October 2009 Official Sales Thread

[bitkahuna]

Originally Posted by TRDFantasy

In size, price range, interior volume, market segment, the TL is very comparable to the Genesis, as is the Infiniti G37 sedan.

G37 yes, TL no. i don't believe ANYONE would cross shop the TL and the Genesis. the Genesis competes more with RL than TL. but let's just agree to disagree and drop it.

You did a great job contradicting yourself, because here you said earlier:

nothing contradictory - my point is, those luxury brands, given their (low) sales levels today, would love to have another model or two in their line-up that sell 1500 units a month. they'd love to add such a 'failure' to their numbers.

[RXSF]

My neighbor just got the genesis coupe in black, the 3.6 model with the red brembos. it does looks sweet, but the interior is not up to par

[encore888]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=arqjeV6rpmVk

Toyota’s Lexus Expands Lead Among U.S. Luxury Models (Update1)
By Alex Ortolani

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus said U.S. sales rose 20 percent in October, increasing its lead on Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s namesake brand among luxury models.

Deliveries rose to 19,502 vehicles for Lexus, the Toyota City, Japan-based automaker said today. BMW, second in luxury sales, fell 19 percent to 16,443, the Munich-based company said.

Lexus and Daimler AG’s third-ranked Mercedes-Benz gained on BMW in October. BMW lost ground as unemployment and low consumer confidence have tempered sales of high-end vehicles, said Christopher Hopson, an analyst with IHS Global Insight.

“Consumers are still showing some fiscal austerity right now and may still be cautious until we see better footing,” said Hopson, who is based in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Luxury sales should rise with the economy.”

BMW’s lower sales also reflected limited inventory of 2010 models, which began arriving at dealerships in mid-October October, the company said in a statement.

The results were a second double-digit gain for Lexus after it posted a 12 percent U.S. sales increase in September, while BMW rose 2.1 percent, compared with weak year-earlier results. Lexus sold 168,910 vehicles in the U.S. this year through October, ahead of BMW’s 160,666.

Mercedes-Benz gained in October, with its name brand climbing 21 percent to 18,193 vehicles, the Stuttgart, Germany- based parent company said.

The gain came from “a more stable economic environment relative to last year” and new products such as the GLK-Class sport-utility vehicle, Ernst Lieb, president of the Mercedes- Benz’s U.S. division, said in a statement.

Audi, Lincoln Fall

Volkswagen AG’s luxury Audi division said sales fell 1.1 percent to 7,358 vehicles. Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, said the decline was because of the introduction of a new A4 sedan in October 2008.

Ford’s Lincoln line dropped 9 percent to 6,735 vehicles, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said in a statement. The automaker’s total sales gained 3.1 percent in the month.

General Motors Co.’s Cadillac sales rose 22 percent in the month to 11,602 vehicles, the automaker said on its Web site.

High-end vehicle sales will probably rise more in December than the year-earlier month because of a steep drop from the slowing economy in 2008, Hopson said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Ortolani in Southfield, Michigan, at aortolani1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 3, 2009 17:25 EST

[1SICKLEX]

Originally Posted by encore888

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=arqjeV6rpmVk

Thanks. With the new GX coming and hopefully more HS production, sales for 2010 should hold steady. The GS and SC can continue to drop but its not many vehicles.

[bitkahuna]

Originally Posted by Mister Two

6,071 E-Class sold That's over 6,000!!!! Congratz MB.

that's really amazing. and to those who say that includes the coupe - big whoop - coupe sales are never big.

Originally Posted by TRDFantasy

Given the HUGE amount of hype that surrounded the Genesis, and Hyundai's own sales goals, the Genesis has clearly turned out to be a sales failure.

that is absurd. goals are just that, goals, and if not met, that doesn't mean something's a failure. again you fail to miss the many points. hyundai has accomplished a GREAT deal with the genesis. people are talking about hyundai. they ARE selling, fairly consistently. it takes TIME to take a brand's perception upward. with just ONE model (the coupe doesn't really count because it's certainly not a luxury vehicle and i'm sure the sales numbers are tiny even though it's a great vehicle), that makes the sale harder. acura, audi, infiniti would love to have genesis sales "failure". you just continue to pour the haterade on hyundai.

Originally Posted by joe80

definitely, but i think price is hurting gen coupe more. it's about 3k more than it supposed to be. ... hyundai needs to start throwing 3-4k rebates to move the car.

only if they need to 'move' unsold inventory, otherwise, eliminating most if not all profit is as dumb as bmw doing it. bmw does it because it's cheaper than getting rid of overpaid excess german workers due to absurd labor laws.

Originally Posted by dunnojack

i think the 2011 infiniti M will be a sales flop.

i agree. it's a joke.

about lexus sales... some good spin comments in here about total sales leadership, but lexus is the is,rx,es company - those 3 vehicles accounted for 85% of all sales. everything else is dead, except the HS with an ok money and the LS which is not huge but not bad for a higher priced vehicle. gs, sc, gx, lx are all dead.

on a brighter note, lexus must be ecstatic about the rx, and deservedly so. it's a great vehicle positions and redesigned perfectly. way to go!

