Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Fisker sold an estimated 2,000 units in the USA in 2012.

* See the Top 40 best-selling brands by clicking on the title! *

As you know I am now trying to add as many brands rankings as I can for each country covered on BestSellingCarsBlog. With a bit of a delay, I can now share with you the best-selling brands in the USA for the Full Year 2012. Ford stays on top with 2.16 million vehicles, but in a market up 14% it is growing by only 5% and therefore sees its market share slip down to below 15% at 14.9%, to be compared to 16.1% in 2011. Chevrolet also sees its share drop from 13.9% to 12.8% thanks to sales up only 4% to 1.85 million. Reversely, Toyota recovers from 2011 which was impacted by the after-effects of the tsunami, and grows by 26% to reach 1.76 million sales and 12.2% share vs. 10.9% in 2011.

Volkswagen hits its highest level in the US since 1973.

Honda also is back in shape, up 24% to 1.27 million units and 8.7% share while Nissan (+8%) and Hyundai (+9%) post more measured growths. Kia delivers its best-ever year in the US with 557,599 sales, up 15% year-on-year, while Dodge is up 16% to #8 and Jeep up 19% to #9. Volkswagen is at its highest in 30 years (since the original Beetle!), lodging a 35% increase to break into the year-end Top 10 at 438,133 units and 3% share. Subaru (+26%) and Chrysler (+39%) also impress.

Scion sales are up 49% in 2012 in the US.

Further down, all US-born luxury divisions of Japanese manufacturers enjoy significant growth this year: Lexus is up 23% to #18, Acura up 27% to #20 and Infiniti up 22% to #23. Scion is also back on track, up a massive 49% to #25 with 73,505 sales and now above Volvo, Mini and Mitsubishi thanks to the arrival of the iQ and FR-S, and Fiat is up 121%. Finally, notice the arrival at the bottom of the ranking of Tesla with an estimated 2,300 sales and Fisker at 2,000.

USA Full Year 2012 models: USA Full Year 2012: Ford F-Series and Toyota Camry still the ones

Full Year 2012 Top 40 brands Ranking Table below.

Read more…

Ford Fusion Hybrid

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

I know, it’s a pretty lame title for the article but the truth is that this month, sales of hybrid and electric cars were a little weak in the US for once, and not much has changed as far as the 10 most popular models are concerned. The Toyota Prius is obviously still in the lead with 9,685 sales, and the following two models are estimations based on their hybrid ratio from last month. The Toyota Camry should keep its #2 spot ahead of the Ford Fusion up one rank to #3, kicking down the Ford C-Max into 4th place.

Previous post: USA Full Year 2012 Hybrid+electric cars: 4 Toyotas in Top 4!

Previous month: USA December 2012 Hybrid+electric cars: Ford Fusion up

Full January 2013 Top 10 Ranking Table below.

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* NOW UPDATED with the Top 260 All-models ranking and Top 25 All-brands! See title *

Excellent start of the year for new vehicle sales in the USA, up 14% on January 2012 to 1,043,103 registrations. The Ford F-Series enjoys its 18th consecutive month of year-on-year growth at +22% to 46,841 sales and is followed by the Chevrolet Silverado at 35,445 units (+32%) and the Toyota Camry, back in the Passenger Cars #1 spot after two months of interruption by the Honda Civic, with 31,897 sales (+12%). The Honda Accord continues on its good form, up a massive 75% year-on-year to #4 at 23,924 units ahead of the Toyota Corolla up 32% to #5.

The 2014 model should push the Chevrolet Impala further up this year.

Helped by the new model, the Ford Fusion is up a very impressive 10 spots on December to land at #6 with 22,399 sales, by far the best-selling American Passenger Car and its best performance since May 2011 when it reached #5 with 24,499 sales. The Fusion’s highest monthly volume remains 27,566 in March 2011. Notice also the Chevrolet Equinox up 3 ranks to an excellent 12th position. The Chevrolet Malibu is back in the Top 20 for the first time since last July at #14 with 15,823 sales while the Chevrolet Impala does so for the first time since last September at #17 and 14,153 units potentially because of the current model in runout mode before the arrival of the new generation.

