UK SALES NOVEMBER - JLR - The British brands celebrate the best November ever.

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, today reported its best ever November retail sales of 46,547 vehicles, up 27% on November 2014. The company sold 437,512 vehicles in the first eleven months of 2015, 4% up on the same period in the prior year.

Retail sales for the month of November were up 70% in the UK, 68% up in Europe, 52% up in North America and 8% up year-on-year in other overseas markets. Retail volumes in China were down 22% for the month, reflecting slowdown in the economy.

Commenting on the performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said: “We started the fourth quarter of 2015 with a record October and have followed this up with another historic month of sales, thanks in large part to the performance of the UK and European markets.

"Jaguar has delivered a strong performance with solid growth in the UK and Europe thanks to the new XE. Land Rover has again seen record sales this month with continued strong global demand for the new and refreshed model line-up."

Marking its best November yet, Land Rover retailed 38,555 vehicles in the month, up 26% year-on-year. Calendar year-to-date sales reached 361,908 vehicles, 4% up on the prior year.  Best-sellers for the month included the Range Rover Sport, 13% up year-on-year, the Land Rover Discovery, 7% up, and the Range Rover, which was 15% up on the previous year.  The new Discovery Sport continues to grow in popularity, with retails of 9,358 in the month. 

Jaguar delivered 7,992 vehicles in the month, up 33% on November 2014. Calendar year-to-date sales were 75,604, up 1% year-on-year.  Europe and UK recorded impressive year-on-year growth of 123% and 66%, respectively, for the month of November and retails in the Overseas region were 29% up year-on-year.  Sales of the new Jaguar XE were 3,953 for the month, with a total of 19,669 retailed since sales began in the summer.

USA SALES AUGUST - KIA - This young gun is has reported its best ever August in the good Ol' US of A.

• All-Time Best Soul Sales Power Kia to Fourth Consecutive Monthly Sales Record; 
• Year-To-Date Sales Up 5.4 Percent

Continuing to gain momentum, Kia Motors America (KMA) today reported best-ever August sales of 58,897 vehicles, a 7.7-percent increase over the same period last year and the brand’s fourth straight monthly sales record. 

Soul sales spiked to an all-time high single nameplate monthly sales total of 17,108 units, while other top movers in August included Optima and Sorento with 13,980 and 10,211 units sold, respectively. Kia is up 5.4 percent year-to-date.

“Kia has outpaced the industry all year, and that trend continued in August as we set our fourth consecutive monthly sales record despite significant turbulence in the stock market and not having the benefit of Labor Day weekend sales,” said Michael Sprague, Chief Operating Officer and EVP, KMA.  
“Since its introduction in 2009, the wildly popular Soul has been one of the industry’s greatest success stories, and its record-setting August performance comes on the heels of being the highest ranked compact multi-purpose vehicle in initial quality by J.D. Power."

	MONTH OF AUGUST		YEAR-TO-DATE
Model	2015	2014	2015	2014
Rio	1,734	3,390	18,796	27,147
Forte	6,862	5,759	57,912	49,276
Optima	13,980	15,337	106,584	111,738
Cadenza	322	522	4,021	6,524
K900	386	102	1,576	1,050
Sportage	5,749	4,494	34,996	28,862
Sorento	10,211	9,302	76,381	69,972
Sedona	2,545	692	26,825	5,043
Soul	17,108	15,069	99,069	104,777
Total	58,897	54,667	426,160	404,389

Jeep continues to blow the opposition away with massive increases in sales for June and the half year.

• June was the 18th consecutive month of growth, as well as the best sales month ever for the brand with a 176% increase versus the same period last year.
• With 23,000 sales, the second quarter was the best sales quarter ever for Jeep in the region.
• In both June and first half, the Jeep brand was the fastest growing brand in the automotive passenger industry (Source: ACEA data).

Today, Jeep announced another record performance.  For the 18^th consecutive month, the brand continues to grow in the European region with June being the best month ever with 8500 sales and a 176% increase compared with June 2014. 

