Hackers Hijack June Sales, Automakers Report Mixed Sales Picture

Hackers blurred the sales picture for June. But it appears that overall demand was less than stellar, major brands like GM, Toyota and Hyundai reporting modest declines for the second quarter overall. That said, EV sales were stronger than anticipated — with one key exception.

With the fallout from an industry-wide hack hovering over thousands of car dealerships across the country, automakers have struggled to get things back on track. The attack on CDK, a data firm handling everything from dealer sales prospects to backroom payroll, is believed to have cost manufacturers tens of thousands of lost sales for the month.

That helps explain why preliminary numbers from General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia all showed small declines for June and, in some cases, for the entire second quarter. But the picture wasn’t entirely glum. With one key exception, demand for EVs helped charge things up — and counter reports that the segment was starting to lose momentum.

Tesla tumbles

That exception was Tesla. It announced a 5.2% decline in production worldwide, at 410,831 vehicles in the second quarter, compared with 433,371 in the first quarter of 2024.

The decline in production was offset by an increase in deliveries of vehicles held in transit or inventory globally as it experienced a slowdown in China and continuing labor unrest in Europe. The EV giant does not break out sales for individual countries but the U.S. continues to be its largest market, based on registration data, and it appears its deliveries were down in the States for the second quarter in a row.

CDK hack hits GM hard

The Detroit giant was one of the manufacturers hit hard by the CDK hack. And it could take time to recover, it reported, warning that dealers may not be able to fill some orders until later this summer since a computer platform used to track sales, financing, and inventory had been taken offline last month,

“Our dealers who use the CDK platform are working to meet strong customer demand under difficult circumstances. Some deliveries may be delayed until Q3,” GM said in a cryptic statement attached to the sales report. The automaker only reports sales on a quarterly basis but reported its dealers in the U.S. delivered 696,086 vehicles in the U.S., up 0.6% year-over-year, in the second quarter of 2024 and 1,290,319 vehicles in the U.S., down 0.4% year-over-year, in the first half of 2024. GM said sales of full-size pickup trucks climbed by 5% as the company posted its best sales in the category since 2021, while deliveries of battery electric vehicles of 21,930 increased by 34% over the first quarter and 40% year-over-year.

“We have an incredible portfolio of diverse vehicles and we’re flexible, so we can win as more customers embrace EVs and we can keep winning if they want to stay with the engine technologies they know,” said Marissa West, GM senior vice president and president, North America.

Toyota reports boost in EV sales while Lexus sales go up

 Toyota Motor North America reported U.S. June sales of 193,120 vehicles, down 1.2 % versus June 2023. But sales of electrified vehicles were up 64.5% and represented 43.9 percent of total monthly sales. Toyota brand sales dropped 2.3% in June, but Lexus sales increased by 5.9%. TMNA also said second-quarter sales increased 9.2% and sales for the first six months of 2024 increased 14.3%. First half electrified vehicle sales totaled 454,197, up 67.9% which represents 38.3% of total sales for the period.

“The first half of 2024 surpassed our high expectations thanks to our teams’ continued focus on customers with even more great products, including electrified vehicles,” said Jack Hollis, executive vice president, Sales, TMNA. “Lexus recorded its best-ever first half in its 35-year history, Toyota remains the number one retail brand in the industry, and our diverse portfolio of 29 electrified vehicle options between the Toyota and Lexus brands made up nearly 40 percent of our total sales volume through June,” Hollis added.

Subaru of America Inc. reported 55,228 vehicle sales for June 2024, a 0.1% increase compared with June 2023. SOA also reported year-to-date sales of 322,443, a 6% increase compared with the same period in 2023. Nissan Group sales dropped 3.1% during the second quarter with Nissan brand sales falling 2.3% and Infiniti brand sales dropping by 14.9%. So far this year, Nissan Group sales are up 1.9%

More Sales Stories

• Japanese Automakers Post Strong April Sales Numbers, Korean Automakers See Sales Dip
• March Auto Sales Look Strong – But Affordability Remains an Issue
• Who Says EV Sales Are Slowing? Tesla, Maybe – But Not GM, Ford, Toyota or the Koreans

Korean automakers report mixed sales picture

Genesis Motor America is reporting 5,619 total sales in June 2024 a small drop from the 6,003 vehicles sold in June of 2024.  Genesis said it posted the best-ever first half with total sales of 31,821 vehicles. Hyundai Motor America reported total June sales of 67,631 units, a 2.5% decrease compared with June 2023.

“Once again in the face of yet another industry crisis the Hyundai dealers showed their resiliency by closing Q2 with a 2.2% increase in total sales, resulting in a 1.2% increase for the first half of the year,” said Randy Parker, CEO, Hyundai Motor America, who noted Hyundai’s sales were driven by demand for the all-electric IONIQ 5 along with Tucson and Santa Fe HEVs.

Meanwhile, Kia reported sales dropped 6.4% in June and dropped by 2% for the first half of 2024.  Kia America said it sold more than 5,000 all-electric vehicles for the third consecutive month and 29,392 total EVs through the first half, resulting in 112% growth year-over-year and indicating strong EV sales growth momentum for the company. “Kia’s leadership as a sustainable mobility solutions provider and our growing selection of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric utility vehicles are delivering one of the most balanced lineups in the industry,” said Eric Watson, vice president, sales operations, Kia America.

Jessica Caldwell, head of Insights at the car buying service, Edmunds.com, observed high prices and high interest rates continue to slow sales of new vehicles.

“High interest rates continued to be a heavy drag on new-vehicle sales growth in the second quarter,” said Caldwell. “In theory, improved inventory and growing incentives should paint a more consumer-friendly picture of the market, but the reality is most Americans can’t buy their cars with cash, and increased borrowing costs continue to be a major roadblock when buying a new vehicle.”

According to Edmunds, the share of consumers taking on loans with new-vehicle monthly payments of $1,000 or more was 17.8% in the second quarter of 2024, just shy of the record 17.9% share in the fourth quarter of 2023, when vehicle prices are seasonally higher.