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SUVs, Trucks Continue to Drag Automakers into the Red
Filed under: Opinion, SUVs, SUV
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There is no way to sugar coat this.
Auto manufacturers lost a lot of money in July due to poor sales results.
In the SUV and pickup truck category, the Land Rover LR3 was minus 62 percent for July compared to June, the Land Rover LR2 was minus 54 percent, and the Range Rover was down 54 percent.
The Hummer H3 experienced a hit of minus 65 percent. No shock there. Same with sales of the Jeep Commander, which was down 54 percent. The Dodge Durango experienced an 84 percent drop while the Nitro suffered a decline of 62 percent.
The worst selling Ford vehicles were the Ford Expedition (-57 percent), the Explorer (-52 percent) and the Mercury Mountaineer (-61 percent).
Our take? Despite news to the contrary, Americans are still not interested in pickups and SUVs, especially the full-sized models so profitable to the automakers for so long. Let's hope the Detroit Three survive long enough for their smaller, much in demand, but less profitable (and how!) compacts to go on sale and, most importantly, into consumers' mindset.
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