We’ve been slacking a bit on our sales analysis over the last few months, but with the end of the year rapidly approaching we’re getting ready to look back at a year of sales, statistics and trends. To catch you up on the evolving US market sales picture, we now present the top six sellers in each of the six most important segments. Midsized and compact sedans, midsized and compact crossovers, pickups and “luxury low” (better known as “3 Series Fighters”) are all represented with today’s wide but shallow snapshot of car sales in 2010. Will the Sonata pass Malibu this year? Having beaten the Toyota Highlander, will Subaru’s Outback take down the Honda Pilot? Will the CR-V hold off the Escape? Best And Brightest, this is your cue to start prepping those year-end sales analysis talking points…
When is the Accord due for it’s next major refresh. Do we have any word on management shakeups at Honda? They seem to have lost the plot a bit..
The 2011 mid-cycle refresh (if you can call it that) is little more than a new grille and rear lightbars from the JSDM Inspire…and possible oil leaks in the four-cylinder models. Unlike Toyota, there doesn’t seem to be anyone at or near the top admitting that they’ve lost the
I would be the first to admit that Honda’s new products (Ridgeline, Element, Insight, Crosstour and CR-Z) have failed to stand out or find a meaningful market. But that said, their core products: Accord, Civic, Fit, Odyssey, CR-V and Pilot are all solid hits, in general at the top of the sales chart or very close to it.
Keep in mind that Honda is the only major automaker that has made money consistently over the past three years. If that is what losing the plot is about, count me in.
Ford is present in every category save for entry-level luxury.
That bodes well.
I’m heartened to see Ford beating GM in all but one of these categories, as well. As long as Ford Trucks handily whup Chevy and GMC sales COMBINED in a healthy market, Ford should be just fine.
Analysts estimate 35% of Ford sales go to fleets, state governments, and the federal government. So, the Ford showing is a mirage.
This is why you see high sales of inferior products like the Escape and Focus.
Fleet sales aren’t a bad thing. Rental fleet sales are the only fleet sales that have a negative impact on resale value, and thus can be considered ‘bad’ and Ford’s rental fleet sales are far lower than GM, Chrysler, or even Hyundai on a percentage basis.
Sales to business, such as trucks and vans to construction companies, crown vics and town cars to livery companies, or sedans/small CUVs for corporate cars, or to governments such as police cars and emergency vehicles are a profitable business, and one that everyone would like to get if they could – as evidenced by GM looking to import a Holden again _only_ for police business.
There is nothing inferior about the Escape compared to the volume leading CR-V, in fact the available V6, greater towing capability, and better visibility are appealing to a lot of buyers. The Focus may not be as polished as the Mazda3, but it offers more features than the Corolla for a similar price, and since the redesign in ’08 has had a very solid reliability record.
Ford’s sales are high because the products are competitive with the best of the import brands, not because of any fleet dumping.
I’m always glad when a new domestic hater joins the crowd.
JJ99 is just a fake car enthusiast that thinks both Toyota and Honda do no wrong, and there is nothing above the gosepl of Consumer Reports.
Witness this tired argument that Fleet sales automatically = bad.
Please do answer me the riddle that even with the strongest incentives ever, why the Camry is down so much.
Hint- Its not Cash For Clunkers
Another Hint- Could it be that competitors are just as good if not better?
@Roundel
One possible reason why Camry sales are down: It’s due for to be replaced very soon. The current generation first appeared as a 2007MY. Unless Toyota breaks with tradition, we should see the next generation Camry Fall 2011.
In contrast, the Ford Fusion was introduced a year ago (2010MY), the Hyundai Sonata is all new. No idea why the Malibu and Altima have gained market share though.
The Altima has been handily atop Consumer Reports’ performance rankings for a while now and hasn’t suffered the reliability issues that dogged the previous champ, the Passat.
Add to that, it’s a segment where what CR says is taken seriously.
I think the Altima is highly underrated. There’s a lot of talk about the Fusion and Sonata, but people tend to forget that Nissan’s offering was the first to really deliver a body-blow to the Camry and Accord.
The Altima (and Nissan, in general) has gained market share due to Nissan aggressively increasing incentive spending, as well as an increase in fleet sales.
Ford’s rental fleet sales for the year are probably in line, if not higher than Hyundai’s (Hyundai’s total fleet sales % has been around 11% for much of the year).
