US August auto sales fall 23% as 2009 rebates disappear

01 September 2010 21:35  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--August automobile sales in the US fell 23% year over year, as rebates in 2009 distorted comparisons with 2010, according to sales reports released on Wednesday.

August sales were 776,000, compared with 1.01m for the same time last year.

Five of the six largest manufacturers saw declines, although much of the drop was attributed to 2009’s Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) or “Cash for Clunkers” programme.

“We've known that August comparisons would be irrelevant due to the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ programme last year," executive vice president of sales for American Honda John Mendel said in a press release.

"The good news is that we continue to see increasing demand for Honda products as customers seek even greater value," he said.

Chrysler was the only manufacturer to record a gain in year-to-year sales, improving by 7%.

Month over month, sales fell 4% when compared with July's figure of 811,000.

Honda saw the biggest rise in sales, moving 109,000 cars in August compared with 99,000 in July. Chrysler, the only other major to see a month-to-month gain, saw a 7% gain, with nearly 100,000 cars moved in August compared with 93,00 in July.

Automobiles are a major chemical end user, with $2,700 (€2,133) worth of chemical products or chemical-processing value used in every US-made vehicle, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The table below reflects August sales.

Company	2010	2009	% change
Chrysler	99,611	93,222	7
Ford	157,503	176,323	-11
GM	184,921	246,479	-25
Honda	108,729	161,439	-33
Nissan	76,827	105,312	-27
Toyota	148,388	225,088	-34
Total	775,979	1,007,863	-23

($1 = €0.79)

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By: John Dietrich
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