Automakers 'bullish' as January volume forges strong early pace

Winners and Losers*

% change in sales among major brands from January 2011

	Winners	Jan.				Losers	Jan.
1	Chrysler Division	81%			1	Suzuki	-41%
2	Mazda	68%			2	Cadillac	-29%
3	Volkswagen division	48%			3	Buick	-23%
4	Ram	42%			4	Mitsubishi	-18%
5	Land Rover	41%			5	GMC	-10%

U.S. auto sales jumped 11 percent in January, led by huge gains at Chrysler Group and Volkswagen of America.

Automakers sold 913,284 light vehicles for the month, the best January since 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate was 14.2 million, which matches the cash-for-clunkers selling rate of August 2009.

Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter said January had "a very healthy" sales pace.

"It's significant to see 913,000 in January when much of the country typically is in a deep freeze," he said. "We're bullish with where the industry is going."

Most major companies gain
Among the highlights:

-- All major players posted sales gains except General Motors, which fell 6 percent from a strong January 2011 that had been buoyed by strong incentives.

-- All four GM brands lost ground: Chevrolet was down 1 percent, GMC lost 10 percent, Buick 23 percent and Cadillac 29 percent.

-- Chrysler Group volume jumped 44 percent to 101,149 units. The growth was led by Chrysler brand, up 81 percent.

-- Hyundai-Kia Automotive gained 20 percent overall: Kia rose 28 percent and Hyundai 15 percent.

-- Nissan North America sales increased 10 percent, just under the industry average overall. But after being passed by Hyundai-Kia for the No. 6 U.S. sales position, Nissan's 79,313 light-vehicle sales gave it a 1,102-unit lead over its South Korean rival to start the year.

-- American Honda gained 9 percent in January, in its first year-over-year increase since April and a sign that its restocking efforts since the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan and flooding later in the year in Thailand are working.

-- Toyota Motor Sales, which also had been slammed by the natural disasters last year, boosted sales 8 percent to 124,540 units. Toyota brand rose 9 percent, offsetting a 5 percent decline at Lexus.

-- Ford Motor Co. increased sales 7 percent in January, with Ford division up 8 percent and Lincoln down 8 percent.

Mazda, Subaru sales rise
-- Among the smaller players, Volkswagen Group sales soared 40 percent to 36,681 units, led by a 48 percent increase for the VW brand and 20 percent higher sales at Audi.

-- Mazda posted an even bigger gain, up 68 percent to 23,996 vehicles.

-- Subaru volume rose 21 percent, its second month of growth after a seven-month stretch of declines as it struggled to restock U.S. dealer lots after the natural disasters of last year.

-- Daimler AG gained 23 percent, with 23 percent growth at Mercedes-Benz and 39 percent at Smart.

-- BMW group sales rose 6 percent overall, with a 21 percent increase at Mini pumping up a more modest 3 percent gain at BMW brand.

-- Other European premium brands posted increases: 31 percent for Jaguar Land Rover, 6 percent for Porsche and 4 percent for Volvo.

-- Only two small Japanese automakers posted sales declines in January. Mitsubishi's volume fell 18 percent while Suzuki tumbled 41 percent to 1,505 units.

Jesse Snyder - Automotive News