Chevrolet Camaro Gets Revenge for June - Crushes Ford Mustang in July

The Chevrolet Camaro has had a fairly tough year with regular year over year declines in sales volume but after the Ford Mustang posted big numbers in June, the Camaro posted its own impressive figures in July.  GM sold 7,969 copies of the Chevrolet Camaro last month which accounts for an increase of 15% over the number of Camaros sold in the same month in 2012.  This strong July combined with the fact that the Mustang saw a huge sales slump last month allowed Chevrolet to claim its 5th monthly muscle car sales title for the year but more importantly – the Camaro has pulled back into the top spot in annual muscle car sales.  With 50,281 Camaro coupes and convertibles sold through the 1st seven months of 2013, the bowtie clad muscle car is 1,402 units ahead of the Mustang in annual sales.  The bad news for GM is that the Camaro is still 11% behind 2012 in sales through the 1st seven months of the year but with the 2014 Camaro set to hit dealerships soon with a slightly refreshed look – the Camaro may be facing a sales spike.The Ford Mustang sold just 5,768 copies in July 2013, which represents a 22% drop from July 2012 but the bigger news is the fact that Mustang sales dropped 38% from the month before.  After posting such a great month in June 2013 with over 9,200 Mustangs sold, the original pony car fell hard in July and that allowed the Camaro to hand the Ford a pretty sound beating while also grabbing away the Mustang’s brief annual sales lead.  The Mustang has now moved 48,879 unit this year and we can attribute any drop in sales to the fact that many consumers are now waiting for the debut of the 50th anniversary Mustang that is expected to hit in April 2014.  That new generation of Mustang will almost certainly provide Ford with a massive spike in sales – likely far more substantial than the increase coming from the 2014 Camaro.The Dodge Challenger had its second worst sale month of 2013 in July with just 4,271 units sold.  However, the Challenger has been selling at a much better rate than it did in 2012 even though there have been no major changes and in July 2013, the Challenger still recorded an 18% gain over the same month one year ago.  While the Challenger is always the 3rd bestselling muscle car in America, it is the only model seeing a growth in sales in 2013. The Mustang is down 13% from the same period in 2012 and the Camaro is down 11% while the Challenger is up 26% from 2012.  The Challenger will also receive a refresh expected to also hit next April and while that will promote stronger sales of the brawny Mopar muscle car – it will be tough for the Challenger to really challenge for the muscle car sales title.