Latest monthly and total US sales numbers (check post #1)

[rfernatt]

Originally Posted by forestacademy

Here is what I see. While the # are not good I see a spike durring Cash for clunkers and then a Dip. If I was getting ready to buy a car in September, but had a chance to turn in a clunker I would have purchased it in August.

Only time will tell if thise numbers go back up for October.

That's pretty much what I was thinking. If you average Aug/Sep, you come out in line with or a bit better than previous month numbers. Also, I could see a normal tapering off toward the end of the model year when people are waiting for next year's model to see what changes may be made. All the hustle and bustle of 'back to school' may not be good for car sales in general, but that's just a guess.

[vwW12]

Sep 08 vs Sep 09:

- smart fell 54%
- GM fell 45%
- Chrysler fell 42%
- Honda fell 20%
- Toyota fell 13%
- Mercedes fel 10%
- Nissan fell 7%
- Ford fell 5%
+ Subaru rose 1%
+ VW rose 2%
+ BMW rose 4%
+ Porsche rose 8%
+ Hyundai rose 26%

[gurps]

Originally Posted by vwW12

Sep 08 vs Sep 09:

- smart fell 54%
- GM fell 45%
- Chrysler fell 42%
- Honda fell 20%
- Toyota fell 13%
- Mercedes fel 10%
- Nissan fell 7%
- Ford fell 5%
+ Subaru rose 1%
+ VW rose 2%
+ BMW rose 4%
+ Porsche rose 8%
+ Hyundai rose 26%

just US numbers? Thanks for posting, it is very interesting.
Could the smarts poor showing be because drivers don't consider the smart a good choice as their primary vehicle? My smart works perfect for my daily driver, and I make a lot of trips around town as part of my job. My wife drives the 'big' 4 door Prius - so I have no need to fill that role twice in my family.

[vwW12]

Originally Posted by gurps

just US numbers? Thanks for posting, it is very interesting

These are just US-market numbers.

Do not necessarily read too much into them, as these are just a comparison of 1 month in 08 vs. 1 month in 09. Still, generally Sep 08 auto sales were lower than Sep 07 sales, so as you can see these figures are not pretty.

We live in a 36th floor apartment in a downtown area. For us the smart is perfect and gets used a lot more than our other car, which is a large sedan. We certainly do not need a second city car. We also keep our cars for about 10 years each... so we probably will not be buying another smart for a while.

[Little John]

Daimler AG Reports a Total of 18,854 Cars Sold for the Mercedes-Benz Cars
Division in the U.S. for October 2009
-- Mercedes-Benz USA Records Highest Sales Month of the Year with Sales of
18,193, an Increase of 21.3 Percent Compared to October 2008




NEW YORK, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Daimler AG (stock exchange
abbreviation DAI) today reported sales for the Mercedes-Benz Cars division in
the U.S. (Mercedes-Benz and smart combined) of 18,854 units, an increase of
9.4 percent compared to October 2008. All sales figures in this release are on
an unadjusted basis unless otherwise noted.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported October sales of 18,193 vehicles, its
highest month of the year and a 21.3% improvement over October 2008.

"Clearly we're very pleased with this month's result and we believe that we
will be able to parlay this into a strong fourth quarter and continued
increases in our market share," said Ernst Lieb, President & CEO of MBUSA.
Lieb attributed the strong month to a more stabile economic environment
relative to last year and to the momentum of the company's new products -- the
compact SUV GLK-Class and the new 9th generation E-Class -- as well as volume
leaders like its C- and M-Class model lines.

The GLK-Class, introduced in January 2009, has outsold every vehicle in its
class on a year-to-date basis. The all-new, 9th generation E-Class, launched
in late June, recorded sales of 6,071 for October 2009, up 189.4% over October
2008. The other volume leaders for the month were the C-Class and M-Class
with sales of 4,122, and 2,370 respectively.

On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 153,606 new vehicles, trailing the
comparable period last year by 20.1%.

smart USA recorded 661 sales in October 2009. Year-to-date sales now total
13,082 units. Since its introduction in the United States, there are nearly
40,000 smart fortwos traveling the roads throughout America. The smart fortwo
offers the right balance of power, outstanding fuel efficiency, innovative
safety features, environmental friendliness and excellent value. There are 79
smart centers located in 36 states.

Detailed vehicle sales information for MBUSA will be announced later today in
a separate press release issued by Mercedes-Benz USA.



Mercedes-Benz Cars Division in the U.S. Sales Summary Through October 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Month Sales % Sales CYTD %
Curr Yr Pr Yr Change Curr Yr Pr Yr Change
------- ----- ------ ------- ----- ------
Mercedes-Benz USA 18,193 14,996 21.3% 153,606 192,294 -20.1%
----------------- ------ ------ ---- ------- ------- -----
smart USA 661 2,236 -70.4% 13,082 20,392 -35.8%
--------- --- ----- ----- ------ ------ -----
Mercedes-Benz USA /
smart USA combined 18,854 17,232 9.4% 166,688 212,686 -21.6%
------------------- ------ ------ --- ------- ------- -----



Further information on Daimler is available on the internet at
Daimler Global Media Site > Newsroom (Home)

[JPaul]

Originally Posted by Little John

Daimler AG Reports ... smart USA recorded 661 sales in October 2009. Year-to-date sales now total
13,082 units.

Thanks. Included in post #1.

[BobDiaz]

2009 sales:

1,776 cars in January
1,415 cars in February
1,746 cars in March
1,345 cars in April
1,169 cars in May
1,116 cars in June
1,418 cars in July
1,622 cars in August
814 cars in September
661 cars in October
37,704 cars total so far; 13,082 in 09 alone

The bad news is the number of cars sold is at an all time low for October. The good news is that we are likely at or near the lowest point in the recession. Things may not appear a whole lot better this year, but next year about this time, things should be looking a lot better.


Bob Diaz

[Mike T]

If this continues, the Canadian sales (282 last month) will start to look really good in the big scheme of things.

[Suze]

1,622 cars in August
814 cars in September
661 cars in October

smarts are becoming more and more rare... ...that should drive up the resale value.

[epbrown]

There's a fine line between looking at the bright side and being delusional, Suze.

What's interesting to me is that they seem on pace for selling 15k Smarts/year, which was the original projection for annual sales. Everyone got hyped about the initial ordering frenzy last year, and now they seem depressed that they're selling as many cars as they planned to. If these sales remain steady next year, they should be thrilled.