• February 1, 2012

Here are some quick bites on January sales. Acura, Homda, and Toyota reported sales increases in January. Hyundai reported record sales for the month, as did Mazda. I give kudos to Paul Eisenstein, whose Detroit Bureau piece I'm liberally using as Cliff Notes.

New-car seasonally- adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) reached 13.5 million in January, with all but General Motors posting gains. Hyundai, Mazda, Audi were among those reporting record January sales.

I want what Chrysler's having. The Auburn Hills automaker reported a massive  44% increase compared with sales in January 2011, giving Chrysler the best January sales since 2008 its 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. Amazing, considering what the Chrysler brand has been in the not so distant past, while Jeep, Dodge, and Ram Truck brands saw gains, it was the jaw-dropping 81% increase from the eponymous division that lit the fuse. Volkswagen of America also had a huge month, with a 47.9% increase over prior year sales.

Ford posted a modest 7% increase versus year-ago levels, but the Ford brand totaled had the best January sales month since 2008, per the company.
But  General Motors sales dropped 6% because of sagging consumer interest in trucks and crossovers. Toyota posted a 7.5% increase on a daily basis.