August Auto Sales A Bust - Only Nissan Up YOY - Business Week

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Despite the discounts, GM sales were down 20.3% from the year-ago month, to 307,285 cars and light trucks in August. GM's Employee Discount sale began Aug. 20. It was to expire on Sept. 2, but on Sept. 3, GM extended the deals through Sept. 30. Year-to-date, GM sales were down 18.1%, to about 2.1 million, according to AutoData of Woodcliff Lake, N.J. In announcing its monthly sales, GM chose to emphasize the fact that its August sales increased 31.3% vs. July, even though year-ago comparisons are the usual measure of success or failure. Seasonally, August sales are typically higher than July, thanks to end-of-model-year sales.

U.S. auto sales overall were down 15.5% in August from the year-ago month, to about 1.2 million. After eight months, 2008 sales were down 11.2%, to about 9.8 million. Within the August total, car sales were down 7.7%, and light trucks were off 22.1%, as consumers switched to cars to pursue better gas mileage.

Of the six biggest manufacturers in the U.S., only the smallest, Nissan North America (NSANY), once again reported positive growth, posting higher August sales than the year-ago month. Nissan posted an increase of 13.6%, helped in part by discounts on trucks like the Xterra SUV.

But that's about it for the good news. Ford Motor (F) fell 26.5% in August. Chrysler dropped an eye-popping 34.5%. Even Honda (HMC), which has seemed relatively immune so far primarily on the strength of models such as the Accord and Fit, slipped 7.3% in August, from the year-ago month. Year-to-date, Honda has consistently gained share in the U.S. market, with a year-over-year improvement of 1.7%. Toyota (TM) had another bad month too, falling 9.4%.

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http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/sep2008/bw2008093_678119.htm