Eight automakers posted record June sales as the industry totaled nearly 8.5 million cars through the mid-year, a four-percent jump over 2014. At this rate, WardsAuto predicts total sales of 17.1 million cars for 2015, or 600,000 more than last year. Here’s what’s hot and cold this summer.
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Hyundai and Kia Have Record First Halves
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Hyundai and Kia don’t act like underdogs anymore. Between them, the two Korean middleweights now sell four cars typically priced north of $40,000. While the Audi A6-wannabe Hyundai Genesis outsells weaklings like the Lincoln MKZ, you’re more likely to see the Kias in a LeBron James commercial than actually on the road (the K900, for example, dropped 65 percent in June to 359 cars). But that’s not where the real action is. The Elantra eclipsed the Sonata as the brand’s number-one seller , with a 55-percent gain in sales versus June 2014 (the Sonata sank 40 percent to 15,199). Over at Kia, the new Sedona minivan has done very well with 5434 sales in June, or seven times what it accomplished last year. The Rio, Sportage, and Sorento are either flat or down a few percent. All told, Hyundai beat its previous June record last year by less than one percent, and both Hyundai and Kia recorded their best first halves ever with more than 371,150 sales at Hyundai and 310,952 at Kia.
-Subaru Is Far From Blue
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The Subaru BRZ offers a lightweight, rear-drive chassis and a cheap price, but Subaru fans prefer the WRX/STI by four to one, giving the rally-inspired all-wheel-drive sedans a record month at 2166 sold. This could be a sign that all the BRZ really needs to succeed is more power, but that’s an argument that appears to be going nowhere. The Forester, XV Crosstrek, and Legacy are booming (up six, 30, and 45 percent respectively over last June), and Subaru’s first-half sales are up more than 14 percent, at 272,418 cars. June was also Subaru’s 43rd month of sales gains.
-Audi On its 54th Roll
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Audi has reached month 54 of year-over-over sales grown. The A3 pulled a startling 42-percent increase to 3482 units, but the Q5 remains the most popular four-ringer in America, at 4270. Audi’s best-ever June rang in at 18,262, about 5000 up on Cadillac and 10,000 below Mercedes. In the debit column, we find that A4 and A5 sales are dipping—they’re handsome yet aging models that won’t be replaced this year; they fell 15 and 29 percent, respectively. Oddly, the current Q7—which is just as old—posted a 14-percent gain. The Allroad dropped 36 percent (just give us back the A4 Avant, already), and the all-new 2016 TT has yet to appear in volume (just two were sold last month).
-Volkswagen Barely Outsells Mercedes-Benz, But Golfs Are Going Good
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Volkswagen didn’t post a June record, but a very weird thing happened with two limited-production Golfs, at least at first glance: 101 more people purchased an electric e-Golf (despite a short 83-mile leash) than a gas-powered, 296-hp Golf R. When factoring in federal and certain state incentives, the e-Golf can be around 40-percent cheaper than the $40,000 R. Overall, the Golf was up 168 percent to 6145 in June, with nearly as many GTIs going out the door as the standard gas- and diesel-powered hatches. Even the aging Tiguan was up eight percent as was the Jetta. But VW’s only U.S.-built model, the Passat, was down three percent. When the Tennessee plant finally ramps up for a three-row SUV (and maybe an Amarok pickup? Please?) the brand’s sales will no doubt improve. Still, with VW barely outselling Mercedes passenger cars at just 30,436 (compared to Benz’s 28,044), the brand is clearly not at the levels it should be in the U.S. market.
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When Is a Nissan GT-R As Popular As a Cube? Right Now
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The mighty GT-R can take credit for Nissan’s record June—or at least 0.08-percent of it. The brand’s total for the month was 114,243; 93 of those were GT-Rs. That was almost neck-and-neck with the Cube’s 115 sales. The new Murano was off like a bandit (up 74 percent), as was the Rogue (54 percent), and full-size NV van (31 percent). The new Titan also got a welcome shot in the arm, with an 18-percent bump to 1155 units, which was still only about a five-second cough for what the Big Three pickups sell.
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