Mar 4th, 2009 by Liz Opsitnik
February’s car sales numbers are in and one of the big surprises is Ford, with a 48.4% decline over the same month last year. The automaker repeatedly says it doesn’t need any bailout money to make it through 2009, but its February sales percentage drop resembles Chrysler or GM’s average decline over the past several months.
Hyundai has fared one of the best, with only a 1.5% decline in sales for the month. Hyundai’s Assurance incentive most likely had an effect on the small drop in sales. Subaru and Kia were the only two automakers to see an increase in sales for February, while Suzuki had the worst month, with a 60% drop.
February 2009 sales:
GM: down 53%
Ford: down 48.4%
Chrysler: down 44%
Toyota: down 37.5%
Lexus: down 35.8%
Honda: down 34.9%
Acura: down 39%
Volkswagen: down 17.5%
Mercedes-Benz: down 20.6% (includes smart USA)
Hyundai: down 1.5%
BMW: down 34.7% (includes MINI)
Porsche: down 11%
Suzuki: down 60%
Nissan: down 37.1%
Infiniti: down 36.8%
Audi: down 24.4%
Mazda: down 30.4%
Subaru: up 1%
Mitsubishi: down 50.8%
Kia: up 0.4%