HAMILTON COUNTY SALES UP
Sales of new vehicles in Hamilton County were up nearly 11% in the first half of 2019 over last year to 6,449, according to the county clerk's office.
Volkswagen's Chattanooga-made Atlas sport utility vehicle helped drive a 10% surge in the brand's sales previous month over a year ago as the company rode Americans' thirst for SUVs.
The number of Atlas vehicles sold doubled in June over the same month a year ago to 7,424 as SUVs were 53% of Volkswagen of America's total sales.
VW's sales gain in the U.S. for the month beat most other automakers, many of which saw drops in June as the new vehicle market slows. The VW brand posted total sales of 31,725 vehicles in June, its best for the month in six years.
Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis for auto researcher Edmunds, said the midsize Atlas is "a big part" of the Chattanooga assembly plant that employs about 3,500 workers.
"It's a good seller for Volkswagen. Anything they can do to add to that lineup will be helpful to them," she said, citing the introduction later this year of a five-seat version of the seven-seat Atlas.
Derrick Hatami, Volkwagen of America's executive vice president of sales, marketing and after sales, said the popularity of the Atlas and the Tiguan small SUV has helped spur four months of year-over-year sales increases.
"They demonstrate the benefits of having the right product at the right time for the market," he said.
At the same time, sales of the Chattanooga-made Passat midsize sedan continue to fall. Last month only 797 of the sedans were sold, down 79%.
While Atlas sales are up 34% in the first half of 2019 over the prior year, Passat is off 49%, according to VW.
For the first six months, Volkswagen of America sales are up 6.8%.
Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive, said June's total industry sales appear close to an annual pace in the low 17 million range that is down slightly from year-ago levels.
"Strong fleet continues to support the market while weak car segments drag it down." he said. Clearly, we are not seeing a large decline in June sales and, combined with May's strong numbers, it may be shaping up to be a hot summer for the vehicle market."
In the pickup truck market, Chesbrough said the biggest story is a surge OVERSET FOLLOWS:in Ram sales from Fiat Chrysler.
Sales of Ram pickups for June rose 56% to 68,098 vehicles. For the quarter, Ram pickup truck sales finished at 179,454 vehicles, according to FCA. Ram sales surpassed Chevrolet Silverado for second place behind the best-selling Ford series pickups.
Overall, June retail sales for FCA in the U.S. hit the highest level in 18 years with 156,588 vehicles sold, according to the automaker.
General Motors sales dropped 1.5% to 746,659 units during the second quarter of 2019 in the U.S. Sales decreased at Chevrolet while increasing and Cadillac, Buick and GMC, the company reported.
SUV sales set a new second quarter record for the automaker, growing 17% year-over-year.
Nissan Group's total U.S. sales for June of 123,504 units was a decline of 14.9% compared to the prior year.
Sales of its Rogue SUV of 28,694 in the month were down 22.5%, according to the company with its U.S. headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.
Altima sedan sales were down 38.6% in the month.
Toyota Motor North America reported June sales of 202,352 vehicles, falling 3.5% on a volume basis, the Japanese automaker reported. Its Toyota division posted June sales of 179,305 vehicles, down 3.5%.
American Honda sales fell 7.3% in the month to 135,901. Cars were off 9.1% while trucks fell 5.7%, according to Honda.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.