USA 1960-1970: Chevrolet Impala breaks records
1965 Chevrolet Impala
I only have patchy data for this period in the US so if you have access to detailed figures please make sure to get in touch!
From 1960 to 1970, one model dominated car sales in America: the Chevrolet Impala. In 1965 the Impala sold 1,074,925 units, still to this date the highest annual sales volume ever achieved by a single model in the US (Ford Model T figures were production not sales). In fact no other model has managed to sell over 1 million units in a year, and the Impala did it twice, passing the million benchmark again in 1966.
1966 Ford Mustang
Other very successful models of the period include the Ford Mustang, peaking at 550,000 sales in 1966…
VW Beetle
…and the VW Beetle reaching almost 300,000 units in 1960 and peaking at 423,008 in 1968. A total of 5.5 million Beetles were sold in the US over 60 years.
Please get in touch if you have more info!
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This Post Has 16 Comments
[…] 1965 and 1966, the Impala broke the million unit mark in both years making it the single model highest annual sales leader of all time in the United […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet's best sellers, and an extremely […]
[…] hit a record in 1964, selling 1,074,925 units, the most of any single model up to that year (via Best Selling Cars Blog). Throughout the decade, the Impala would remain one of Chevrolet’s best sellers, and an […]
@matgasnier
Matt, you won’t regret getting this book!
Matt – The 2006 edition of the Encyclopedia of American Cars published by Publications International LTD. is 864 pages of production numbers and info on every Amercan car made from 1930-2006. I believe 2006 is the most recent edition. Check on Amzon or other used book seller.
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-American-Editors-Consumer-Guide/dp/1412713544
This is great Dan – thank you very much for the tip! I will look into it.
Cheers,
Matt
The 1,074,925 figure was for Impala’s. If Chevrolet was “clinging” to the notion of the full size Chevy being “The Chevrolet” the total would have been 1,463,214. There were 124,100 Bel Air’s sold and 145,300 Biscaynes sold. (Source – Almanac of American Cars)
Hi Dan,
Thanks very much for these precisions. Do you happen to have sales figures for more years over the period? I have been desperately looking for them for ages but can’t seem to find anything online?
Thank you very much in advance for your response.
Best,
Matt
Is the 1,074,925 figure for Impalas alone or all fullsize Chevys? They were still clinging to the notion of the full-size Chevy being “The Chevrolet” and using several different nameplates for what are nothing more than different trim levels of the same car.
Hello!
This is a very interesting question to which I don’t know the answer! 🙂 If anyone does please comment on this post!
Matt