Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Toyota Prius c

* Now updated with the Top 180 best-selling models: click on title to see! *

The US new car market slows down its growth in April at +2% year-on-year with 1,184,447 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 4,651,943 units, up 10% on 2011. The volumes are much lower than last month, but records are still being broken in April! The Top 2 best-selling models don’t change: the Ford F-Series holds the top spot for the 32nd consecutive time with 47,453 sales, up 4% while the Toyota Camry is #2 for the 5th month in a row at 36,820 units, up 21%. Down to #11 last month, the Honda Accord claws its way back into the podium for only the 2nd time in the last 2 years (with October 2011) at #3 with 35,385 sales, up 26% year-on-year.

Honda Accord

Not content with annihilating its US volume and ranking records last month at #6 and 28,711 units, the Toyota Prius family, including the Prius MPV and c (aka Aqua) versions, progresses again to a record 5th place thanks to 25,168 sales, up a huge 101% on April 2011. Honda is in good shape, placing the Civic at #7, up 3 spots on last month but down 9% year-on-year while the Chevrolet Malibu is up 4 ranks to #9 but down 11%.

VW Passat

Further down, the Chrysler 200 reaches its highest position yet at #23 with 13,343 units, the Jeep Wrangler is up 9 spots to #25, the Dodge Avenger is up 19 to #28, the VW Passat is up 8 to #36 and above 10,000 monthly sales for the 2nd time running and the Subaru Impreza breaks into the Top 50 at #47 with sales up 86% year-on-year. The Toyota Yaris is up 28 ranks to #73, the Fiat 500 continues to progress, up to a record #83 with 3,849 sales, the Mazda CX-5 is up 9 spots to #91 and the Chevrolet Captiva Sport is up 23 to #93.

Beyond the Top 100, notice the Buick Verano up 15 ranks to #108, the Infiniti JX up 111 (!) to #121, the Acura RDX up 39 to #128 (is this because it is the official vehicle of the Avengers movie?), the Chevrolet Volt down 20 to #145 and the Hyundai Azera up 86 spots and 399% year-on-year to #165 thanks to the new generation now in dealerships.

Most recent US post: USA Q1 2012: Now available with Top 265 best-selling models!

Previous month: USA March 2012: Nissan Altima, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius & Ford Fusion all deliver record month

One year ago: USA April 2011: Chevrolet Cruze in Top 10 for the first time

Full April 2012 Top 180 Ranking Table below.

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Infiniti JX35

* See the Top 265 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Thanks to Good car/Bad car, I can now share with you the entire Top 265 best-selling models in the USA over the first 3 months of 2012. That’s almost all models on sale in the US! (models from brands like Ferrari and Maserati are missing) You already are familiar with the Top 150 so let’s see what surprises the rest of the ranking has for us… Oh wait, just before we do that, let’s notice the all-new Buick Verano pointing its bonnet in 138th place with 4,980 sales, the Mazda CX-5 at #148 with 3,986 units and the Chevrolet Volt at #150 and 3,915 sales, up 224% on 2011.

Scion iQ

Strong progressions include the Audi A6 up 87% year-on-year at #155, Nissan NV up 8916% at #172, VW Touareg up 62% to #179, Smart fortwo up 79% to #181, Mercedes CLS up 292% to #196, Nissan Leaf up 283% to #197 and BMW 6 Series up 566% to #198.

Chevrolet Caprice PPV

Newcomers include the Scion iQ at #177 with 2,523 sales, Range Rover Evoque at #183 with 2,180 units, Infiniti JX35 at #227 with 540 sales and Chevrolet Caprice PPV at #235 and 368 units.

Other post: USA March 2012: Nissan Altima, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion all deliver record month

One year ago: USA March 2011: Nissan Altima best-selling passenger car!

Full USA First Quarter 2012 Top 265 Ranking Table below.

