AIADA: New Year Begins on Positive Note, Foreign OEMs Increase Market Share

The new year began on a positive note for both foreign and domestic nameplate dealers, according to the American International Automobile Dealers’ Market Watch report.

Overall sales even saw a double-digit rise year-over-year, climbing by 11.4 percent.

And this high sales rate bodes well  for the industry, as experts increase their SAAR predictions for the year. SAAR for light vehicle sales in January was estimated by AutoData Corp. at 14.18 million units, compared to 12.69 million units in January 2011.

“The predicted number would represent a significant recovery from the dismal 10.4 million units sold in 2009,” AIADA officials noted.

And international brands saw an even bigger climb than the overall market, rising 14.9 percent from January 2011.

Which brands contributed to this significant jump?

The AIADA International Auto Sales Summary reported that Hyundai set a January sales record of 42,694 units sold, up 14.7 percent from a year ago.

And Honda and Toyota both saw sales rise by 9 percent this month, showing the Japanese nameplates are continuing to recover from last year’s natural disasters in Asia.

And one European brand marked its best January since 1974 — Volkswagen sold 27,209 units this past month, marking a 47.9 percent rise year-over-year.

Commenting on the news, AIADA president Cody Lusk had this to say: “International nameplate dealers started 2012 off on the right foot.

“New models, new technology and signs of a recovering economy drove customers to dealerships in January. We expect this year to be the most profitable our industry has seen in some time,” he continued.

And although domestic brands contributed to the overall rise in automotive sales in the U.S. this past month, foreign brands still led sales in the U.S. during January, AIADA explained.

International nameplates took  55.8 percent of the market pie in January, selling 509,793 units. This number was still down from the 664,473 units sold in December.

But January’s figures still mark a year-over-year rise for foreign brand dealers.

In January of 2011, international brands held 54.2 percent of the market and sold 443,900 vehicles.

Breaking the data down further, Asian brands sold 418,092 units and accounted for 45.8 percent of the January auto market, up from 43.6 percent in December, the report showed.

European nameplates captured a 10 percent share, up from 9.8 percent in December, and sold 91,701 vehicles.

Lastely, domestic brands finished the month with sales of 403,494 units and a 44.2 percent share of the market.

Dealers' Top-Selling Vehicles

International brands also notched five of the top 10 selling vehicles this past month, but the No. 1 spot still went to the Ford F-Series Pickup.

Next, the Toyota Camry overtook the Chevrolet Silverado to notch the No. 2 position. 

The Nissan Altima continued its climb up the charts to sit behind the Silverado in fourth place, up from No. 5 last in December. Sales for this Nissan sedan also improved by 35.9 percent year-over-year, officials highlighted.

Rounding out the top five, the popular Honda Civic took the 5th position, with 21,883 sold this past month.