[stickypaws]

"VW posted a 7% increase in October over the same month a year ago. The Rabbit’s fade-out led the negative column, with a 44% decline. The Jetta posted a solid 25% increase. The Passat, down 41% is giving way to the CC, which is way up at +256%. The CC now outsells the Passat almost 3 to 1. Since the Passat is going away soon in favor of VW’s new USA mid-sedan, and the CC is going to stay, this trend is probably being engineered through incentives (and the lack thereof).

Audi was down 1% overall. 5 is the magic number for Audi: the A5 was up 28%, and the Q5 is already the second best seller in the lineup. Mid-sized crossovers to the rescue! The more larger/more expensive models such as A8, R8 and Q7 are taking the biggest hit.

BMW Group was the big loser among the Germans, down 19%. Both the BMW brand (-19%) and Mini (-20%) took the hit equally. The 1 series is sinking, with sales down 57%. The new 7 posted a 10% increase. BMW light trucks (that’s a hard couple of words to type) were down disproportionately, especially the X3, down 86%. The lovely X6 managed a 39% increase.

Daimler overall was up 9%, but that was the result of the Smart’s maxi sized decline of 70%. Ouch! Mercedes was up smartly, with a plus 21%, led by the new E-Class, up 190%.

Porsche’s 15% increase in October helped reduce their year-to-date totals to -29%."

--from TTAC, 11/3/09

Looks like nobody wants Smart cars anymore or 1 series Bimmers.....