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Honda CR-V

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 160 best-selling models! click on title to see *

The US market confirms its recovery, up 13% year-on-year both in March at 1,404,774 registrations and year-to-date at 3,467,496 units. The Ford F-Series leads the way with 58,061 sales, it has now been #1 for 31st consecutive months, since September 2009. The Toyota Camry is #2 for the third time in a row at 42,567 units, up 35%, followed by the Nissan Altima in incredible shape as the 2013 model just got revealed: it is up 27% year-on-year to best-ever 41,050 sales and is now also #3 year-to-date at 96,360 units, up a massive 38%.

Toyota Prius c

The two big events this month are the amazing figures the Honda CR-V and Toyota Prius delivered. While Honda’s SUV had only managed to break the 20,000 monthly units barrier a few times in the nameplate’s 17 years, the 4th generation is clearly taking it to a new level with 30,868 sales this month and a best-ever 5th place it had only reached once before, in November 2010.

2013 Nissan Altima

Prius US sales incorporate the MPV and c (aka Aqua) versions, which is in fact 3 distinct models and that explains why this month the Prius nameplate beats all its previous American records with 28,711 sales and a fantastic 6th place, its previous best being #9 in May 2007… The Ford Fusion also breaks its monthly sales record at #7 with 28,562 units. Other great performers include the Ford Focus up 65% to #8 and the Chevrolet Malibu up 54% to #14. While the CR-V shine, the Civic (-10%) and Accord (-15%) fall.

Chevrolet Volt

Brand-wise, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia all deliver their strongest ever month in the US. Nissan sells 136,317 units, up 12% on 2011, Hyundai is at 69,728 sales (+13%) and Kia breaks the 50,000 monthly units barrier for the first time at 57,505 units, up 30% year-on-year. Volkswagen for its part has its strongest March in 39 years at 36,588 sales! Outside the Top 20, the Nissan Rogue has its best-ever month with 16,972 sales at #21, the Kia Optima continues its irresistible progression, up 2 spots and 30% on February to #23 and a record breaking 15,008 units and the Chrysler 200 is up 10 ranks to #25 and 14,914 sales, here too a record figure.

Ford Police Interceptor Sedan

The VW Passat breaks the 10,000 sales mark at 10,032 units and #44 while the Subaru Impreza (8,485 sales #51) and Chevrolet Sonic (8,251 #55) both have their best-ever month. Further down, exactly one year after its US launch the Fiat 500 is up to a best-ever #94 with 3,712 sales, the Mazda CX-5 lands directly at #100 for its first full month of sales with 3,629 units and the Chevrolet Volt finally takes off: it is up 124% on February to 2,289 sales and clocks in at a record 125th position.

Honda FCX Clarity

It is also interesting to notice the Scion (aka Toyota) iQ at #159 with 1,285 sales. Other notable newcomers in the US ranking this month are the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan (28 sales) and Utility (27 sales), respectively repurposed Ford Taurus and Explorer, and the Honda FCX Clarity registering its very first unit in the country. Finally, let’s mention the Nissan Leaf stuck under 1,000 monthly sales at 578 units in March.

Previous month: USA February 2012: Ford Focus and Toyota Prius shine

One year ago: USA March 2011: Nissan Altima best-selling passenger car!

Full March 2012 Top 160 Ranking Table below.

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Ford Focus

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 150 best-selling models! Click on title to see *

Excellent month for US car sales, up 16% year-on-year to 1,149,396 registrations in February. Volkswagen delivers its best February in 30 years while Kia, Subaru, Mercedes and Audi all have their best February on record! No surprises in pole position: the Ford F-Series leads with 47,273 sales, up a very healthy 26%. It is followed by the Toyota Camry benefitting from its new generation, up 27% to 34,542 units and a very impressive Nissan Altima, up no less than 58% year-on-year to 32,953 sales.

Toyota Prius V

The Chevrolet Silverado is relegated in 4th place (+2%) ahead of the Honda Civic (+42%) and CR-V (+30%) both boosted by the new model. The Ford Focus takes off this month: up 7 spots on January and 114% year-on-year to #7, its best ranking since June 2011. The other great performer this month is the Toyota Prius boosted by its ‘Prius V’ SUV version: up 52% on February 2011 to 20,589 sales and #12, its second time at this level in the last 4 months.