June was the best sales month ever in some of the major European markets as well, with France up by 491%, Spain up 358% and Italy up 309%, compared with the same month of 2014.

At product level, with more than 5400 units sold, the Jeep Renegade has been significantly successful in the month of June, and is now permanently among the most sold vehicles in its segment in some of the major European countries, being in the top 5 ranking in Italy.

The Grand Cherokee performance was as well positive. In June, compared with the same month in 2014, the vehicle had an 18% increase in sales in the European region, reaching the top positions in its segment in key countries like Italy, Switzerland and Poland.

An important contribution came as well from the iconic Jeep Wrangler whose sales in June grew by almost 50%, compared with June 2014, with the UK being up 79%, Germany up 60% and Spain up 57%.

The results of the second quarter were as well the best ever for the brand with 23,000 unit sales for the European region and an increase of 161% versus Q2 last year. With a total of almost 15000 units, Renegade played a key role, being in the top 5 in its segment in the Italian market, while Grand Cherokee ranked in the top 5 in Italy, Switzerland and Poland in its segment.

In the first half 2015 versus the same period last year, Jeep sales increased by 174% in Europe totalling 45000 units, with France being the best performing country (up 328% versus the same period the previous year), followed by Spain and Italy. Over the same period, a significant 168% increase on Cherokee sales was recorded with Switzerland being up 231%, Italy up 165% and Germany up 108%, while Grand Cherokee remained steadily in the first top 3 positions in its segment in Italy, Switzerland and Poland.

*Europe 28+EFTA

Kia continues to break records in Europe with better sales, and the UK is still it's best market in the region.

• UK continues to be Kia’s biggest European market
• Record 200,038 Kia cars registered in Europe over first half of 2015
• Highest ever quarterly sales with 103,946 units registered in Q2
• Best-selling Sportage and cee’d top the brand’s sales charts

Kia Motors Europe has recorded its best ever quarterly and half-year sales in the company’s history, as the brand’s year-on-year growth accelerated to 7.6%, according to the latest data from ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association).

During the first half of 2015, Kia posted sales of 200,038, representing the best-ever six month period recorded by the Korean brand in Europe. Compared to the first half of 2014, this represents growth of 7.6%. At the same time, the second quarter of 2015 was the brand’s best-ever quarterly sales total, with 103,946 units registered – the first time Kia has broken through the 100,000 barrier in any one quarter.

Michael Cole, Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motors Europe, commented: “2015 to date has been a great period for Kia in Europe, with sales records tumbling and new highs reached. We’re delighted that Kia continues to grow, consistently and sustainably, and that an increasing number of motorists are drawn to our range of high quality, high value cars.”

Cole added: “Kia is focused on developing an unrivalled level of quality in its products, and an industry-leading level of service at every customer touchpoint. We want customers to enjoy buying and owning their Kia cars, and our record sales demonstrate that our approach is working.

The biggest market in Europe remains to be the UK where national sales hit an all-time high of 40,849 in the first half of 2015, resulting in a 20% overall profit contribution to Europe’s total sales.

New and updated models drive 7.6% sales growth

Kia’s first quarter growth has been driven by rising sales of the all-new Kia Soul, which went on-sale across Europe at the start of the year (first half sales up 112% year-on-year, to 7,042 units), as well as the all-new Sorento, with 5,670 units sold so far this year.

Two recently upgraded models, the Venga and Rio, also performed strongly through Q2 and the first half, with 15,386 (+11.8% year-on-year) and 33,059 (+6.1%) units sold respectively.

Sportage and cee’d top Kia sales charts

The Kia Sportage and cee’d model family retain their position as the two top-selling models from the Korean brand. Now in its fourth full year of production, the Kia Sportage boasted its best-ever sales quarter in Q2, with 28,208 vehicles sold across Europe from April to June and 56,002 year-to-date (+12.0% over the same period in 2014). The current version of the Sportage was updated in 2014 with a range of visual and dynamic enhancements.

