The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program, known as “cash for clunkers,” has ended. Both government and industry are struggling to emerge from the paper trail left behind by the sales frenzy that saw $3 billion in federal incentives vaporize in just a few weeks. Preliminary figures released this week show that 84 percent of trade-ins under the program are trucks, and 59 percent of new vehicle purchases are cars.
Consumers were drawn to fuel-efficient models, averaging a 9.2 mpg improvement from the clunker to the new vehicle. Looking at the top 10 most popular purchases, the list is dominated by thrifty, compact sedans such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Ford Focus. Further, hybrid vehicles accounted for 4.5 percent of new vehicles purchased under the program compared to 3 percent of all new vehicle sales in June 2009. Interestingly, more than ¾ of those buying a hybrid were replacing an SUV or truck.
But the key question is, what automakers most benefited from the sales? While the Department of Transportation points out that 54 percent of the top 10 vehicles sold were manufactured in the United States, the sales breakdown shows that that import companies Toyota and Honda captured a significant portion of clunkers business, with General Motors leading the domestic brands.
Cash for clunkers new-vehicle sales share
19.2% Toyota
17.7% General Motors
15.0% Ford
13.2% Honda
8.3% Chrysler
7.8% Nissan
6.8% Hyundai
3.8% Kia
2.4% Subaru
2.3% Mazda
1.9% Volkswagen
0.5% Suzuki
0.4% Mitsubishi
0.4% Mini
0.2% Smart
0.1% Volvo
<0.1% All other
See our previous report on the Top
10 Trade-Ins and Purchases.
Learn even more from “Cashing
in on Clunkers.”