Auto sales numbers for August. Sales Up!!! Leaf, Volt, Toyota hiring 2000 US factory workers...

Rybold · Sep 2, 2011

Toyota Motor Corp. sales fell 13% to 129,483 vehicles but it said that its U.S. production is now up to full speed.

The automaker's factories are ramping up to produce about 15% more cars through the fourth quarter than they were originally scheduled to assemble to make up for lost production, said Randy Pflughaupt, Toyota's vice president for sales administration. He said all of the factories are on overtime, either operating on extended hours daily or adding a Saturday work shift.

Toyota also is hiring 2,000 workers as it gets ready to open a new factory in Tupelo, Miss., in November to make Corolla compact sedans.

General Motors Co., whose sales rose a strong 18% to 218,479 vehicles in August compared with the same month a year earlier. Through the first eight months of the year, GM has sold one out of every five vehicles purchased in the U.S., and has gained market share on its rivals.

But sales in August were a mixed bag for import brands as Japanese manufacturers struggled with inventory shortages resulting from that nation's earthquake in March.

Nissan North America saw sales rise 19% to 91,541 vehicles while American Honda Motor Co. fell 24% to 82,321 vehicles.

Ford's August sales totaled 174,800, up 11% from a year earlier, Autodata reported.

The automaker's "Fiesta and Focus are selling over 20,000 units combined with little to no help from incentives. This builds a stronger profitability case for these small cars, which have been criticized for bringing little profit to automakers," Caldwell said.

Chrysler Group sales grew 31% to 130,119 vehicles, Autodata said.

GM sold only 300 of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid sedans in August, bringing its total for the year to 3,172.

Nissan sold 1,362 of its battery-electric Leaf models in August and 6,187 since its December launch. Nissan said its Leaf supply is stable and that it will be able to sustain the sales rate. Combined, the cars account for not quite 10,000 sales this model year. Meanwhile, the industry sells more than 1 million gasoline-powered vehicles a month. "Shopper consideration for the Leaf and the Volt is flat, and down from earlier in the year. Consumer awareness just doesn't seem to be significant yet," said Edmunds.com analyst Ivan Drury.

Automakers are looking for some relief this Labor Day weekend — and that could mean good deals for consumers.
The industry believes sales will quicken in September, bolstered by growing inventories of cars that were in short supply for much of the summer, bigger discounts and an economy that looks less likely to fall back into recession.
"Marketing and incentive focus has already shifted to September with the upcoming Labor Day weekend, so with improved inventory, the sales pace could show marked improvement," said Jeff Schuster, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.
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U.S. auto sales power ahead in August despite turmoil - latimes.com

Meanwhile, I was at the Tustin, CA Toyota Dealer today and they received several shipments today of all Priuses. Their lot was packed with 2011 Priuses, and after the rows were full, they were parked in lines in the aisles. They literally would not be able to get one out without moving a whole row. The lot was packed full of Priuses.

The Camry and Camry Hybrid led passenger cars with combined monthly sales of 30,185 units. Corolla recorded sales of 16,420 units, and the Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid reported sales of 9,491 units.

Sienna minivan, which reported sales of 8,648 units. The RAV4 compact SUV recorded monthly sales of 6,502 units, and the Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined sales of 8,047 units, flat compared to the year-ago month. The Tundra full-size pickup recorded sales of 6,752 units, and the Tacoma mid-size pickup posted sales of 8,650, up 1.0 percent compared to August 2010.

Scion posted August sales of 3,649 units, down 9.0 percent from August 2010. The xB urban utility vehicle led the way with August sales of 1,785 units, the tC sports coupe posted sales of 1,114 units, and the xD reported sales of 750 units for the month.

Lexus Division reported passenger car sales of 10,331 units, an increase of 6.2 percent over the year-ago month. The ES 350 entry luxury sedan led passenger cars with sales of 3,887 units, while the IS lineup reported combined sales of 2,865 units. The all-new CT 200h premium hybrid compact posted 2,087 units in its sixth month of sales.
Lexus Division light trucks recorded sales of 7,772 units, down 26.1 percent from August 2010. Light trucks were led by the RX and RX Hybrid luxury utility vehicle, which reported combined August sales of 6,504 units, and the GX 460 mid-sized luxury utility vehicle posted sales of 958 units.

TMS posted August sales of 13,273 hybrid vehicles, a decrease of 17.4 percent compared to the same period last year. Toyota Division posted sales of 10,035 hybrids, while Lexus Division reported sales of 3,238 hybrids for the month, an increase of 56.1 percent over August 2010.
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ALL TOYOTA DATA LISTED IN A TABLE: http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2011/09/01/005591-toyota-august-2011-sales-down-16-8.html

Hyundai Motor America today announced sales of 58,505 vehicles in August. Hyundai sales are up 34 percent at retail. Thirty-five percent of Hyundai vehicles sold in August achieved 40 MPG fuel economy ratings. Hyundai continues its unique approach to fuel efficiency data transparency, achieving a corporate average fuel economy level of 36.2 MPG in August.

"It's no coincidence that our 40 MPG cars are among the hottest cars in the industry, with Accent and Elantra both running single-digit days-supply levels," said John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America's president and CEO. "With Veloster, our fourth car with a standard 40 MPG fuel economy rating beginning sales in September, we'll take this recipe into the sporty coupe segment, where we expect a similarly warm reception from American car-buyers."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/01/3878455/hyundai-motor-america-reports.html#ixzz1WlzE9FGg
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Photos of Hyundai Veloster: http://priuschat.com/forums/other-cars/95738-new-hyundai-spy-pics-competition-toyota.html

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Auto sales numbers for August. Sales Up!!! Leaf, Volt, Toyota hiring 2000 US factory workers...

Rybold globally warmed member

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Auto sales numbers for August. Sales Up!!! Leaf, Volt, Toyota hiring 2000 US factory workers...

Rybold globally warmed member