Trade News

Stellantis racked up a 32 percent increase in U.S. second-quarter sales, with every brand but Fiat posting a gain from a year earlier, when the pandemic disrupted volume. While the automaker attributed the rebound to an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as strong consumer demand for several nameplates, it signaled supply disruptions curtailed deliveries.

Retail sales rose 27 percent during the latest quarter, aided by Ram and Jeep volume, according to the automaker.

Brands: Jeep, up 19%; Ram, up 47%; Chrysler, up 36%; Dodge, up 42%; Fiat, down 33%; Alfa Romeo, up 34%

Notable nameplates: Jeep Gladiator, up 53%; Wrangler, up 22%; Cherokee, up 26%; Grand Cherokee, up 14%; Ram pickups, up 40%; ProMaster City, up 132%; ProMaster van, up 129%; Chrysler 300, up 103%; Pacifica, up 20%; Dodge Challenger, up 52%; Charger, up 95%; Durango, up 53%; Fiat 500, down 97%; 500X, up 2%; Alfa Romeo Giulia, up 31%; Spider, down 32%;…

The ongoing global chip shortage led to a 20 percent decrease in Subaru of America deliveries in June to 42,877 vehicles.

Despite this, Subaru's second-quarter U.S. sales gained 18 percent to 160,824.

Subaru, like most major automakers, has been grappling with low inventories caused by production cuts linked to microchip shortages. U.S. dealerships are coping.

"Given our inventory at this time, we were pleased with the June sales results our nimble retailers worked hard to deliver, and we thank them for their efforts," Subaru of America CEO Tom Doll said in a statement.

The Outback was June's top seller, with 16,394 deliveries, increasing 60 percent over June 2020. It accounted for 38 percent of the automaker's sales for the month. For the quarter, Outback sales surged 55 percent to 46,116 vehicles.

Notable nameplates: Outback, up 60%; Forester, down 55%; Crosstrek, down 37%; Ascent, down 15%

Incentives: $1,203 per vehicle, down 31% …

Kia marked an all-time high for June sales and stretched its streak of monthly records to four as deliveries jumped 43 percent amid sharply lower incentive spending.

Through the first half, the Korean brand sold about 115,000 more vehicles than in the pandemic-stricken first six months of 2020, for a 44 percent increase.

Kia said U.S. dealers ended June with a roughly 15-day supply of vehicles and that inventory is expected to be tight for several months. Light trucks accounted for 54 percent of Kia's U.S. sales in the first half, continuing a shift away from passenger cars.

Notable nameplates: Forte, up 83%; K5/Optima, up 51%; Sportage, up 47%; Telluride, up 166%

Incentives: $2,336 per vehicle, down 38% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $28,032, up 13% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.

Quote: "Kia closed the first-half of the year with incredibly strong sales, and this unprecedented momentum will…

LaFontaine Automotive Group said it has purchased Ralph Thayer Automotive's three stores, all of which are in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.

LaFontaine, of Highland, Mich., adds the Hyundai, Mazda and Volkswagen dealerships after the transaction closed Thursday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The stores have been renamed LaFontaine Hyundai of Livonia, LaFontaine Mazda of Livonia and LaFontaine Volkswagen of Livonia.

"We are excited to welcome the employees and customers of Ralph Thayer Automotive into our LaFontaine family," CEO Ryan LaFontaine said in a statement. "This strategic acquisition further strengthens our ability to serve customers in the greater Metro Detroit area –- for sales, service, body shop and parts."

The family-owned and operated Ralph Thayer group dates to 1971.

LaFontaine ranks No. 43 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 19,565 new vehicles in 2020. Read more about LaFontaine buys Ralph Thayer group, adds 3 Michigan stores

Hyundai and its Genesis luxury brand posted record monthly U.S. sales in June on the back of adequate inventories, new and freshened models and strong passenger-car deliveries. And it all came with a sharply lower incentive bill.

