ALEXANDRIA, Va. -
New-vehicle sales for import automakers showed double-digit gains in the final month of 2010, a year that turned out to be relatively healthier for the overall auto industry, according to American International Automobile Dealers Association
AIADA said, citing AutoData Corp. data, that import brands moved about 6.36 million units in 2010, which marked a 9.3-percent rise from full-year 2009 figures.
December was particularly strong as sales for imports hit 629,699 units, up 12.7 percent from the prior-year period.
After two years of dire struggles, the overall industry showed much growth, as well.
AIADA indicated overall full-year sales — including imports and domestics — had reached about 11.59 million as of New Year’s Eve, an 11.1-percent gain from 2009 before adjusting for difference in business days. December showed the same year-over-year improvement industry-wide (11.1 percent).

“Last year was one of recovery for dealers and for our industry,” said Cody Lusk, president of AIADA. “While our economy still has long way to go, last year’s steady improvement in sales gives us reason to be optimistic in 2011.”

Average market share for the year for imports was 54.8 percent, compared with the 55.8-percent share they commanded in 2009. AIADA noted that imports held a market-share edge over their domestic counterparts each month of the year and closed the year with a 55.1-percent share in December after reaching 55.3 percent the prior month.
Moving on to discuss individual brands, some of the strongest gains in full-year sales (as far as major import brands) were found at Porsche (up 28.6 percent) Infiniti (27.5 percent), Acura (up 26.4 percent), Hyundai (up 23.7 percent) and Audi (up 22.9 percent).
The heaviest decliners were smart (down 59.4 percent), Suzuki (down 38 percent) and Saab (down 37.3 percent).
With regards to December sales, among the biggest upward-movers were Acura (up 46.5 percent), Kia (up 44.6 percent), and Suzuki (up 40.4 percent).
Smart (down 34 percent) had the largest decrease from December 2009.
Continuing on, the list of the top-10 bestselling models during December included five import models. There were six import models on each of the October and November lists.
The five making December’s list were as follows: Toyota Camry/Solara (No. 3), Honda Accord (No. 4), Honda Civic (No. 5), Honda CR-V (No. 7) and the Nissan Altima (No. 8).
Finally, the following are detailed sales breakdowns provided by AIADA: