Alexandria, VA (August 2) – The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) today released July's sales figures for the international nameplate automobile industry. Brands sold by America's 9,600 international nameplate franchises accounted for 58.6 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States in July, up from 55.4 percent in June.

AutoData Corp. reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for July 2017 was 16.73 million, its third consecutive month below the 17 million unit mark. Sales of all brands, unadjusted for business days, were down 7 percent from last July. Industrywide, 1,415,139 light vehicles were sold in July, down from 1,474,360 in June and 1,519,249 a year ago. So far this year, international brands represented by AIADA have fared slightly better than their domestic counterparts, down just 1.2 percent in sales compared to a 4.9 percent drop by the domestics.

Auto sales are now on track for their first decline in volume since the 2008 recession. However, some brands found reason to celebrate in July. Subaru saw a 6.9 percent improvement and Toyota sales were up 3.6 percent. While Honda's sales were down 1.7 percent, its Acura brand improved 3.7 percent. Of international brands, Hyundai saw the greatest dip in July with a 30.1 percent drop in sales, in part due to a decision to cut fleet sales by 77 percent.

"Dealers anticipate customers will be drawn to their stores this fall by attractive new models and incentives," said AIADA President Cody Lusk. "We consider a market where consumers are purchasing 16 to 17 million new vehicles a year to be extremely healthy."

International auto sales in the U.S. totaled 828,772 in July, up from 816,332 vehicles in June but down from 848,268 units in May. Asian brands occupied 49.6 percent of July's market, up significantly from 46 percent in June and 47 percent in May, and well ahead of the domestic nameplates' 41.4 percent market share. Overall, Asian nameplate dealers sold 702,615 light vehicles last month, a 2.7 percent drop from a year ago.

European brands sold 126,157 units last month, down from 138,161 units in June and 135,995 units a year ago. Europeans brands occupied 8.9 percent of the U.S. market in July, down from 9.4 percent in June but equal to their market share one year ago. Their July sales were down 7.2 percent from July 2016.

To read AIADA's complete coverage of July's international nameplate auto sales, click here.

About AIADA: Established in 1970, AIADA is and continues to be the only association whose sole purpose is to represent America's international nameplate automobile franchises that sell and service the following brands: Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Scion, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. These retailers have a positive economic impact both nationally and in the local communities they serve, providing more than 500,000 American jobs. Visit AIADA online at www.aiada.org.

Contact: Libby Newman 
NewmanL@aiada.org 
703-519-7800