FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -

As July’s new-vehicle retail sales figures settled, AutoNation celebrated the retailing of 9 million vehicles in company history by giving a new model to a loyal customer.

The company recapped that Nick Gordon, who is 92 years old and lives in Palmetto, Fla., recently came into AutoNation Ford of Bradenton to purchase a new Ford F-150 pickup truck.

AutoNation said Gordon, the owner of a small auto repair business, Gordon’s Service Garage, has been a loyal customer since the 1990s. 

In honor of the milestone, AutoNation will give Gordon the Ford F-150 as a gift.

“What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is how quickly we’ve achieved it,” AutoNation chairman and chief executive officer Mike Jackson said after last week’s announcement.  “It’s a real testament to our business philosophy and our coast-to-coast team of over 21,000 associates who have the talent and tenacity to accomplish amazing things.”

In July, AutoNation retailed 25,403 new models, an increase of 17 percent as compared to last July.

The company highlighted same-store retail new vehicle unit sales in July totaled 24,195, an increase of 12 percent as compared to the same month last year.

Total retail new vehicle unit sales for AutoNation’s operating segments were as follows:

— 7,950 for domestic, up 23 percent year-over-year
— 13,066 for import, up 14 percent year-over-year
— 4,387 for premium luxury, up 19 percent year-over-year

AutoNation pointed out there were 25 selling days in July versus 24 selling days in the same month last year. The company expects to report August retail new-vehicle unit sales on Sept. 5.

July’s New-Car Sales Performance

The American International Automobile Dealers Association relayed information from AutoData Corp., that estimated July’s seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) at its second highest recorded level since 2007 at 15.67 million units, versus 14.09 million units a year ago.

AIADA highlighted that new-model sales for all brands, unadjusted for business days, were up 14 percent from July of last year and 8.5 percent for the year and sales improved 6.3 percent from June.

The association noted Subaru led the way with a 42.9-percent improvement from last July, thanks to record sales of the Forester, Outback, and Impreza. Honda sales were up 21.3 percent, Nissan’s were up 16.8 percent, and Toyota saw an improvement of 16.2 percent to outsell Ford for the first time since March 2010.

AIADA president Cody Lusk stressed that customers had plenty of reasons to buy in July, including rising incentives. According to Edmunds.com, incentives were up 10 percent from July of last year for an average of $2,463 per vehicle.

“Low interest rates, a recovering construction industry, and rising consumer confidence are all good news for dealers,” Lusk said. “The auto retail industry appears to be well on the path to recovery.”

International brands surged ahead in July, taking a 57 percent share of the U.S. auto market. The numbers compared with the 53.5 percent share they held last month and the 56.9 percent share they held in July 2012.

Sales of international nameplates clocked in at 750,254, down just 359 from the 750,613 units they sold in June, but an improvement over last July’s sales of 656,584 units.

Asian brands performed particularly well in July, capturing 47.5 percent of the U.S. market and selling 625,084 vehicles. Last month, Asian nameplates held 44.1 percent of the market and sold 618,845 units. The numbers are also a 15.5 percent improvement over July 2012 sales, when they occupied 46.9 percent of the auto market and sold 541,239 vehicles.

European brand sales also rose slightly. They occupied 9.5 percent of the U.S. market, up from 9.4 percent last month. Sales totaled 125,170 vehicles, down slightly from the 131,768 vehicles they sold in June. European brands are up 8.5 percent over last July when they sold 115,345 vehicles and occupied 10 percent of the U.S. auto market.

Domestic brands finished the month with 43 percent of the U.S. market, down from 46.6 percent in June. Overall, they sold 564,940 vehicles, up from 653,821 last month and are up 13.6 percent since last July when they occupied 43.1 percent of the market and sold 497,098 vehicles.

Top 10 List Highlights Internationals

International brands represented six of the top 10 selling vehicles in July — up from five last month. The Toyota Camry continued to be the best-selling car in America, logging a third place finish for the month overall behind the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado pickups. The Camry sold 34,780 units and was up 16.3 percent over last July.

Honda occupied three spots on the top ten list — more than any other automaker. In fourth place, its Civic compact sold 32,416 units and was up 29.6 percent over last July. The Honda Accord midsize sedan followed in fifth place with sales of 31,507 units, up 10 percent over July 2012.

The Honda CR-V landed in eighth place. Sales of the crossover were up an impressive 32.5 percent over last July with sales of 27,226 units. In seventh and 10th place, respectively, the Nissan Altima and Toyota Corolla/Matrix rounded out the international nameplate models on July’s top 10 list.

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