[Gojirra99]

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

that's really amazing. and to those who say that includes the coupe - big whoop - coupe sales are never big

If you look at the sales of the CLK it replaced (& priced the same), it could be 1500 per month when brand new. Not huge, but highly significant when you add them to the sedan sales.

[rominl]

Originally Posted by Gojirra99

If you look at the sales of the CLK it replaced (& priced the same), it could be 1500 per month when brand new. Not huge, but highly significant when you add them to the sedan sales.

agree. i actually have seen quite a few e coupe around here already. of course not as many as e sedan, but it's not rare neither

[ffpowerLN]

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

about lexus sales... some good spin comments in here about total sales leadership, but lexus is the is,rx,es company - those 3 vehicles accounted for 85% of all sales.

And BMW is the 3, 5-series company... So what's your point?

[dunnojack]

infiniti might as well close up shop

only 4000 cars sold. that is just abysmal.


i wonder if they'd sell more cars if they lowered their msrp by 3000.

[TRDFantasy]

Originally Posted by dunnojack

infiniti might as well close up shop

only 4000 cars sold. that is just abysmal.


i wonder if they'd sell more cars if they lowered their msrp by 3000.

Infiniti sold exactly 4425 cars for the month. Acura sold 4965, not much better. Both brands are struggling.

The Lexus ES alone alone roughly matched Infiniti car sales and was very close to outselling all Acura cars for the month.

[RXSF]

lol @ dunnojacks' sig

[CDNROCKIES]

Okay...really...can anyone please tell me why Dodge still exists and why our governments bailed out a company that makes cars that people clearly don't want???


The RX is amazing and the sales are showing it as such. I'd love to link all the quotes from those doubting it...but that would take up half the page.

Also amazed at the new E class. 6000+ units...that's almost RX/3 series territory.

Anyone else see the huge jump in X6 sales??? I guess it's finally catching on.

[RX300-BV]

Business Week

Oct. 23--A little more than a year ago, Acura rolled out a redesigned TL sedan, the vehicle that was supposed to invigorate sales and clarify the brand's identity.

The timing couldn't have been much worse for the Honda-owned luxury brand.

About that point, the auto industry began its historic sales slump, and the new Acura wasn't immune. Sales of the TL, built in Marysville, were down 27 percent through September.

"It wasn't a good time to introduce any car, really," said Ed Kim, director of industry analysis for AutoPacific, a research group in Tustin, Calif. "Given that the car was scheduled to launch last year, there was nothing they could do about it but try to make the best of it."

Despite the poor sales, Acura officials say they have plenty to feel good about.

They say the TL's sales outperformed many other vehicles in the entry-level luxury segment, and they are confident that the TL's design and engineering advances will lead to strong sales once the economy recovers.

"I think things have gone pretty well," said Jeff Conrad, Acura's vice president for sales.

Dealers sold 25,882 of the redesigned TL from January to September, compared with the 35,659 sold last year over the same period.

Acura will fall far short of the 70,000 in annual sales it set as a goal for the TL last year, before the scope of the recession was known. That level would have represented a return to the TL's sales level from just a few years ago.

Conrad says that any fair assessment of the TL must acknowledge the treacherous market conditions.

"In that environment, I'm fairly happy," he said.

Acura was launched in the mid-1980s as an upmarket brand for Honda. The TL was introduced in the mid-1990s and became the brand's flagship.

Central Ohio has a vested interest in Acura's success. The TL and the RDX crossover are assembled in Marysville, so disappointing sales have a ripple effect for Honda and for the hundreds of local parts suppliers that are involved in the production.

The new TL was part of a line-wide redesign for Acura, with a chrome front grille and more-muscular styling. The automotive media generally praised the vehicle's engineering but had mixed feelings about the styling.

One of Acura's goals was to make its image more sporty, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. She thinks the response to the vehicle has fallen short of the manufacturer's goals.

"They had some high hopes for this vehicle," she said. "It's no secret that Acura has been struggling for the last few years."

AutoPacific's Kim thinks Acura executives are on the right track when they try to give the brand a more distinctive identity. But he thinks the mission is far from accomplished.

"I'm not sure they're going far enough in differentiating their brand," he said.

So the TL is at barely 50% of it's sales goal but they are feeling good? By the numbers, the TL is the 8th best seller, and didn't seem to outsell too many in the entry-level luxury segment.

[dunnojack]

i think the 2011 infiniti M will be a sales flop.

the reaction toward it was the same as the infiniti EX. and look at how the EX is doing....

[(Cj)]

Originally Posted by dunnojack

i think the 2011 infiniti M will be a sales flop.

the reaction toward it was the same as the infiniti EX. and look at how the EX is doing....

The 2011 M looks pretty good. I don't think it'll be a sales flop, because this whole class aside from the 5 series and E class aren't high volume sellers. Aside from that it'll most definitely outsell it's number one competitor the Acura RL

But I'm more interested in the upcoming GS. I hope that Lexus get's it right and that it can once again sell in 5/E levels.