Buick Encore

Further down, the Toyota Tacoma is up 4 spots to #21, its highest ranking in the US in over a year, the Nissan Versa is up 13 to #27, Dodge Avenger up 31 to #28, Nissan Sentra up 24 to #30 and Dodge Journey up 17 to #38. The Dodge Dart finally breaks into the US monthly Top 50, up 19 ranks on December to #47, while both the Cadillac ATS and Subaru XV Crosstrek break into the Top 100 for the first time at #95 and #96 respectively. The Buick Encore makes its first appearance in the US ranking, landing at #213 with 353 sales.

Previous post: USA Full Year 2012: Ford F-Series and Toyota Camry still the ones

Previous month: USA December 2012: Ford F-Series at highest in over 5 years

One year ago: USA January 2012: Toyota Camry and Honda Civic up

Full January 2013 Top 260 All-models and Top 25 All-brands Ranking Tables below.

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The Chevrolet Chevette was the last Passenger Car to dominate the US ranking – in 1981.

* See the direct links to 38 USA Historical Data posts by clicking on the title! *

I can now share with you a full Top 50 models and Top 35 All-brands rankings for the USA in 1985, slowly but surely filling up the holes in US Historical Data on BSCB. I have recently purchased The Encyclopedia of American Cars which compiles annual production data for all American models ever produced, so stay tuned as US Historical Data will shortly be further updated on here… For now I can give you pre-war production figures, intermittent detailed models ranking throughout the seventies and eighties, and at least a Top 10 ranking for each year from 1992 onwards without interruption.

The Ford Model T still holds the annual production volume record in the US.

It all starts in 1908 with the launch of the Ford Model T, later on reaching a record 2,011,125 units produced in 1923, still to this day the highest annual production figure ever achieved by a single model… The Ford Model A took the relay, peaking at 1.9 million units in 1929. Then there is a big gap in US data which I hope to fill in the next couple of months, and we jump to 1965 when the Chevrolet Impala sold 1,074,925 units, the highest postwar annual sales volume achieved by a single model in the country.

The Oldsmobile Cutlass was America’s most popular vehicle in 1975 and 1976.

In the seventies the US models ranking was changing fast, crowing the Ford Pinto in 1974, the Oldsmobile Cutlass in 1975 and 1976 and the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice in 1977, 1978 and 1979. In 1980 the Chevrolet Citation takes the lead before being passed by lil sis the Chevrolet Chevette in 1981. And this would mark the last year a Passenger Car topped the US sales charts, because the Ford F-Series jumped into pole position in 1982 and has not let go of it since, holding the title of best-selling vehicle in the country for 31 years in a row and peaking at 939,511 sales in 2004.

The Ford F-Series became America’s best-selling vehicle in 1982 and never looked back…

The locally-produced Honda Accord was the first model by a foreign brand to top the Passenger Car ranking in 1989, the Ford Taurus gave the title back to the US from 1992 to 1996 before the Toyota Camry started its reign in 1997 to then become the best-selling Passenger Car in the country for 15 of the following 16 years!

USA 1908-2012 Historical Data direct links to 38 posts below.

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Toyota Prius V

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The hybrid and electric new car market is up around 60% year-on-year in 2012 however exact figures are unavailable. Toyota is still ultra-dominant in the category and places 4 models in the Top 4… The Toyota Prius is still the runaway leader with 147,507 sales however up just 15% on 2011. It is now followed by the Toyota Camry Hybrid up 394% to 45,644 units and the Toyota Prius V up 384% to 40,669 sales. All-new for 2012, the Toyota Prius C ranks #4 at 35,733 units. The Chevrolet Volt is up 206% to #5, while the Chevrolet Malibu eAssist (#8), Toyota Prius Plug-in (#10) and Ford C-Max (#12) make their first appearance in the ranking.

Previous post: USA December 2012 Hybrid+electric cars: Ford Fusion up

Full Year 2012 Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Read more…

Ford Fusion Hybrid

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

* See the Full Year 2012 post here *

No threat for the Toyota Prius, still leader in the category by far with 12,536 sales in December, with the Toyota Camry Hybrid at #2 once again thanks to 4,443 units sold, and the Ford C-Max Hybrid confirming its newfound heavyweight status by rounding up the podium for the third month in a row with 3,339 sales. The Ford Fusion Hybrid is up two spots to #4 at 3,244 units, followed by the Toyota Prius C (3,151) and Prius V (2,993). Notice also the Chevrolet Volt up 3 ranks on November to #7 with 2,623 sales and the Toyota Avalon Hybrid selling 747 units for its first month in market.