The cee’d (40,090 units in the first half of the year) remains the brand’s second best-selling model in Europe behind the Sportage, and continues to appeal to customers thanks to its classy design, high quality interior, efficient range of engines and practical nature.

Having started production in 2006, the 1,000,000th Kia cee’d was recently manufactured by Kia Motors in Europe, a major milestone for a car that has played a significant role in Kia’s sustained growth and success since its introduction nine years ago. The 1,000,000th cee’d to roll off Kia’s European production line was a high-powered Kia cee’d GT five-door hatchback in ‘White Pearl’. The car and its 204 ps 1.6-litre T-GDI (turbo gasoline direct injection) engine were both produced in Slovakia – the car was produced for a buyer in the Netherlands.

USA MAY SALES - MERCEDES/SMART - The best sales month ever for the German luxury brand.

MBUSA year-to-date sales increase 9% to 150,868

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported best-ever May sales volumes for the Mercedes-Benz brand at 29,583, an 11.1% increase from 26,617 in May 2014. Sprinter sales totaled 2,769 for the month, up 22.3%, combining with 837 units at smart for a May total of 33,189 for MBUSA.

Year-to-date, Mercedes-Benz delivered 136,926* units, climbing 9.4% from the same time last year. Adding 11,092 units at Sprinter (up 19.5%) and 2,850 units at smart, MBUSA posted a year-to-date grand total of 150,868.

"We're on pace for another record sales year, with a full range of new or redesigned sport-utilities joining our lineup in the next few months," said Stephen Cannon, president and CEO of MBUSA. 

"At the top of that list is the star of 'Jurassic World,' the all-new GLE Coupe, which arrives in theaters next week and in showrooms later this summer."

May sales leaders for the Mercedes-Benz brand included the C-, E- and M-Class model lines. 

The C-Class led with 7,413 vehicles, a 40.3% increase from 5,284 in May 2014. The M-Class, perennial best-seller on the SUV side, followed with 3,991 units, while the E-Class rounded out the top three at 3,942.

Monthly retails for Mercedes-AMG high-performance models totaled 1,201, an increase of 24.6% from 964 vehicles in May 2014. Year-to-date AMG volumes hit 5,027, up 4.7%.

Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesel models delivered a total of 661 units for the month and 6,871 year-to-date.

Separately, Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) models posted a May sales total of 12,368, increasing 4.2% from the same month last year, with year-to-date sales of 50,174.

Record year-to-date registrations of 13,334 for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

• Record year-to-date registrations of 13,334, up 13.2 per cent
• Best-ever March registrations of 8,373, up 10.7 per cent
• Strong LCV market share of 13.4 per cent

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is celebrating a record-breaking start to 2015 with best-ever first quarter light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations of 11,603 – up 8.8 per cent from 2014. Total year-to-date registrations were 13,334, which includes 1,646 camper vans and passenger carriers while 85 HCVs were registered.

For the first time ever, the brand sold more than 8,000 new vehicles in a month as UK March sales hit a record 8,373, which is up 10.7 per cent (2014: 7,564).

The impressive performance maintains the brand’s status as the number two LCV manufacturer in the UK.

All models enjoyed strong first-quarter sales, resulting in an LCV market share of 13.4 per cent.

Transporter models continued to be the most popular Volkswagen commercial vehicle, accounting for 6,367 registrations (+15.2 per cent on 2014). The Caddy remained as popular as ever, with an increase in registrations from 3,431 in 2014 to 3,472 in 2015 – a growth of 1.2 per cent.

Crafter year-to-date registrations rose by a notable 17.0 per cent (2,208 registrations), helping Volkswagen’s versatile load-lugger stake a sizeable claim in the large van segment.

Demand for Volkswagen’s Amarok pick-up showed no sign of slowing either as customer deliveries rose by a remarkable 37.1 per cent (1,287 registrations) when compared with the same period of 2014.

Carl zu Dohna, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, commented: ‘It’s another impressive start for what is set to be a landmark year for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.’