. 

UPDATE 11:04 AM ET: General Motors light-vehicle sales were directly in line with forecast at 203,745 units - an 8.8% DSR improvement over year-ago.

Honda deliveries, too, finished at WardsAuto's forecast levels. The Japanese automaker sold 100,497 LVs in January, up 6.5% on a daily basis. 

Nissan  exceeded expectations by a little more than 3%, with a 10% DSR gain resulting in 105,734 January LV sales.

Volkswagen brand, meanwhile, continues to slump, with a 7.5% decline in daily sales rate (and a 14.6% drop in total volume for the month).

10:OO AM ET: Early reporters offer somewhat mixed results, with Ford and Mazda falling slightly below WardsAuto's forecast, and FCA coming in well-ahead of projections.

Ford sold just under 168,600 light-vehicles in January, a 5% gain in DSR for the month, but 3% under year-ago's total volume (January had two additional selling days in 2015). FCA, meanwhile, delivered 154,000 LVs  a 15.8% DSR gain and a 6.8% volume improvement compared to year-ago.

Mazda sold 19,703 cars and light-trucks in January, up 5.3% on a daily basis, while Audi kicked off the year with an 11.2% DSR jump on 11,850 deliveries.