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

[vwW12]

Originally Posted by BobDiaz

The good news is that we are likely at or near the lowest point in the recession.

Bob,

Unfortunately I have to disagree on this one. The fact that we are at the so far lowest point in the recession should be no consolation at all. The smart is one of the cheapest cars of the land: if anything, it should be selling proportionally more, not less. Meanwhile, large vehicles such as trucks and crossover SUVs remain the preferred mode of transportation.

Top 10 October Sales:

Ford F-Series: 39,496
Chevy Silverado: 31,754
Toyota Camry: 30,136
Toyota Corolla: 25,717
Honda Accord: 23,210
Honda Civic: 15,868
Honda CR-V: 15,667
Nissan Altima: 14,773
Toyota RAV4: 13,971
Toyota Prius: 13,496

[powerbookguy]

i did my part and bought my car on 10/31/09.

[EdwardDennis]

Originally Posted by 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.

They'll be hard-pressed to meet a 15k sales total for the '09 model year. Personally, I doubt they'll hit the 15k mark.

Anyway, I'd guess that if early '10 sales figures start to mimic '09 results, we'll see some much-needed early marketing/advertising promotions.

This niche Euro-car will be facing very serious competition in 2010 and 2011 (...from Ford to Toyota). Folks might simply bypass a fortwo for better performance, more seating, more room, and perhaps better fuel mileage---unless of course, smart ups the competition with a forfour or roadster model. My humble opinion, of course...

[Little John]

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 /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 17,446 units, an increase of 9.1 percent compared to November 2008. All sales figures in this release are on an unadjusted basis unless otherwise noted.


Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported November sales of 16,797 vehicles, a 19.1% improvement over November 2008.


The all-new, 9th generation E-Class continued to show strong demand with sales of 4,824 for November 2009, up 113.1% over November 2008. The other volume leaders for the month were the C-Class and M-Class with sales of 4,022, and 2,679 respectively.


On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 170,403 new vehicles, narrowing the gap versus last year to 17.4%.


Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 4,627 vehicles in November; a 12.9 percent decrease compared to November 2008 sales of 5,312 vehicles. Year-to-date sales for the MBCPO program are 66,788, a 15 percent increase over 2008 year-to-date sales of 58,065 vehicles.


smart USA recorded 649 sales in November 2009. Year-to-date sales now total 13,731 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 in a separate press release issued by Mercedes-Benz USA.

[vwW12]

That would be the 4th straight month of declining sales, and a record low.

All at at time when one hears the economy is ramping up.

[jwight]

Post #1 updated. Thanks!

At least the rate of decline appears to be slowing; 12 car differential between Oct and Nov, as opposed to 153 between Sep and Oct. Have to bottom out before things turn upward. All sectors of the economy don't recover at the same time or rate; jobs are still the big problem and people without jobs (or fearful of losing one) probably aren't going to buy a smart.

[Periclaws]

If you would like to know how did they do compared to:


Auto Sales - Markets Data Center - WSJ.com

[kheran]

Mine was one of the 649 in November 2009!!!!!!!

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by jwight

Post #1 updated. Thanks!

At least the rate of decline appears to be slowing; 12 car differential between Oct and Nov, as opposed to 153 between Sep and Oct. Have to bottom out before things turn upward. All sectors of the economy don't recover at the same time or rate; jobs are still the big problem and people without jobs (or fearful of losing one) probably aren't going to buy a smart.

Or any other car for that matter unless they have to

[jwight]

Well, we're not alone in thinking auto sales may be ready to turn around:

Auto sales may have bottomed out in Nov. - Autos- msnbc.com

Auto sales may have bottomed out in November
But major improvements not expected until unemployment rate abates

Rick Bowmer / AP file

DETROIT - U.S. auto sales struggled to gain ground in November and big improvements aren't expected until people stop worrying about losing their jobs.

Sales last month were mostly stable, but even higher incentives couldn't push the needle much beyond last November's dismal lows, when a credit freeze and the financial meltdown kept car buyers at home.

One strength was sales of fuel-efficiency cars and crossovers, which are as roomy as SUVs but are built on lower car frames, bolstering fuel economy.

Last month's big winner, again, was South Korea's Hyundai, which posted double-digit sales growth. Sales at the top three U.S. sellers — General Motors, Ford and Toyota — held steady, while Chrysler struggled for another month.