Full Year post: USA Full Year 2012 Hybrid+electric cars: 4 Toyotas in Top 4!

Previous month: USA November 2012 Hybrid and electric cars: Ford C-Max confirms

Full December 2012 Top 10 Ranking Table: click on ‘Read more’ below the Avalon pic.

Toyota Avalon Hybrid

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The Ford F-Series lodges its best month since August 2007…

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 263 All-models ranking! Click on title to see! *

* See the Full Year 2012 post here *

As predicted 2 weeks ago, the US new car market is up 9% year-on-year in December to 1,355,998 registrations, bringing the Full Year 2012 total to 14,491,873 units, up a fantastic 14% on 2011 and the best year in the country since 2007. Ford and GM did go hard on incentives for their pick-up truck range as anticipated. The Ford F-Series lodges its highest monthly volume in over 5 years (since August 2007!) at 68,787 units and finishes the year at 645,316 sales, up 10% on 2011 and here too its best year since 2007.

The 2014 Chevrolet Silverado will go on sale in April 2013.

For the Chevrolet Silverado the impact is greater, with sales up 6% year-on-year to a huge 50,699 units, its first time above 50,000 monthly sales since August 2008 and enabling it to return to #2 overall above the Toyota Camry while it spent most of the year at #3… The Honda Civic delivers another outstanding month and is the best-selling Passenger Car in the country for the 2nd month running (and only the 3rd time ever after May 2008) with 33,118 sales, up a massive 61% on December 2011. The Toyota Camry stays #4 at 31,407 units (-6%) and is the most popular Passenger Car over the Full Year for the 11th consecutive time at 404,886 units, up a very healthy 31% on 2011.

2012 and 2013 Honda Civic

The Dodge Ram is up 16% to #5 while the Honda Accord also shines, up 67% year-on-year to #6. A slightly disappointing performance for the Nissan Altima down 8% to #9, however the Ford Focus continues to be very strong, breaking into the overall US Top 10 for the first time in a while at #10 with 22,604 sales, up 58% year-on-year and once again the best-selling US Passenger Car this month. Notice also the Chevrolet Cruze up 27% to #11, the Hyundai Elantra up 46% to #17 and the GMC Sierra up 7 spots on November to #18.

Toyota Avalon

Further down, the VW Passat is up to a best-ever #22 with a record 14,462 sales, now just below the VW Jetta at #21, the Lexus RX is up 12 ranks to #12, the Subaru Forester up 14 to #47, Nissan Pathfinder solid at #51 vs. #93 in the Full Year, Dodge Dart back up 9 spots to #66 vs. #33 in Canada and the Toyota Avalon up a whopping 84 ranks to #79. Among recent launches, notice the Ford C-Max down 17 to #85, the Subaru XV Crosstrek up 25 to #105, Cadillac ATS up 10 to #113, Cadillac XTS up 2 to #115 and the BMW X1 up 7 to #120.

Full Year post: USA Full Year 2012: Ford F-Series and Toyota Camry still the ones

December prediction: USA December 2012: Predicted at +9%, best year since 2007

Previous month: USA November 2012: Honda Civic #1 Passenger Car, hits highest ranking since August 2009

One year ago: USA December 2011: Ford F-Series at best volume in over 4 years

Full December 2012 Top 263 All-models Ranking Table below.

Read more…

Toyota Camry

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 279 models and Top 40 brands! Click on title to see *

Fantastic year for new vehicle sales in the USA, up a formidable 14% on 2011 to reach 14,491,873 registrations, the best year in the country since 2007. The Ford F-Series enjoys its 31st consecutive year as the most popular vehicle in the USA (no interruption since 1982!) with 645,316 sales, up 10% on 2011 and here too its best year since 2007. The Chevrolet Silverado was stuck in third position for most of the year but an incentive-fuelled December brought it back to #2 in the Full Year like in 2011 at 418,312 units. The Toyota Camry remains the best-selling Passenger Car in the country for the 11th year in a row (since 2002) and has now been #1 for 15 of the last 16 years thanks to sales up 31% to 404,886.

