Alexandria, VA – The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) recently released December 2011 sales figures for the international nameplate automobile industry. AIADA represents America’s approximately 10,000 international nameplate franchises whose brands accounted for 53.4 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States last month. 



An end of the year surge gave dealers a reason to celebrate as overall sales, including domestic brands and unadjusted for business days, rose 8.7 percent from December 2010 and 10.3 percent over the whole of last year. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales in December was estimated by AutoData Corp. at 13.56 million units, compared to 12.51 in December 2010. This is the fourth consecutive month the SAAR has risen above 13 million.



Hyundai’s sales were up 13 percent from a year ago. Kia also saw sales rise 43 percent, Mercedes was up 28 percent, and Volkswagen was up 36 percent. Toyota was up just 2 percent and Honda, still struggling with interruptions in supply, saw sales fall by 19 percent. At the time of this release, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Land Rover have not released final sales numbers. As a result, the information for these manufacturers has been estimated from industry sources.

Overall, international brand sales were up 5.5 percent from December 2010 and 6.6 percent year to date. Domestic automakers were up 12.5 percent and 14.7 percent for the year.

“We expect sales to continue to rise next year,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “International nameplate dealers in particular are looking forward to several high profile model refreshes in 2012, along with growing consumer interest in new car sales.”



In December, international brands sold 664,473 units, up from 542,324 in November and 554,369 in October. Asian nameplates accounted for 43.6 percent of the overall market, down slightly from 43.8 percent in November. European nameplates had a 9.8 percent share, down one percent from November. Domestic brands finished December with 46.6 percent of the market, up from 45.5 in November.

For graphs, and to read AIADA’s complete coverage of December’s international nameplate auto sales, click the link below.

Links:
http://www.mmsend50.com/link.cfm?r=216086296&sid=17050556&m=1696660&u=AIADA4&j=8487974&s=http://www.aiada.org/news-and-events/market-watch/1702-december-vehicle-sales-end-2011-on-a-high-note-