October 2014 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers
Spooktacular Sales
The year’s spookiest month has finally passed. Gone with the calendar’s page-turn are bags of corn syrup-laden foodstuffs, poorly thought-out costumes and strangers ringing your doorbell at night demanding sweets in exchange for protection from vandalism.
Overall, auto sales in the U.S. were up six percent compared to October 2013, healthy if unspectacular growth. Deliveries for the month topped 1.28 million units. To date more than 13.7 million cars and trucks have been sold in the U.S.
This performance boosted the SAAR, seasonally adjusted annual sales rate, pushing it to 16.5 million. Think of this figure as an estimate of how many new cars and trucks will be sold for the year. It’s also a broad measure of the industry’s health.
So far this year the SAAR has exceeded 16 million every month since March. This is a strong indicator that the economy is improving. Naturally in all of this some brands did better than others. Here’s a look at which marques got treats in October and which ones got tricked.
WINNERS LOSERS
Lincoln, Subaru +25 Percent Hyundai, MINI -7 Percent
Mitsubishi +31 Percent Dodge, Cadillac -8 Percent
Ram +36 Percent Land Rover, Scion -15 Percent
Jeep +52 Percent Bentley -17 Percent
Maserati +105 Percent Jaguar -34 Percent
Artilce source Craig Cole at AutoGuide.com