Audi May 2012 Sales up 10.0%

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A4, Q5 and A6 sell well.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - June 1, 2012

2012 Audi A6 – $41,700 to start with a compact class sized interior volume of just 97.2 cu. ft.

Audi recently redesigned Audi A6 is a leader amongst its luxury touring rivals with class leading exterior and interior design and a variety of powertrain options that include the award-winning direct injected and turbo charged 2.0L and 3.0L TFSI engines.

One small highlight that stands out from a design and construction perspective is that the side body and roof panel are laser welded, flexible sealant is spread over the tight weld and the entire chassis is than immediately primered and baked yielding a sleek “zero joint” seam. The only other mass produced production cars I have seen this detail included on is the current 2012 Golf, all-new 2012 Passat and the upcoming 2013 Ford Fusion. The Audi A6 exterior exhibits agility with a sloped roofline providing exceptional aerodynamics characteristics.

Inside, not only is the A6 provide the standard bearer for “best in class” interiors amongst its main competitors, new infotainment solutions including Audi MMI, Google Earth combined with Google Local Search, Wi-Fi hot spot for up to eight devices and the ability to find the lowest gas prices or view weather forecasts are standard fare. In addition, the combination of the Wi-Fi connection and Bluetooth audio streaming allows for seamless Internet radio and audio file streaming.

Audi May Sales Overview

Audi this morning reported record-setting May sales with a 10% increase to 11,503 new vehicles sold, marking the 17th consecutive month of unprecedented sales in the U.S. May sales represented the fifth-best month ever for the brand, exceeding more than 11,000 in total vehicle sales.

Sales of Audi premium category vehicles (A8, A7, A6, and Q7) jumped 54% YTD and represented 34.2% of total May sales. Overall, sales improvements shown by Audi in the top tiers of the luxury sector accounted for 125% of the Audi May gain.

May year-over-year results were buoyed by strong premium vehicle performance of the Audi A6 increasing 260.2% to 1,693 vehicles sold. Sales for the design-forward Audi A7 continued with 792 vehicles sold, while sales of the Audi R8 coupe jumped 14.6% to 47 vehicles sold in May.

Audi Highlights

• May 2012 ranked as the best May in Audi of America history, marking the fifth-best month ever for the brand.
• Audi A6 sales up 260.2% compared to May 2011; YTD sales grow 124.7% compared to previous period.
• Sales of Audi Q5 increased 5% compared to May 2011; YTD sales up 14.4% compared to previous period.
• Audi A4 sales remained steady despite an inventory draw down in advance of the updated 2013 models just now reaching dealership showrooms.

B-Segment Sales Rank

1. Nissan Versa - 8,643
2. Chevrolet Sonic - 7,205
3. Hyundai Accent - 6,166
4. Ford Fiesta - 6,080
5. Kia Rio - 4,019
6. Honda Fit - 3,879
7. Toyota Yaris - 3,521
8. Mazda 2 - 901

C-Segment Sales Rank

1. Honda Civic - 33,490
2. Toyota Corolla - 31,847
3. Ford Focus - 24,769
4. Chevrolet Cruze - 19,613
5. Hyundai Elantra – 18,877
6. VW Jetta - 12,962
7. Mazda3 - 8,474
8. Forte - 7,782
9. Nissan Sentra - 7,600

D-Segment Sales Rank

1. Toyota Camry - 39,571
2. Honda Accord - 29,737
3. Chevrolet Malibu - 29,579
4. Ford Fusion - 26,857
5. Nissan Altima - 22,690
6. Hyundai Sonata - 20,765
7. Kia Optima - 13,364
8. Chrysler 200 - 13,250
9. VW Passat - 10,178

April segment ranking items of note: Versa still leads the B-Segment with Sonic and Accent closing. Rio and Fit both outsold the Yaris.

In the C-Segment, the Civic took hold of the lead with the ancient Corolla grabbing second place. The aging Forte outsold the aging Sentra.

The Camry leads everyone in the D-Segment with the Accord in second place.

Top 10 – May 2012 US Automobile Sales Leaders

Sales Rank	Make	Model	May-12	May-11	May-DSR % change	May-12 YTD	May-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
1	Ford	F-Series	54,836	42,399	+19.4%	246,116	214,461	+13.9%
2	Toyota	Camry	39,571	18,830	+94.0%	181,796	126,094	+43.0%
3	Chevrolet	Silverado	34,555	28,409	+12.3%	160,942	150,206	+6.3%
4	Honda	Civic	33,490	18,341	+68.6%	135,082	110,086	+21.7%
5	Toyota	Corolla	31,847	16,985	+73.1%	125,079	117,875	+5.3%
6	Honda	Accord	29,737	17,018	+61.3%	126,254	111,393	+12.4%
7	Chevrolet	Malibu	29,579	26,600	+2.6%	110,036	99,046	+10.2%
8	Ford	Fusion	26,857	24,666	+0.5%	112,416	110,878	+0.6%
9	Ram	Pickup	26,040	20,117	+19.5%	114,630	90,536	+25.6%
10	Honda	CR-V	25,186	16,307	+42.6%	123,400	95,423	+28.3%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 selling days in May of 2012 and 24 selling days during May of 2011.
Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 127 days for 2012 and 126 days for 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 Sales Leaders items of note: Accord falls from third to sixth. Civic climbs two spots while Corolla falls back one. Malibu and Ram P/U climb one while CR-V falls back three places.

Automobile Manufacturer's US Sales Rank – May 2012 vs. May 2011 Comparison and Total Sales

1. GM May Sales up 10.9% with 245,256 vehicles sold.
2. Ford May Sales up 12.6% with 216,267 vehicles sold.
3. Toyota May Sales up 87.3% with 202,973 vehicles sold.
4. Chrysler May Sales up 30.1% with 150,041 vehicles sold.
5. Honda May Sales up 47.6% with 133,997 vehicles sold.
6. Nissan May Sales up 20.5% with 91,794 vehicles sold.
7. Hyundai May Sales up 13.2% with 67,019 vehicles sold.
8. Kia May Sales up 7.8% with 51,771 vehicles sold.
9. VW May Sales up 28.4% with 38,657 vehicles sold.
10. Subaru May Sales up 48.4% with 29,724 vehicles sold.
11. BMW May Sales up 7.1% with 28,321 vehicles sold.
12. Mercedes-Benz May Sales up 24.4% with 25,259 vehicles sold.
13. Mazda May Sales up 13.9% with 20,357 vehicles sold.
14. Audi May Sales up 10.0% with 11,503 vehicles sold.

May manufacturer sales rank items of note: BMW fell behind Subaru.

SAAR is running at approximately 14.2 Million units.