Here it is, the first full month of sales after the government's popular Cash for Clunkers has ended. The expected result – that auto sales would plummet once the feds stopped handing out free money in exchange for clunkers – didn't exactly happen. Nine brands posted positive sales in September versus the same period in 2008 with another three posting single-digit losses.
Of course, there were automakers that dropped right back into the cellar, including General Motors (-44.98 percent) and Chrysler LLC (-42.06 percent). General Motors, however, is in the process of shrinking, shedding brands and dealers left and right, so its sub-par performance will be par for the course for a while. Chrysler LLC, however, apparently just can't compete with its dated products.
The Koreans have once again remained remarkably popular, with Hyundai sales up an incredible 27.24 percent and Kia enjoying a 24.39-percent rise. Subaru, which can usually be found on the sales podium along with the Koreans, fell back a bit but still managed a 0.70 percent increase. Ford, meanwhile, continues to out play its cross town rivals and delivered a decent -5.08 percent drop for the entire company and -4.06 percent fall for the Ford brand itself. The Blue Oval's September sales performance even bests its competition from Japan with Toyota (-12.65 percent), Honda (-20.07 percent) and Nissan (-7.0 percent) all down more.
Check out how the rest of the industry performed in the chart below.
NOTE: Audi not yet reported.
Brands and companies are both displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in September 2009 and 24 selling days in September 2008, so the change in monthly sales volume will be different than the change in the average daily sales rate for each brand/company.
.
| Brand | Volume % | 9/09 | 9/08 | DSR*% |
| Hyundai | 27.24 | 31,511 | 24,765 | 22.15 |
| Kia | 24.39 | 21,623 | 17,383 | 19.42 |
| Volvo | 16.33 | 4,716 | 4,054 | 11.68 |
| Lexus | 11.80 | 17,939 | 16,045 | 7.33 |
| Mini | 9.73 | 4,128 | 3,762 | 5.34 |
| Porsche | 8.44 | 1,581 | 1,458 | 4.10 |
| BMW | 2.06 | 15,047 | 14,744 | -2.03 |
| Volkswagen | 1.46 | 17,358 | 17,109 | -2.60 |
| Subaru | 0.70 | 14,593 | 14,491 | -3.32 |
| Ford | -4.06 | 98,516 | 102,685 | -7.90 |
| Nissan | -5.80 | 48,783 | 51,786 | -9.57 |
| Cadillac | -8.79 | 11,339 | 12,432 | -12.44 |
| Mercedes-Benz | -9.55 | 16,985 | 18,779 | -13.17 |
| Mazda | -11.97 | 14,234 | 16,169 | -15.49 |
| Infiniti | -15.03 | 6,610 | 7,779 | -18.43 |
| Toyota | -15.71 | 108,076 | 128,215 | -19.08 |
| Mercury | -15.98 | 5,443 | 6,478 | -19.34 |
| Honda | -19.23 | 69,970 | 86,629 | -22.46 |
| Jeep | -19.34 | 17,287 | 21,431 | -22.56 |
| Lincoln | -21.01 | 5,980 | 7,571 | -24.17 |
| Acura | -27.39 | 7,259 | 9,997 | -30.29 |
| Buick | -33.04 | 9,455 | 14,121 | -35.72 |
| Mitsubishi | -36.13 | 4,712 | 7,378 | -38.69 |
| Chevrolet | -40.66 | 102,538 | 172,803 | -43.04 |
| Dodge | -42.68 | 35,864 | 62,572 | -44.98 |
| Pontiac | -52.50 | 11,079 | 23,324 | -54.40 |
| GMC | -52.96 | 18,359 | 39,029 | -54.84 |
| Smart | -54.22 | 814 | 1,778 | -56.05 |
| Suzuki | -54.42 | 1,861 | 4,083 | -56.24 |
| Chrysler | -61.25 | 9,046 | 23,346 | -62.80 |
| Saab | -72.58 | 484 | 1,765 | -73.67 |
| Hummer | -81.46 | 426 | 2,298 | -82.20 |
| Saturn | -83.85 | 2,993 | 18,528 | -84.49 |
| COMPANIES | ||||
| BMW Group | 3.62 | 19,175 | 18,506 | -0.53 |
| Ford Motor Company | -5.08 | 114,655 | 120,788 | -8.87 |
| Nissan North America | -7.00 | 55,393 | 59,565 | -10.72 |
| Toyota Mo Co | -12.65 | 126,015 | 144,260 | -16.14 |
| Honda America | -20.07 | 77,229 | 96,626 | -23.27 |
| Chrysler Group LLC | -42.06 | 62,197 | 107,349 | -44.38 |
| General Motors | -44.89 | 156,673 | 284,300 | -47.10 |
