July 2015 U.S. LV Sales Thread: SAAR hits 17.5 Million as Automakers Record Best July in 10 Years

NOTE: Factors used to calculate the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR)  by the BEA were updated today, with revisions dating back to 2012. This story reflects the updated SAARs.  

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

Related Table 

U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table

SUMMARY

U.S. automakers delivered 1.5 million light vehicles last month, the industry's highest July sales since 2005. The result sales represented a 5.3% improvement over same-month year-ago, equating to 17.46 million SAAR. 

GM led the market, accounting for 18.1% of the sales, on nearly 273,000 deliveries, up 6.4% from year-ago. Toyota slipped into the No.2 spot overall, with 217,181 sales for a 14.4% share, followed directly by Ford's 217,148 LV deliveries (excluding the automaker's medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which includes some F-Series pickups).

FCA sales outpaced year-ago by 6.4%, giving the automaker an 11.8% share, well ahead of No.5 automaker Honda, which recorded a 7.7% improvement, good for a 9.7% share of the market.

The industry's year-to-date sales rose to 9.99 million units, up 4.6% from like-2014.

See automaker synopses below and related articles for more detailed reports. 

UPDATE 1:50 PM ET

While the industry overall easily outpaced year-ago, German luxury-makers BMW and Daimler both reported were year-over-year sales declines. BMW delivered 32,161 BMW- and Mini-brand LVs in July - a 0.2% year-over-year decline, in contrast to the company's 8% YTD improvement over like-2014. Daimler LV sales dipped 2% compared with year-ago, to 30,150, leaving the company with YTD sales at 6.9% over same-period year-ago. 

Hyundai sold just over 71,000 LVs in July - a 6% gain, bringing the automaker's YTD sales to 442,000 - up 2.5% for the period.

UPDATE NOON ET

Ford sold just over 217,000 LVs (excludes all sales of Class 3-8 vehicles, including some F-Series pickups), a 4.7% gain over like-2014. July deliveries bring Ford's YTD tally to 1.48 million units, a 2.4% improvement on year-ago.

Toyota sales were directly in line with WardsAuto's July forecast - at 217,181 units, a 0.6% improvement over the automaker's strong year-ago comparison. Toyota YTD sales are just below Ford's at 1.45 million units - a 4.9% year-over-year gain.

Subaru reported 50,517 July deliveries, up 10.5% over year-ago. Subaru sales for the first seven months of 2015 are nearly 14% higher than they were at this time last year. 
 
UPDATE 11:20 AM ET

Among U.S. automakers, early reporters are meeting and, in some cases, exceeding WardsAuto's aggressive forecast for July, pushing the current projected SAAR just over 17.4 million-units. 

FCA reports it sold 177,326 LVs last month, a 6.4% gain over year-ago, in line with the forecast, that brings the company's YTD sales through July to 1.25 million - a 6% year-over-year improvement for the period.

General Motors beat expectations by nearly 4%, with just under 275,000 deliveries - up 7.2% from year-ago. The strong July lifted GM's YTD sales to 1.78 million, up 4%.

Honda also had a slightly stronger month than projected, selling over 146,324 LVs (+7.7%), a year-over-year gain well ahead of its seven-month improvement of just 2.7%, on just over 899,000 sales.

Nissan deliveries were up 7.8% for the month, to 130,872, bringing the automakers YTD sales to 867,355 units, up an even 5% over same-period year-ago.