July Sales Slump, but Nissan and Honda do Okay

In one of the worst quarters in automotive sales history when compared to previous years, auto makers felt the sting of recent economic problems.

General Motors was well publicized with $15.5 billion in losses last quarter and showed a 26% drop YOY in July. Even Toyota, once thought immune to the economy, posted a 12% reduction from July of last year.

Honda was down, but only slightly at 1.6%. Nissan was the only positive on the list.

According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, July sales were pushed down by a weak economy, tightening credit and a soft housing market, all factors likely to hurt auto sales in the months ahead, too.

What does all this mean to sales professionals in the automotive industry? Is it time to jump out of your current dealership (if you aren't working for Honda or Nissan) and head across town to the more gas economical import sales venues? Is it time to get out of the business all together?

The short answer is, no. There is no need to panic. It's time to tighten up for a few months and allow the manufacturers to correct themselves. They all know the vehicles that they need to produce. They also know that they have to build in more profit margins for the normally skimpy compact segment. Help is coming.

General Motors alone claims to have lost 300,000 sales this year because of a shortage of the currently popular gas saving vehicles. Other than Honda, everyone is probably feeling the same effects. They are fixing it. Hang in there.

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