Mike Bartley, 49, is a professional automotive journalist domiciled in Irvine, CA. He travels from one state to another to cover the hottest auto shows, racing events and automotive revelations. His penned compositions cover press releases, reviews, and suggestions. Where the auto action is, that’s exactly where you can find Mike.
In February, dealers sold a total of 1,254,924 vehicles in the United States. The figure is just 1,254,924 vehicles in the same month last year. The February sales record divulged that international brand sales reached 576,979 vehicles or 46 percent of the total auto market share in the US.
Largely, February 2006 auto sales in the U.S. were mixed with Ford dropping 13 percent and GM picking up three percent. The Toyota Motor Corp. led the pack with a combined 12 percent jump in monthly sales, while Honda Motor Company Ltd. yielded three percent.
Toyota has the best ever February sales for the international brands. The Japanese automaker sales increased by 13 percent for a grand total of 164,812 vehicles sold. The Toyota Prius hybrid led the way with an 87 percent increase with 12,227 units sold. With regards to passenger cars, Toyota’s pride is the Camry, which proved once again its best seller prowess with a 20.2 percent sales increase.
Toyota sold 92,938 units of Camry last month. The sales of Corolla also rose by 12.9 percent with 28,321 units sold. The Toyota RAV4 SUV also recorded a 5.2 percent increase. Other Toyota vehicles are also doing great in the February sales.
Audi’s strength cannot be overemphasized. In February, the automaker reported a whopping 37.5 percent increase with 13,008 vehicles sold. The figure is 19.4 percent more than that of same period in 2006. Sales of the A4 model continue to accelerate the pace for the brand. A4 sales increased 18.6 percent. The Audi Q7 also reported an increase with total sales of 1,747 units.
Mitsubishi announced an increase of 22 percent with a total of 9,726 units sold for the month of February. Mitsubishi’s February increase follows January’s increase of more than 25 percent. The automaker hopes to gain even more momentum this spring when it launches new Lancer sedan to dealer showrooms. The Galant is also doing well with a 9.7 percent increase.
The BMW Group, composed of the BMW and MINI brands, reported total sales 24,642 vehicles which is actually an increase of 11.9 percent over last February. The automaker reported sales of 42,035 vehicles - an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the 38,602 reported in the same period a year ago.
Kia sales have reached 23,512 units last month for a 13.5 percent increase over February 2006. Year-to-date sales for the automaker totaled 46,036 units - an 18.6 percent increase over 2006. The Kia Spectra had a strong month with 4,545 units which is actually a 10.8 percent increase over the same period last year. Also, the new Rondo reached 928 units sold for the month.
The Infiniti brand reported a 5 percent sales increase in February with 9,704 units sold. Sales of the redesigned G sedan jumped an enormous 50.3 percent to 4,345 units. The Infiniti FX 35 / 45 sales also increased by 3.8 percent in February.
Honda also had a best-ever February through the Accord and the CR-V. The automaker sold 96,368 units of vehicles last month. The figure reflected a 4.2 percent increase. The Honda Accord led the way with 30,370 units sold and this is 20.1 percent higher than the previous record. The CR-V, for the third consecutive month, posted record gains, up 31.0 percent for a total of 13,524 units.
Hyundai also had its best February on record. The automaker hit sales of 34,500 vehicles which is an increase of up 1.4 percent from the same month last year. The 2007 Santa Fe was a solid contributor as it doubled its sales to 7,134 units up by 109.3 percent from last year. The Hyundai Accent and the Azera models also performed well. These vehicles were up 95.6 percent and 32.2 percent, respectively.
The Mazda Motor Corporation also enjoyed the positive vibes of February because of its Mazda3. The Mazda3 sales increased 15 percent last month to a total of 8,667 units. Nonetheless, the overall sales of the automaker dropped 6.4 percent.
Volvo is slightly up by 0.7 percent last month for a total of 8,453 units sold. On the other hand, Volkswagen is relatively flat. The VW PIAA bulbs may not be illuminating its lineup potentials because the company’s sales edged 0.2 percent higher to 16,367 units last month. Nevertheless, the Eos, Beetle and the Golf are great contributors.
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