Sales at Chrysler and Volkswagen rose nearly a third last year, as did average per-franchise sales. Chrysler sales per store rose 36%, while VW saw an increase of 32%. Both more than doubled the industry average increase of 15%. 
Higher sales per store are vital because they mean higher profits and a stronger industry overall. Most brands did raise per-store sales last year by keeping the amount of franchises flat. Industrywide franchises declined less than half a percent to 31,376 last year, and new-vehicle sales increased 13% to 14,492,398. The average sales per store rose by 60 units to 465.
Japanese brands had the highest sales of a regional group, moving an average 941 units per franchise last year, a 25% increase over the previous year which saw production and sales slashed following the March 2011 Japanese earthquake.
Average sales at Detroit’s “Big Three” rose 7% to 309 units, while European brands were up 27% to 472 vehicles. Korean brands averaged 798 cars per franchise, a 10% increase.
On the flip side, per-store sales fell at Aston Martin, Mitsubishi, Jaguar, and Cadillac, whose sales declined by 1%. GM’s luxury brand also closed nine dealerships.
