Sales Shoot to Nine Year High in May for International Nameplate Vehicles

Alexandria, VA--June 4, 2014: The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) today released May 2014 sales figures for the international nameplate automobile industry. AIADA represents America’s approximately 10,000 international nameplate franchises whose brands accounted for 54.6 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States last month, and 54.5 percent of all vehicles sold year to date.

AutoData Corp. estimates the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for May was 16.77 million units versus 15.48 million units a year ago. This is the highest reported SAAR since February 2007. Sales for all brands, unadjusted for business days, were up 11.4 percent from May 2013 and 5 percent year over year.

“May’s sales results bode well for the summer months,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “Dealers are seeing an increase in consumer traffic as interest rates remain low and road-trip season kicks off.”

Good weather, low interest rates, and a favorable calendar, which included five weekends, combined to drive sales to their highest monthly total since July 2005. BMW (up 17 percent from May 2013), Honda (up 9.8 percent), and Toyota (up 16.5 percent), were some of the month’s big winners. Volkswagen saw sales fall 15.4 percent. Jeep and Mitsubishi saw the biggest gains in May, up 58 percent and 54.2 percent, respectively.

In May, international brands sold 879,503 units, up from 750,328 in April and 847,047 in March. Asian nameplates occupied 46.2 percent of the U.S. market, up from 44.9 in April. European nameplates went from 9 percent of the market in April to 8.4 percent in May. Domestic brands held 45.3 percent market share, down from 46 percent in April.