Slump In Sales After "cash For Rust Arbors"

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

The end of the scrappage scheme caused a slump in sales in the US market. The German manufacturers got off lightly.

The expiry of the US scrapping bonus brought the American car market a significant drop in sales in September. In particular, the local manufacturers General Motors and Chrysler had to give up again with drops of more than 40 percent. Ford kept the minus at a good five percent after sales rose in the summer thanks to the subsidies. The German carmakers got off rather lightly, VW, BMW and Porsche even managed to gain. The Korean manufacturer Hyundai continued its advance, Toyota on the other hand weakened again.

Decrease by more than 22 percent

Overall, according to experts, the US market shrank by 22.7 percent to 745,997 newly registered vehicles. After the end of the “Cash for Clunkers” program in August, industry experts are now expecting the manufacturer's discount war to flare up again in the USA. This trend is also predicted for the German automotive market, where the state subsidy was also running low in August.

The Volkswagen brand sold 1.5 percent more vehicles in the United States in September than a year earlier. Sales amounted to 17,358 pieces. The Jetta volume model grew by 8.5 percent. Since the beginning of the year, VW still recorded a minus of 8.9 percent to 159,780 vehicles. In contrast, sales of the Audi brand fell by 4.9 percent to 7,209 vehicles.

The Daimler group suffered a further decline in sales. Sales fell by 13.4 percent to 17,799 passenger cars. Sales of the smart city car slumped by over 54 percent to just 814 units. The core brand Mercedes-Benz posted a sales decline of almost ten percent to 16,985 vehicles. After nine months, Mercedes sales are almost a quarter below the previous year.

More cars at BMW

BMW sold more cars in September for the first time this year. Overall, sales climbed 3.6 percent to 19,175 vehicles. With 15 047 BMW brand cars, 2.1 percent more were sold. Sales of the MINI rose by 9.7 percent to 4128 cars. The sports car manufacturer Porsche also found more buyers for its models in the USA than in September 2008. Sales increased by around eight percent to 1,581 vehicles. The sales figures for the high-priced 911 series developed positively. 40 percent more of the Carrera were sold than a year earlier. The smaller mid-engine series also recorded significant growth. The Cayman coupe grew by 140 percent, the open Boxster by 24 percent. In contrast, demand for the Cayenne SUV fell by over a quarter.

On the other hand, sadness reigns again at General Motors and Chrysler, which, however, were not able to benefit much from the US scrapping bonus in the previous months either. Sales of General Motors models slumped 45 percent year-on-year to 156,673 vehicles. Things didn't go much better for Chrysler. The third largest US producer posted a sales drop of 42 percent to 62,197 cars. Ford, on the other hand, pulled out of the affair comparatively well. After sales increased in July and August due to the bonus, sales in September fell by just 5.1 percent to 114,655 vehicles.

The Japanese car maker Toyota also sold significantly fewer vehicles in the US in September than in the same month last year. Sales fell by a good 16 percent to 126,015 cars. Sales of the Toyota brand slumped by 19.1 percent to 108 076 cars, while Lexus increased sales by 7.3 percent to 17,939 units. Once again the clear winners were the Korean carmakers with their relatively inexpensive models that are well received by consumers during the economic crisis. Hyundai increased sales in September by over 27 percent to 31,511 vehicles and Kia by more than 24 percent to 21,623 units. (dpa)