By the Numbers/May 2008: F-150 Falls Edition

Filed under: By the Numbers

Honda Civic, Accord, Toyota Camry and Corolla all outsell Ford F-150 for the first time

The two brands who lost and gained the most sales last month (MINI and HUMMER) sum up nicely what happened to auto sales during May in the U.S. Brands armed with small cars weathered the storm and big trucks and SUVs continued to nose dive. In fact, after 17 years worth of being this country’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150 full-size pickup (42,973) has fallen for the first time to fifth place behind the Honda Accord (43,728), Toyota Camry (51,291), Corolla (52,826) and your new best-selling vehicle in the U.S., the Honda Civic (53,299). Note to automakers: that would be the sound of the canary in your coal mine hitting the floor.

U.S. automakers continued their year of suffering last month (Chrysler LLC had not yet broken down its numbers by brand at the time of posting), with General Motors taking the beating of its life and Chrysler LLC not far behind. Every single GM brand was down not just in the double-digit range, but all were down more than 20% with HUMMER falling off the map at less than 2,000 units sold. FoMoCo was down nearly 20%, but can at least take heart knowing that its new Focus (32,579) has found a lot fans. Toyota was also down, but was buoyed by the aforementioned incredible popularity of the Camry and Corolla. Nissan and Honda were both up, however, with the big ‘H’ bucking all trends and posting a gain of 11.3%.

NOTE: Because there were 27 selling day in May 2008 versus 26 in May 2007, all percentages represent the change in average Daily Sales Rate, i.e. the average number of vehicles sold per day, rather than the change in raw number of vehicles sold.

Biggest Winner
MINI 47.2% at 6,312 (5/07: 4,130)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER -61.7% at 1,843 (5/07: 4,636)

BRANDS
Acura -9.9% at 14,893 (5/07: 15,920)
Audi -6.4% at 8,534 (5/07: 8,788)
BMW -8.1% at 25,469 (5/07: 26,689)
Buick -37.8% at 11,033 (5/07: 17,087)
Cadillac -26% at 13,348 (5/07: 17,380)
Chevrolet -27.1% at 167,202 (5/07: 220,870)
Ford -16.6% at 184,402 (5/07: 212,572)
GMC -38.8% at 30,724 (5/07: 48,336)
Honda 13.9% at 153,104 (5/07: 129,447)
HUMMER -61.7% at 1,843 (5/07: 4,636)
Hyundai 1.8% at 46,415 (5/07: 43,885)
Infiniti -6% at 10,495 (5/07: 10,748)
Jaguar 22.7% at 1,757 (5/07: 1,379)
Kia 4.9% at 31,047 (5/07: 28,494)
Land Rover -32.3% at 3,003 (5/07: 4,269)
Lexus -19.6% at 26,593 (5/07: 31,847)
Lincoln -42% at 8,365 (5/07: 13,880)
Mazda .4% at 27,921 (5/07: 26,788)
Mercedes 8.3% at 24,480 (5/07: 21,771)
Mercury -28% at 13,593 (5/07: 18,178)
MINI 47.2% at 6,312 (5/07: 4,130)
Mitsubishi -26% at 10,430 (5/07: 13,651)
Nissan 5.7% at 90,379 (5/07: 82,314)
Pontiac -25.9% at 27,966 (5/07: 36,325)
Porsche -20% at 2,796 (5/07: 3,348)
Saab -28% at 2,148 (5/07: 2,872)
Saturn -32.7% at 18,099 (5/07: 26,905)
Subaru 9% at 18,436 (5/07: 16,282)
Suzuki -2% at 10,364 (5/07: 10,190)
Toyota -6.3% at 230,811 (5/07: 237,176)
Volkswagen -3.6% at 22,346 (5/07: 22,325)
Volvo -24% at 7,238 (5/07: 9,192)

Not Yet Reported
Chrysler
Dodge
Jeep

COMPANIES
BMW Group -0.7% at 31,781 (5/07: 30,819)
Chrysler Group -28% at 148,747 (5/07: 199,393)
Ford Motor Co -19% at 217,998 (5/07: 259,470)
General Motors -30% at 272,363 (5/07: 375,682)
Honda America 11.3% at 167,997 (5/07: 145,367)
Nissan North America 4.4% at 100,874 (5/07: 93,062)
Toyota Motor Co. -7.9% at 257,404 (5/07: 269,023)

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