Consumers and Toyota Biggest Beneficiaries of Clunker Cash

Washington DC August 25, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that in the latest Cash for Clunkers tallies, international nameplates continued to dominate. According to the Detroit News, Toyota is the clunker replacement leader.

Of all vehicles sold under the program, 19.2 percent were Toyotas. The Toyota Corolla remains the top-selling vehicle in the program, followed by the Honda Civic, Ford Focus FWD, and Toyota Camry. But the Hyundai Elantra jumped to the top five for the first time, and the Toyota Prius fell to sixth. Rounding out the top 10 are the Nissan Versa, Ford Escape FWD, Honda Fit, and Honda CR-V 4WD.

The Transportation Department noted that 54 percent of the top 10 clunker replacement vehicles were manufactured in the United States: the Corolla, Focus FWD, Camry, Ford Escape FWD, and Honda CR-V 4WD. Hybrid vehicles account for 4.5 percent of new vehicles purchased under the program compared to 3 percent of June's new-vehicle sales.