NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Panza
Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association
440.746.1500
New car and truck sales remain strong despite tight inventories
Cleveland, OH (June 10, 2011) – New car and truck sales continued to climb in May, registering growth of over 27 percent when comparing May 2011 with May 2010, according to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA). For the year to date, new car and truck sales are up over 30 percent, after removing figures for the discontinued Pontiac and Saturn brands. Sales are expected to remain strong through July as gas prices begin to fall and inventory levels and vehicle availability at dealerships begin to rise.
“We’re still on a positive growth track with additional pent-up demand in the market,” says Louis A. Vitantonio, President of the GCADA. “Inventory levels at dealerships are tight, and that actually held back some sales in May, even though we still had a strong month. However, that problem should be resolved shortly, as more of the component production halted by the tsunami disaster in Japan begins to come back on line.”
“The value of used vehicles is still at an all time high. Consumers are starting to take advantage of this unique opportunity by trading in their used vehicles and receiving top dollar,” Vitantonio added. “High trade-in values and lower fuel costs will help drive new vehicle sales as well.”
A total of 27 brands registered sales increases for the month, when comparing sales to the same period a year prior. For the year to date, 27 brands are up from January through May when comparing sales to the same period in 2010.
In terms of total units sold for the month, Ford retained its number one spot over Chevrolet, although the latter did register a very healthy sales gain of more than 34 percent when comparing May of this year with last. Honda once again outdistanced Toyota for third place. Kia registered a very strong fifth place, coming within 11 units of fourth-place Toyota’s sales. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep continued their resurgence, registering sales gains for the month of more than 54 percent, 68 percent and 52 percent, respectively.
27 Brands Up in May (‘11 v. ‘10)
The following 24 brands posted sales increases in May 2011 versus May 2010: Acura, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
27 Brands Up Year to Date through May (‘11 v. ‘10)
The following 27 brand posted sales increases for the year to date through May of this year versus the same period in 2010: Acura, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.
New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio
May ‘11 / May ’10 & YTD
|
May 11
|
May 10
|
May
% Chg.
|
YTD
May 11
|
YTD
May 10
|
YTD
May % Chg.
|
ACURA
|
158
|
129
|
22.48%
|
741
|
577
|
28.42%
|
AUDI
|
88
|
126
|
-30.16%
|
500
|
518
|
-3.47%
|
BMW
|
208
|
147
|
41.50%
|
959
|
716
|
33.94%
|
BUICK
|
422
|
264
|
59.85%
|
2082
|
1145
|
81.83%
|
CADILLAC
|
229
|
132
|
73.48%
|
1462
|
660
|
121.52%
|
CHEVROLET
|
2492
|
1859
|
34.05%
|
13664
|
8764
|
55.91%
|
CHRYSLER
|
389
|
252
|
54.37%
|
1608
|
972
|
65.43%
|
DODGE
|
711
|
421
|
68.88%
|
3308
|
1777
|
86.16%
|
FIAT
|
14
|
0
|
0.00%
|
31
|
0
|
0.00%
|
FORD
|
2869
|
2420
|
18.55%
|
14478
|
11607
|
24.74%
|
FREIGHTLINER
|
28
|
23
|
21.74%
|
81
|
94
|
-13.83%
|
GMC
|
479
|
280
|
71.07%
|
2689
|
1609
|
67.12%
|
HINO
|
3
|
1
|
200.00%
|
14
|
9
|
55.56%
|
HONDA
|
1559
|
1481
|
5.27%
|
7992
|
6822
|
17.15%
|
HYUNDAI
|
1037
|
737
|
40.71%
|
4145
|
3110
|
33.28%
|
INFINITI
|
96
|
51
|
88.24%
|
508
|
244
|
108.20%
|
INTERNATIONAL
|
71
|
45
|
57.78%
|
265
|
171
|
54.97%
|
ISUZU
|
5
|
5
|
0.00%
|
28
|
17
|
64.71%
|
JAGUAR
|
10
|
4
|
150.00%
|
30
|
33
|
-9.09%
|
JEEP
|
498
|
327
|
52.29%
|
2292
|
1505
|
52.29%
|
KENWORTH
|
5
|
1
|
400.00%
|
37
|
21
|
76.19%
|
KIA
|
1306
|
691
|
89.00%
|
5081
|
3139
|
61.87%
|
LAND ROVER
|
22
|
23
|
-4.35%
|
124
|
111
|
11.71%
|
LEXUS
|
139
|
171
|
-18.71%
|
897
|
1044
|
-14.08%
|
LINCOLN
|
129
|
152
|
-15.13%
|
733
|
669
|
9.57%
|
LOTUS
|
0
|
1
|
-100.00%
|
3
|
4
|
-25.00%
|
MACK
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
64
|
36
|
77.78%
|
MAZDA
|
379
|
439
|
-13.67%
|
1675
|
1936
|
-13.48%
|
MERCEDES BENZ
|
233
|
215
|
8.37%
|
1011
|
865
|
16.88%
|
MERCURY
|
0
|
142
|
-100.00%
|
30
|
935
|
-96.79%
|
MINI
|
39
|
34
|
14.71%
|
157
|
121
|
29.75%
|
MISCELLANEOUS
|
7
|
13
|
-46.15%
|
25
|
35
|
-28.57%
|
MITSUBISHI
|
184
|
91
|
102.20%
|
664
|
434
|
53.00%
|
NISSAN
|
725
|
507
|
43.00%
|
4180
|
2983
|
40.13%
|
PETERBILT
|
13
|
23
|
-43.48%
|
83
|
65
|
27.69%
|
PONTIAC
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
4
|
137
|
-97.08%
|
PORSCHE
|
42
|
27
|
55.56%
|
168
|
120
|
40.00%
|
SAAB
|
32
|
11
|
190.91%
|
152
|
76
|
100.00%
|
SATURN
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
3
|
165
|
-98.18%
|
SMART
|
12
|
6
|
100.00%
|
28
|
23
|
21.74%
|
STERLING
|
0
|
3
|
-100.00%
|
0
|
10
|
-100.00%
|
SUBARU
|
413
|
351
|
17.66%
|
2124
|
1750
|
21.37%
|
SUZUKI
|
7
|
11
|
-36.36%
|
52
|
56
|
-7.14%
|
TOYOTA
|
1317
|
1286
|
2.41%
|
7227
|
7481
|
-3.40%
|
UD
|
0
|
2
|
-100.00%
|
2
|
4
|
-50.00%
|
VOLKSWAGEN
|
360
|
267
|
34.83%
|
1517
|
1292
|
17.41%
|
VOLVO
|
61
|
40
|
52.50%
|
229
|
184
|
24.46%
|
WESTERN STAR
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
6
|
1
|
500.00%
|
Total Cars & Trucks
|
16791
|
13211
|
27.10%
|
83153
|
64047
|
29.83%
|
Retail sales figures are based on vehicle registration reports from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle sales data includes the counties of: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Wayne.