Lexus GS

Further down, the Kia Optima improves again to hit its highest US ranking ever at #25 thanks to 11,558 units, up 139% year-on-year. The VW Passat is up a further 5 spots on January to #42 with 8,189 sales, up… 11,434% (!) year-on-year, the Chevrolet Sonic is up to #47 at 7,900 units, the Lexus GS new generation revives the nameplate’s sales to 2,396 (+586%) at #115 and the Buick Verano breaks into the US Top 150 for the first time at #131 with 1,688 sales.

Previous month: USA January 2012: Toyota Camry and Honda Civic up

One year ago: USA February 2012: Market up 27%, Ford Fusion #5

Full February 2012 Top 150 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota Camry

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 150 best-selling models: click on title to see! *

Sales of new vehicles in the USA in January 2012 are up a very healthy 11% to 913,287 registrations. The Ford F-Series unsurprisingly stays on top with 38,493 sales, but for the first time since last April, the Toyota Camry is up to second place at 28,295 units, up an impressive 56% year-on-year thanks to the new generation now widely available. The Chevrolet Silverado, weak this month at -5%, rounds up the podium with 26,850 sales.

Honda Civic

Another excellent month for the Nissan Altima up 36% on January 2011 to #4 and 22,357 units. The Honda Civic is now getting an overdue new generation-related kick, up 5 spots on December to #5 and up 49% year-on-year to 21,883 sales. Same situation for the refreshed Honda CR-V, up 16% to 18,960 units at #6. The Toyota Corolla reaches its best position in the US since March 2011 at #7 albeit at -13% while the Chevrolet Impala is up 28 spots on December to #10.

Honda CR-V

Other great performers this month include the Chevrolet Malibu up 12 ranks to #12, the Ford Focus up 60% year-on-year to #14, Nissan Versa up 13 spots to #26, Mazda3 up 16 ranks to #27 and the Kia Optima reaching a best-ever 29th place with 8,814 sales, up 131% year-on-year.

Kia Optima

Further down the ranking, notice the Subaru Impreza up 108% to #38, the Jeep Liberty up 20 spots on December to #41 and the Mazda2 delivering its best-ever month at #86 with 3,030 sales, up 533% year-on-year. Two models break into the American Top 50 for the very first time in January: the VW Passat up to #47 at 6,318 units and the Chevrolet Sonic at #49 with 5,712 sales.

Previous post: USA December 2011: Ford F-Series at best volume in over 4 years!

One year ago: USA January 2011: Chevrolet Cruze up to 12th place

Full January 2012 Top 150 Ranking Table below.

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Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 150 best-selling models: click on title to see! *

In December, the Ford F-Series sells 68,278 units, up 24% year-on-year and its highest monthly volume since…August 2007! The Dodge RAM is back up to #4, the Honda CR-V is the brand’s best-seller at #8, the Jeep Grand Cherokee reaches its best position this year at #13 and the Subaru Outback is up to a shiny 22nd place.

Jeep Grand Cherokee

In 2011, the Ford F-Series celebrates its 30th consecutive year as the country’s best-selling vehicle and its 35th consecutive year as the country’s best-selling pick-up with 584,917 sales, up 11% on 2010 and its best volume since before the crisis in 2007. The Chevrolet Silverado is also in good shape at +12% and 415,130 units at #2.

Toyota Camry

#3 overall, the Toyota Camry delivers its 10th consecutive year as the country’s best-selling passenger car, however with 308,510 sales down 6% it lodges its weakest volume since 1993… Excellent performance of the Nissan Altima, up 3 spots and 17% to #4 with 268,981 units, the nameplate’s highest year-end volume ever.

Nissan Altima

The rest of the Top 10 is totally reshuffled and the 3 following models also fare very well: the Ford Escape is up 33% to #5 and 254,293 sales, the Ford Fusion is up 13% to reach a best-ever 248,067 units at #6 and the Dodge RAM is up 23% to #7. Below, the Toyota Corolla (-10%), Honda Accord (-17%) and Honda Civic (-15%) struggle.