Honda Accord

Honda has a bumper year in 2012, placing two models in the year-end Top 5 for the first time ever in the USA! The Honda Accord is up 41% and 5 spots to #4 at 331,872 units while the Honda Civic is up 44% and 7 ranks to #5 with 317,909 sales, its highest ever year-end ranking in the country. And then there is the Honda CR-V up 29% and 4 spots to #9 at 281,652 units. Other great performers in this year’s Top 30 include the Ford Focus up 40% to #11, Toyota RAV4 up 30% to #19, Toyota Prius up 25% to #21 and Kia Optima up an impressive 80% to #25.

Chrysler 300

Further down, the Chrysler 200 is up 44% to #32, VW Passat a huge 412% to #37, Dodge Avenger up 51% to #48, Subaru Impreza up 99% to #54, Chevrolet Sonic up 415% to #56, Chrysler 300 up 95% to #64 and Fiat 500 up 121% to #89. The best performing and only all-new model in the US Top 100 this year is the Mazda CX-5 landing directly at #90 with 43,319 sales with the Buick Verano nearly all-new at #95. It is followed by the Toyota Prius C at #107, Dodge Dart at #127 and Infiniti JX35 at #138

Previous post: USA December 2012: Ford F-Series at highest in 5 years

Previous year: USA Full Year 2011: Ford F-Series celebrates 30 years, Toyota Camry 10 years at #1

Full Year 2012 Top 279 All-models and Top 40 brands Ranking Tables below.

Read more…

2014 Chevrolet Silverado. GM went hard on pick-up truck incentives this month to draw down their 139 days of inventory ahead of the introduction of 2014-model trucks in Q2 2013.

* NOW UPDATED with new predictions. See the full article by clicking on the title! *

Automotive News published another round of predictions for the US new car market in December ahead of carmakers’ official figures on Thursday. Sales are expected to rise by 9% year-on-year, capping off the best year for new car sales in the country since 2007. 2012 is predicted to finish at 14.5 million vehicles, a 13% growth over 2011 and impressively the third consecutive year of double-digit year-on-year gain in the US.

Manhattan, Tuesday 30 October 2012. Picture by TheAustralian.com.au

The industry also got a boost from sales that were delayed due to Hurricane Sandy, reported Automotive News. Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles sold this month were delayed from November due to Superstorm Sandy. ”We note, however, that we do not expect post-storm replacement demand to persist much beyond January,” Johnson said.

So a strong December, but the start of 2013 may be different. Automotive News says “gains in 2013 are expected to slow to single-digit growth, with several analysts forecasting only modest improvements in U.S. consumer confidence and employment.” Indeed the strong end of year could be overshadowed by concerns that consumers will curb spending in January due to the “fiscal cliff”.

Lexus LS600h. Luxury brands have also benefitted from strong incentives this month in the US.

AN reports that “U.S. consumer confidence fell to a 4-month low in December on worries over the $600 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax increases that take effect unless Congress acts to stop them”. Strong incentives on GM full-size pickups and an excellent performance from luxury brands are the other two headlines for December new car sales in the US…

See the full article below.

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2014 Mazda6

* See the entire article by clicking on the title! *

According to Autoblog.com, Mazda USA is already displaying the much-anticipated 2014 Mazda6 ahead of its on-sale date in its US dealerships. The 6 is scheduled to kick-start US sales on January 2, 2013 but a few hundred can already be seen in Mazda dealerships across the country. Autoblog says this is “part of a strategic decision by the Japanese automaker, which is hoping to capitalise on holiday showroom traffic, with the last five days of the year typically among the busiest dealer days all year” because this is when the biggest discounts car be obtained.

However, according to Autoblog sources, Mazda dealers are legally prohibited from letting American consumers test drive the 6 until the start of 2013, so this acts as a sneak preview. In any case this is a clever move because one of the 6′s strength is its design. Autoblog says Mazda dealers have been advised that “there are significant financial penalties that may be incurred should the vehicle be operated or driven prior to final invoice. Final invoices will be issued by Mazda district managers just before the car goes on sale January 2.”

Now the difficult task for Mazda will be to get rid of a 100-day supply of the outgoing 6 model…

See the full article below.

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