Chattanooga-made VW Atlas sales in July hit record

German automaker's gains outpace the market

A new Volkswagen Atlas SUV sits in front of Village Volkswagen. The Chattanooga-made Atlas helped push Volkswagen of America to a 15 percent gain in sales in June.
A new Volkswagen Atlas SUV sits in front of Village Volkswagen. The Chattanooga-made Atlas helped push Volkswagen of America to a 15 percent gain in sales in June.

Volkswagen's Chattanooga- made Atlas SUV had its best month ever in July, racking up sales of 6,499 units and helping the German automaker post a 12.7 percent increase in the month.

The company's surge came as most automakers reported lower sales in July over the same month a year ago.

Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist for Cox Automotive, said overall sales for the automakers generally came in weaker than forecast for July.

He said that "we have always felt that sales would begin trending downward in the second half. July might indicate the market has finally taken the turn we've been expecting."

photo A Volkswagen employee walks around an Atlas SUV as he checks on its doors at the Chattanooga assembly plant.

But for Volkswagen of America, sales of 30,520 units was its best July in three years, with the Atlas accounting for well over 20 percent of the total. The previous high for the seven-seat Atlas, which hit dealerships a little more than a year ago, was in December 2017 with sales of 6,070.

Antonio Pinto, the chief executive of Volkswagen's Chattanooga operations, said in an interview earlier this summer that Atlas sales are providing "good momentum" for the plant.

He said the factory, which employs about 3,500 people, is prepping to start production of a five-seat SUV based on the Atlas within seven months.

"It's tomorrow basically," Pinto said. "Our main task is to produce the [Atlas], the five-seater, and develop those in terms of volume."

Sales of the Passat midsize sedan, also made in Chattanooga, were down 22.2 percent last month from a year ago to 4,003, the company reported. Sedans across the entire auto market are struggling in light of buyers' appetites for SUVs and pickup trucks.

With 203,418 units delivered year-to-date, Volkswagen of America is reporting an 8 percent increase in sales so far in 2018.

Derrick Hatami, executive vice president of sales, marketing and after sales for Volkswagen of America, said the sales results in July mark its seventh consecutive month of year-over-year growth.

"Our SUV lineup has given us strong lift in 2018 and July was the best month this year for the 2018 Atlas," he said.

The all-new Tiguan SUV sold 6,636 in the month. Sales of the new Jetta compact sedan hit 6,931, the company said.

At Ford Motor Co., July sales were 194,026, a 3.1 percent drop over the same month last year. The decrease came even as overall Ford truck sales rose 10 percent. es."

FCA reported July sales of 170,970 vehicles, a 6 percent gain over a year ago. The Jeep brand had its best July ever, the company said.

Nissan Group announced U.S. sales for July of 108,792 units, down 15 percent. Sales of its popular Rogue SUV were off 18.2 percent in the month.

Toyota put up July sales of 208,770 units, down 6 percent, the company reported. Lexus posted July sales of 25,403 units, down 12.1 percent.

Honda reported that its total U.S. sales for the month fell 8.2 percent to 138,602 units.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.

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