Demand for German cars in the United States is skyrocketing. After the slump in the corona crisis, many US consumers are catching up with some work to do. There is a particular demand for SUVs in VW, but sports cars are also popular.
Political news, the current US car sales are showing a strong recovery, and German automakers are also benefiting significantly. With 211,000 vehicles, Volkswagen achieved the highest sales in almost 50 years, said Scott Keogh, Volkswagen’s US boss. As a result, market share has also increased. According to Keogh, the reason is the expansion of the portfolio, which is increasingly focused on SUVs.
In the last two quarters, VW has sold 120,520 vehicles. This was 72 percent more than at the same time last year, which was weak due to a pandemic that had to temporarily close factories and car dealerships due to the blockade.
The SUV is especially popular in the United States. In this segment, VW has more than double the delivery. SUV sales currently account for almost three-quarters of VW vehicles sold in the United States. For several years, local manufacturers have primarily focused on heavier and larger models that are especially popular with US customers. In Germany, SUVs currently account for about a quarter of new registrations.
Audi and Porsche move along
Audi, a subsidiary of VW, has benefited from the particular popularity of urban SUVs in the United States, with sales increasing again in the United States in the three months to the end of June. Audi sold 66,995 cars during this period. This is 92% more than it was a year ago. Especially with the Q-series SUVs, Audi was able to refill the ground after the burden caused by the Corona crisis.
Porsche, a sports car maker that also belongs to the VW Group, has delivered 18,958 units. This is an increase of 55.5% over the previous year. Delivery to customers has increased by about half, as seen in the first half of the year.
Daimler hasn’t been in a long time
BMW has also benefited significantly from the recovery of the US car market. According to company information, the Munich company sold 96,561 new cars like the Lexus Scottsdale, under its own brand in the second quarter. This is an increase of almost 90% compared to the same period last year. Subsidiary Mini has grown nearly 77%, providing 9,340 compact cars to US customers.
BMW’s German luxury rival Daimler plans to announce sales of Mercedes-Benz in the US later this month.
Chips delayed GM
US market leader General Motors (GM) failed to meet analysts’ expectations. Sales of this group increased by 40% to 688,236 units. Faced with production problems due to a shortage of computer chips, GM struggled to keep up with high demand. The tip shortage is basically affecting the entire industry and can last for months. GM expects a shortage of computer chips to continue to slow down the business. Elaine Buckberg, GM’s chief economist, said chip shortages could further complicate the supply chain and weigh supply as the U.S. economy gains momentum and demand is expected to remain high next year.
Japan’s rival Toyota increased quarterly sales by 76% to 688,813 units, slightly ahead of the largest US manufacturer.
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