U.S. auto sales slid again at Toyota Motor Corp. and American Honda, while Hyundai and Kia deliveries rose by double-digits last month compared to August 2021, ending a stretch of five straight monthly declines at the Korean brands, as the industry’s chronic inventory shortages slowly ease.
Toyota Motor Corp., with some of the leanest stockpiles, said volume dropped 9.8 percent last month, with sales down 8 percent at the Toyota division and 20 percent at Lexus. It was the 13th straight decline at Toyota and seventh consecutive drop in Lexus’ monthly volume.
The Toyota brand’s top-sellers posted mixed results last month: Camry, down 5.7 percent; Corolla, off 20 percent; Highlander, down 24 percent; RAV4, up 9.1 percent and Tacoma, up 11 percent.
Toyota Motor said it ended August with 132,932 vehicles in U.S. inventory — 16,556 at dealers and 116,376 at ports or in transit, for a 21-day supply, with trucks supplies higher than car stockpiles.
The Toyota division has a 20-day supply of vehicles while Lexus is sitting on a 26-day supply of cars and light trucks, the company reported Thursday.
Honda Motor Co. said August sales skidded 38 percent, with deliveries down 36 percent at the Honda division and 47 percent at Acura. Honda brand sales have now dropped 13 straight months, while Acura volumes have dropped 12 consecutive months.
Honda said its days supply of vehicles remains stuck in the single digits, while a west coast rail embargo contributed to supply woes during the month.
August volume rose 14 percent at Hyundai and 22 percent at Kia behind strong retail demand for crossovers, EVs and some cars.
“We’re seeing inventory begin to rebound which resulted in strong sales this month,” said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America. The company said it ended August with 19,209 cars and lights trucks in U.S. inventory, up from 14,784 at the close of July but off from 39,357 at the end of August 2021. Parker, in an interview Thursday, said Hyundai expects factory output to increase 30 to 35 percent in the second half, helping to further rebuild dealer stockpiles.
Kia, with the lowest days supply of vehicles, according to Cox Automotive data, said it set an August record with 66,089 deliveries, signalling the company’s lineup continues to churn at a high rate.
“We are optimistic that production through the end of the year will improve,” said Eric Watson, vice president of sales operations for Kia America.
Subaru said volume rose 1.5 percent to 50,126 last month, while Mazda volume declined for the fifth straight month, falling 6.7 percent to 25,426 cars and light trucks.
Genesis sales rose 2.6 percent to an August record of 5,102 on continued strong demand for crossovers.
Ford Motor Co. and Volvo will report August sales on Friday. The rest of the auto industry reports quarterly sales.
U.S. light-vehicle deliveries are forecast to rise 3.6 to 4.6 percent across the industry, forecasters say, helped by an extra selling day and higher fleet shipments, and marking the first monthly gain, year over year, since summer 2021.
August 2021 was the first month when chronic inventory shortages had a significant impact on new-vehicle sales following the start of the pandemic. As a result, the year-over-year sales decline last month will be smaller than it has been in recent months, whereas August 2021 sales were more reflective of actual consumer demand, analysts say.