For Hyundai, June marked the fourth consecutive month of record monthly sales. The automaker also set records for second-quarter and first-half deliveries, aided by new hybrid versions of the Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers. Genesis reported its best-ever month in June on the recent launches of its first two crossovers, the GV70 and GV80.

Brands: Hyundai, up 45% in June; Genesis nearly tripled sales compared with June 2020.

Notable nameplates: Hyundai Elantra, up 96% in June; Sonata, up 84%; Tucson, up 43%; Palisade, down 27%. The Genesis GV80, a new model, had 1,714 deliveries.

Incentives: Hyundai, $1,722 per vehicle, down 31% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: Hyundai, $30,415, up 5% fro…

Nissan Motor Co.'s recovery from last year's pandemic doldrums gathered momentum in the first half of the year, though supply chain issues threaten to tap the brakes in the second half.

The automaker's U.S. sales soared 68 percent to 298,148 in the second quarter.

The Nissan division sold 280,282 vehicles in the quarter, up 74 percent from a year earlier. Infiniti volume rose 11 percent to 17,866 vehicles.

Nissan sales and market share have risen every month since the start of the year — with retail deliveries accounting for a growing share of volume, Judy Wheeler, Nissan division vice president of sales and regional operations in the U.S., told Automotive News.

TrueCar estimates that Nissan's retail market share rose to 6.3 percent in the second quarter from 5.6 percent a year earlier.

The focus is on delivering product and features that customers demand, rather than chasing volume, Wheeler said. "Our strategy is working," she said.

U.S. light-vehicle sales slowed in June from the booming pace of April and May, as shortages of many popular vehicles kept consumers on the sidelines, forecasters said. Second-quarter sales are still expected to reach the highest level since at least 2018, but analysts anticipate declining volume in the months ahead.

Cox Automotive expects total sales of 4.5 million in the second quarter, up 1.2 percent from 2019 and up 51 percent from the same period of 2020, in the early months of the pandemic.

For June, Cox estimates that the seasonally adjusted, annualized light-vehicle selling rate fell to 16.4 million from 17.1 million in May and more than 18 million in April. LMC Automotive and J.D. Power project a SAAR of 15.8 million.

Most automakers plan to report June and second-quarter sales Thursday.

"It is unlikely the industry can maintain the sales pace any longer because inventory is getting extremely tight. If shoppers can't find the product they…

Volvo Cars laid out an extensive road map to becoming a fully electric car maker by 2030, including plans to sell 600,000 battery electric vehicles at mid-decade and build a European battery gigafactory in 2026.

Volvo also said it plans to equip many of its future vehicles with self-driving technology, including standard lidar sensors from Luminar Technologies and computers from Nvidia.

"Our goal is to build the safest cars possible, using all available technology," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said during a briefing on Wednesday on its electric business strategy.

Volvo unveiled the Concept Recharge previews the automaker's next generation of full-electric cars and the electric-only XC90 successor.

For its future electric vehicles, Volvo is working with Swedish partner Northvolt on a new generation of batteries with higher energy and designed to be packaged as a structural element of the vehicle.

The new batteries, due after 2025, will enable a lon…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said several of its North America assembly plants, which have already experienced weeks of downtime from the global chip shortage, will be idled for at least part of July.

Chicago Assembly Plant, which builds the profitable Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator crossovers, will be down the weeks of July 5, 12, 19 and 26 and will run two shifts the week of Aug. 2, the automaker said Wednesday.

Dearborn Truck, which makes all-important Ford F-150 pickups, will run on two shifts the weeks of July 12,19 and 26. Kansas City Assembly Plant's F-150 line will be down the weeks of July 12 and 19, while its Ford Transit line will be down the week of July 19.

Flat Rock Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford Mustang, will be down the weeks of July 12 and 19.

Hermosillo Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford Bronco Sport, will run one of two shifts the weeks of July 12 and 19.

Kentucky Truck Plant, which builds the Supe…