Hyundai Sonata

For its first full year of sales, the Chevrolet Cruze lands directly at #10 with 231,732 sales, and is followed by the Hyundai Sonata improving on an already exceptional 2010 year at a best-ever 225,961 units, up 15% at #11. The Hyundai Elantra also beats its US volume record this year, up 41% to 186,361 sales at #16.

Kia Soul

In fact Hyundai is one of 5 main manufacturers to break their US volume record this year with 645,691 sales, up 20%. The others are Kia at 485,492 units, up an unbelievable 36%, Subaru at 266,989 (+1%), Mercedes at 264,460 (+17%) and Audi 117,561 (+16%).

Other great performing models in 2011 include the VW Jetta up 44% to 177,360 sales at #17, the Ford Explorer up 124% to #22, Jeep Grand Cherokee up 51% to #25, Kia Soul up 52% to 102,267 units at #39, the Chrysler 200 landing directly at #45 for its first year of sales and the Kia Optima up 209% to #46.

Previous month: USA November 2011: New gen Toyota Camry and Prius V start well

Previous year: USA Full Year 2010: Ford F-Series #1 for 29th year in a row

Full Year 2011 Top 140 and December 2011 Top 150 Ranking Tables below.

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Chevrolet Chevette

* See the 1980-1981 Top 10 best-selling models and 1927-2010 Historical Data by clicking on the title! *

Thanks to Adam, I can now share with you detailed data for 1980-1981 in the USA. Contrary to previous data, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme is not #1 over the period. The Chevrolet Citation is the best-selling model in the country in 1980 with 374,706 sales before passing the relay in 1981 to the Chevrolet Chevette at 346,307 units. Yes, this is crisis times and American small cars dominate. In fact, the Chevrolet Chevette is the last Passenger Car to rank #1 overall in the US, before the Ford F-Series took the lead in 1982 and never looked back, enjoying 30 consecutive years atop the US models ranking…

VW Rabbit

The most interesting pattern then is the arrival en force of small imports. The VW Rabbit breaks into the annual Passenger Car Top 10 in 1980 at #10 with 177,118 sales and takes off in 1981, gaining 59% and 6 spots to land in 4th place with 282,240 sales… Possibly the highest position ever reached by an import in the US, depending on the Beetle’s performance in the sixties. The Toyota Corolla progresses over the period: from #8 in 1979 to #6 in 1980 and #5 in 1981.

USA 1927-2010 Historical Data direct links to 34 posts below.

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Toyota Camry

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 150 best-selling models! Click on the title to see *

The Ford F-Series is faithful to its American pole position this month, even growing by 24% year-on-year at 47,740 sales. It is up 9% year-to-date at 516,639 units. At #2, the Chevrolet Silverado does even better, gaining 34% on November 2010 to 34,251 sales, and up 12% year-to-date at 367,343 units.

Thanks to the arrival of the new generation in dealerships, the Toyota Camry reclaims its title of best-selling car in the country in 3rd place this month with 23,440 sales, up 13%. It is however still down 7% year-to-date at 275,004 units. The Ford Escape shines in 4th place and 21,823 sales (+46%), followed by the Nissan Altima (+12%), reinforcing its 2011 #2 best-selling car spot at 243,005 units, the Dodge RAM (+8%) and Ford Fusion (+13%).

Toyota Prius V

After a couple of weak months, the Honda Civic enjoys the benefits of the arrival of its new generation and reclaims its spot in the US Top 10 at #8. Thanks to the Prius V, the newly launched MPV version, the Toyota Prius sees its ranking halved compared to October: it is up 12 spots to #12 and 49% year-on-year to 15,208 sales.

