The Auto Writer

The figures are in and the news for October 2009 car sales is truly a mixed bag. Some automakers surged, others remained flat, while still others may want to rethink their product and marketing strategy going forward.

Dead Even

Analysts had been expecting to see some improvement this past month given that October 2008 recorded just 838,156 sales, the first full month after the stock market collapse in September. Many customers stayed away from showrooms, deciding to examine their wounded stock portfolios and tend to housing woes instead of taking on new debt.

Sales for October 2009 were virtually identical with 838,052 sales, a difference of just 104 units, but there were clear winners and losers for the month. Sales for GM (+4.7%) and Ford (+3.3%) both rose while Chrysler (-30.4%) continues to make a case against its own business.

Other big winners for the month included:

Hyundai (+48.9%)
Kia (+45.3%)
Subaru (+40.7%)

Indeed, the three Asian brands are up for the year and should finish in positive territory with increased market share come January.

Good News

Nissan (+5.6%), Volkswagen (+4.2%) and Daimler (+9.4%) each experienced good months while Toyota (0.0%) and Honda sales (-0.4%) were flat.

Notable losers besides Chrysler were Mitsubishi (-48.3%), Mazda (-8.4%), BMW (-19.1%) and Suzuki (-49.9%). Particularly when it pertains to Mitsubishi and Suzuki, you have to wonder how each company plans to thrive in the years ahead. At least Mitsubishi has an electric car coming while Suzuki is looking more like Daihatsu and Isuzu, a pair of Japanese brands which have since abandoned the highly competitive US market.

Porsche (+15.1%) along with Daimler and VW’s Audi brand each gained sales, suggesting that the market for luxury cars is on the mend. Indeed, both GM and Ford reported positive news for their Cadillac and Lincoln brands respectively.

Year End

It’ll be interesting to see how the remainder of the year plays out as this is when automakers traditionally slash prices to clear inventories. But, with inventories already cut to the bone, will prices hold or with car manufacturers jump at the chance for increased market share at the expense of its weakest competitors?

Source: Autodata