January 2012 - Hangover Edition

Filed under: Car Buying

Camry and Civic lead comeback of Toyota, Honda

When 2011 ticked over to become 2012, something changed with the dynamic that had been in place nearly all of last year. We had become so used to the domestics seeing increased sales month after month while Toyota and Honda struggled to keep their heads above water while fixing disaster-related production issues. No more.

January saw both Toyota and Honda report strong positive sales figures (up 9.00 and 9.25 percent, respectively). That's good enough to out-trend Ford (up 8.29 percent) and General Motors (down 6.11 percent), the latter of which saw its new year kick off with a decline after finishing 2011 with 11 out of 12 monthly sales gains. Conversely, Honda kicked off its new year right after posting eight straight months of sales declines to end 2011.

The Chrysler Group was King of the Hill in January, posting a 44.26-percent increase in sales.

Both Toyota and Honda should especially be pleased with how their traditional top sellers performed. The redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry entered the market without skipping a beat and posted a 55.9-percent increase on 28,295 units sold. Likewise, the Honda Civic, which received a harshly criticized redesign in 2011, bounced back in January with a 49.5-percent increase on sales of 21,883 units. It replaces the aging Accord at the top of Honda's sales heap, which remained flat in January with just 13,659 units sold.

What about Chrysler? Shockingly, the Chrysler Group was King of the Hill in January, posting a 44.26-percent increase in sales compared to 2011, led by an indomitable Chrysler brand that reported an 81.39-percent increase in sales on the back of strong performances by its 200 and 300 sedans. Ram (41.86 percent), Jeep (37.40 percent) and Dodge (29.37 percent) all reported strong sales, as well.

Additional mentions should be made for Mazda (up 68.19 percent) and Volkswagen (up 47.87 percent). Mazda enjoyed a 532.6-percent in Mazda2 sales to 3,032 units, as well as a 118-percent increase in Mazda6 sales to 4,929 units. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen Passat went from selling just 108 units last year to moving 6,318 last month.

Check out the rest of last month's sales numbers in the table below.

Brand/Company	Vol. %	Jan 2012	Jan 2011	DSR* %	Jan 2012	Jan 2011
Chrysler	81.39	17,604	9,705	81.39	734	404
Mazda	68.19	23,996	14,267	68.19	1,000	594
Volkswagen	47.87	27,209	18,401	47.87	1,134	767
Bentley	43.90	118	82	43.90	5	3
Ram	41.86	18,470	13,020	41.86	770	543
Land Rover	41.13	3,205	2,271	41.13	134	95
Smart	38.55	496	358	38.55	21	15
Jeep	37.40	31,710	23,079	37.40	1,321	962
Dodge	29.37	31,454	24,314	29.37	1,311	1,013
Kia	27.81	35,517	27,789	27.81	1,480	1,158
Mercedes-Benz	22.91	21,230	17,273	22.91	885	720
Mini	21.19	3,334	2,751	21.19	139	115
Subaru	20.94	22,807	18,858	20.94	950	786
Audi	19.74	9,354	7,812	19.74	390	326
Hyundai	14.73	42,694	37,214	14.73	1,779	1,551
Nissan	12.53	72,517	64,442	12.53	3,022	2,685
Honda	9.25	74,628	68,308	9.25	3,110	2,846
Toyota	9.00	112,266	102,996	9.00	4,678	4,292
Ford	8.29	131,589	121,511	8.29	5,483	5,063
Porsche	6.25	2,550	2,400	6.25	106	100
Jaguar	5.35	985	935	5.35	41	39
Acura	5.28	8,381	7,961	5.28	349	332
Volvo	4.33	4,461	4,276	4.33	186	178
BMW	3.14	16,405	15,905	3.14	684	663
Chevrolet	-1.22	123,864	125,389	-1.22	5,161	5,225
Lexus	-4.56	12,274	12,860	-4.56	511	536
Lincoln	-7.86	5,121	5,558	-7.86	213	232
Infiniti	-8.22	6,796	7,405	-8.22	283	309
GMC	-9.73	24,966	27,658	-9.73	1,040	1,152
Mitsubishi	-17.55	4,711	5,714	-17.55	196	238
Buick	-23.07	10,208	13,269	-23.07	425	553
Cadillac	-29.06	8,924	12,580	-29.06	372	524
Suzuki	-41.26	1,505	2,562	-41.26	63	107
Fiat	NA	1,911	0	NA	80	0
Saab	NA	NA	658	NA	NA	27
COMPANIES
Chrysler Group	44.26	101,149	70,118	44.26	4,215	2,922
Jaguar Land Rover	30.69	4,190	3,206	30.69	175	134
Nissan NA	10.39	79,313	71,847	10.39	3,305	2,994
American Honda	8.84	83,009	76,269	8.84	3,459	3,178
Toyota Mo Co	7.50	124,540	115,856	7.50	5,189	4,827
Ford Mo Co	7.38	136,710	127,317	7.38	5,696	5,305
BMW Group	5.81	19,739	18,656	5.81	822	777
General Motors	-6.11	167,962	178,896	-6.11	6,998	7,454

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 24 selling days in January 2012 versus 24 selling days in January 2011, so the change in monthly sales volume will be the same as the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company. Also, brands are combined and reported as companies only if their sales figures are released jointly.

January 2012 - Hangover Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/01/january-2012-hangover-edition/

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