Kia Optima

The Jeep Grand Cherokee also excels, up 8 ranks to #15 and 13,545 units. The Kia Optima breaks into the US Top 30 for the very first time, up 6 ranks on October to #30 with 9,533 sales, which is a massive 570% improvement on November 2010…

Chevrolet Volt

Other great performers this month include the Mercedes C Class up 113% year-on-year to #36 and 8,358 units, the VW Passat up 11 spots on October to #52, the Toyota Yaris still solid at #57 thanks to the new generation vs. #108 year-to-date, the Mercedes M Class up to #67, the Chevrolet Sonic up to #73, the new VW Beetle up to #133 and the Chevrolet Volt up to #146.

Previous month: USA October 2011 Honda Accord and Pilot shine

Full November 2011 Top 150 Ranking Table below.

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1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass S

* Click on the title for each year’s Top 10 best-sellers! – thanks to Adam for the data *

I can now share with you the best-selling passenger cars in America from 1976 to 1979! All throughout the period, two nameplates were consistently on top of the ranking: the Oldsmobile Cutlass started in pole position in 1976 before ranking 2nd for the rest of the period, peaking at 527,939 sales in 1977, while the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice started at #2 in 1976 before downsizing to a smaller version and becoming America’s favourite car from 1977 to 1979, also peaking in 1977 at 675,151 units.

1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic

This period was also the time the Ford F-Series became the best-selling truck in the country (in 1977), it has stayed in this position for the 34 following years up to this date! Launched in 1978, the Ford Fairmont became “the best-selling new car ever introduced” with 405,780 units sold for its first year on sale. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford LTD and Chevrolet Chevette all hit the 3rd place at one stage during the period. Another event was the arrival of the Toyota Corolla among the Top 10 best-selling passenger cars in the US in 1979, the very first time (but not the last!) a Japanese car did so.

Direct links to these 4 new posts below.

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Honda Pilot

* See the Top 130 best-selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at end of post! *

No change atop the American models ranking in October: the Ford F-Series leads the way with 52,511 sales and is followed by the Chevrolet Silverado at 36,656 units, both up 7% year-on-year. For the first time in 18 months, the Honda Accord climbs onto the podium at #3 with 22,589 sales and is the best-selling passenger car this month ahead of the Toyota Camry, #4 at 22,043 units.

The Nissan Altima lodges another very impressive month at 21,838 sales, only 200 units below the Camry, up 15% year-on-year and bringing its year-to-date total to 222,392 units, up 18% and #4 overall. In spite of the imminent arrival of the new generation, the Honda CR-V is also very robust this month at #7 and 19,326 sales, up 11%. The Ford Escape drops 2 spots on September to #8 at 19,046 units but passes the Ford Fusion to reach an excellent 5th place in 2011 YTD.

Dodge Avenger

For the first time since February 2008, the Honda Pilot breaks into the US Top 20 at #18 in October with 12,466 units, up 56% on October 2010. The Chrysler 200 gains 16 spots on September to reach a best-ever 22nd place with 11,205 sales. Other great performers this month include the Kia Optima up 19 spots to #36, the Dodge Avenger up 29 spots to #42, the VW Passat up 35 spots to #63 and the Mercedes M Class up 34 ranks to #78.

Quick update on the new models in the ranking: the new generation Toyota Yaris lands directly in the Top 50 at #49 with 6,792 units, up 161% year-on-year, the Chevrolet Sonic is up 53 spots and breaks into the Top 100 for the first time at #83 with 3,833 sales and the Hyundai Veloster lands directly at #86 for its first full month of sales at 3,724 units sold.

Mercedes M Class

The new VW Beetle is up 110% on September at 1,516 sales and the Chevrolet Volt passes the Nissan Leaf for the first time at 1,108 units vs. 849, totalling 5,003 sales since launch compared to 8,048 for the Leaf.

Brandwise, Mercedes and Audi both delivers their best ever October sales, while Kia passes the 400,000 units mark for the first time in the history of the brand with sales up 35% year-on-year and a 14th straight monthly sales record. Hyundai has just beaten its 2010 annual sales record with 545,316 cars sold and 2 months to go…

Previous month: USA September 2011 Trucks are back with a vengeance

Full October 2011 Top 130 Ranking Table below.

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