As the earlier post indicated, the Germans are increasing exports while their domestic market swoons. The German Big Four all posted increases in February, as well as YTD. Daimler experienced the least levity, with the Mercedes brand up 5% while Smart continues to smart, down 69%, and 77% YTD. The only bright spot: Smart was at least up substantially in February over last month, but when the total units is 442 for the month, its just not much to crow about. The new E-Class was up a hefty 92%, and the C-Class continues as the biggest volume seller and was up 6%. Mercedes is up a decent 20% YTD.
BMW had a cheerier month, up 14% overall. The BMW brand was up 26%; the Mini only 2%, continuing its laggard ways of late. The X5 shot up 76%, and the new 7 Series is the top dog in its category YTD. Audi and VW follow, but not in sales increases;they lead, with a 34% jump for Audi and a 33% rise for VW.
The A4/S4 continues as the best seller, and is up 21%. The Q5 jumped 69%. And TDI sales are running a higher percentage than anticipated: 56% of A3 and 40% of Q7 sales are with oil burners behind the big grille.
VW had a similar 33% rise, and is basking in a 37% increase YTD. February is the eighth straight month of sales increases for VW. The fine Tiguan posted a 19% increase, and the GTI is off to a strong start, up 167%. Full chart below:
HOLY CRAP the Beetle Coupe is up over 100%!
BTW anyone who’s offended by that pic should look at a history of WWI I have published by the VFW in the mid 1920s. And yes I’m German and Swiss in ancestry.
First, people go out of their way to become offended, these days. Being offended is a national sport, it seems.
Second, and on a less positive note, while on a walk my wife and I got “up close and personal” with a couple of Smarts on display in the park, the other day. What is the purpose of this car, and who would buy it? The thing is expensive, mileage is not great, and, overall, it represents a complete lack of value, as far as I can tell. It doesn’t even appear to be much of a “fashion statement.” Some things I will never be capable of understanding.
Someone in my town (Gallup, NM) owns a smart. I cannot immagine a worse place to own one. Once you leave the city limits and stray from the state highway or interstate you run into dirt roads that are poorly maintained.
“Oh, but they’re SO cute!” That is, until you have to live with the damn thing on a daily basis.
In addition to purchase price, gas mileage and lack of value, you forgot that the engine requires premium fuel. Nice touch for a two-seat commuter vehicle.
Maybe it’s the American in me, but even if I lived in Europe I think I’d prefer to own something along the lines of a Honda Jazz, or a Ford Ka or Fiesta.
Paris and Rome are FULL of Smart cars. In those cities, where speed is low, roads are narrow, and parking is scarce, they make sense. The Smart is one of the very few vehicles that is legally allowed to park perpendicular to the curb; the Jazz, Ka, and Fiesta cannot.
Brilliant propoganda poster. A brutish animal molesting a bare-breasted maiden.
Today’s brutes don’t move enough volume to matter, though.
In the picture the gorilla is unregulated greed and power. The girl is the rest of us. Hence the increase in expensive car sales, while the rest of the population wonders where they and their children will soon be living.
So, putting a diesel into the TDI results in better sales and a 56% diesel take rate? Hey, Americans hate diesels and hatchbacks!
Mirko: TDI = VW Diesel. And isn’t the issue that Americans may well hate diesels and wagons (wagon does not = hatchback), but they may be hating them just a little less than before? The German 4 have a clear strategy to introduce Euro VI compliant diesel engines to the US and all good change takes a while to have effect. They want to win that market over, to not only spread the development costs over greater unit volumes, but also because they would have a massive competitive advantage over Detroit 3 and Japanese manufacturers.
I meant putting the diesel into the A3.
If the A3 TDI does so well, BMW should send the 118d yesterday.
We have several Smarts rolling around in my small town neighborhood. The one appealing thing about the car for me is that with it, I could get our Minivan, my motorcycle and the Smart all in our two car garage together and still have some room to move around in there. I have a 10 mile commute to work over surface streets. If the Smart was $8K I’d write a check for one today and relegate my 92 Miata to nice day, weekend duty. I can’t imagine why anyone would pay $15K plus for one. There are too many “real” cars in that price range and for most of us in suburban America, there just ain’t that much need to parallel park.
“If the Smart was $8K I’d write a check for one today”
There are plenty of lightly used ones out there for that price. Of course, the Chinese knockoff would cost about that much new.