More impressive than the Sonata’s climb in the sales chart is the astronomical leap the 2011 Sorento has taken – from an afterthought to one of the leaders within its segment (outselling both the Pilot and Traverse).
Frankly you would think that the Altima would be languishing as much as the Camry is in the respect that it ain’t no spring chicken. Isn’t the current iteration from around the same time as the current Camry Introduction.
And I think we can all honestly state that most if not all of those buying Camrys actually have no idea about future product. If they do cross shop, its whats on lots now (when they are buying) and thats it.
I don’t follow the reasoning that puts a two row Subaru Outback in the midsize class with three row tanks like the Pilot and Traverse while calling a two and a half row Rav4 a compact.
Its based on the Subaru Legacy which is a mid-size car. I do wish when sales are released that they would separate the Legacy and Outback as the Outback accounts for over 3/4s of the sales of these two.
I can kinda see why Ford has no motivation to give Americans a new Ranger.
I don’t like it…but I can see why.
If the trend goes like this, in some years it won’t be called Camccord. Also Corolla an Civic will lose their crown.
The Corolla and Civic are supposed to be taking a severe beating from the New Jetta. At least that’s the upcoming plan for next year worked out in Wolfsburg. But I don’t think it will happen. I mean, I thought the Corolla was boring until I saw the Jetta.
The Corolla and Civic are going to get a severe beating by the Elantra and Focus.
The new Jetta will fight in the same swamp as Cruze, Corolla and Civic.
The Camry and Accord I think will be edged off the top by the Fusion or Sonata. However I think the Corolla will for sure lose its lead. The Focus or Cruze or updated Civic or the new Elantra will eat away at its sales.
The compact segment is about to become incredibly competitive. The new Cruze is getting a lot of respect from the automotive press, the first time in a long time for a GM compact. The upcoming Focus is going to be a true premium product that will change a lot of minds about what a compact can be, and the upcoming new Elantra looks to offer a ton of value without coming across as just ‘good for the price’.
As far as the Jetta goes, I think it’s interesting that VW is going the opposite direction from GM and Ford. VW cheapened the car both under the skin and in the interior, while GM and Ford are pushing the best interiors they’ve ever put into a compact and are joined with Hyundai with really pushing the envelope with new powertrains. I very seriously considered a Jetta TDI about seven years ago, but the trend of VW interiors becoming worse than the previous models pretty much guarantees that I won’t be looking at another one again until things change.
I don’t know what VWoA has been smoking but there’s no way that they’ll come close to, even the admittedly fading, Corolla or Civic.
Ford’s made up some huge ground. This is the first year that I can remember that if you combine the GM divs p/ups they still won’t be anywhere near Ford’s numbers. Amazing.
Base Jettas are now on Enterprise lots… prepare for sales numbers to soar.
Surprising that the Camcords are having such a problem losing sales when everyone else is up. Same with the Civic and Corolla. The refreshes better be coming soon.
Does the Volkswagen brand actually make any money selling in North America?
The NA market is large, but just about everyone agrees that it isn’t going to show big growth anytime soon.
Why not just leave and go Audi only over here?
You don’t need a growing market to make money, which I’m sure VW of America does anyway. Yes, the US market isn’t growing like China’s, but it is also much more stable. Aside from the stumble that’s gone on for the past couple years, the US is the most stable large economy in the world. There is plenty of volume and opportunity to make money in the US, VW just needs to find a way to take marketshare away from the other established players. The Japanese did it in ths 80s and 90s from the American makes, and the American automakers are starting a great trend to take it back from the Japanese now, There’s no reason that the Germans couldn’t make a strong play to do the same thing.
Bottom line: Ford & Hyundai/Kia are winning big – same as we’ve seen all year.
I think the new Jetta will bomb. The hardcore VW crowd won’t like the reduction in quality and features and the CamCcord crowd won’t like the higher mantiance costs, poor resale value, and poor reliablity record of a VW.
For all the howling about Honda “having lost their way”, their sales figures are pretty healthy.
I have an ‘o7 Accord SE V6 and it is pretty good. I hear the steering is less in its goodness with the ‘o8 design to date. Notice some size creeping up higher too. Maybe Honda needs to go back to the handling, trim size, and maybe even a new look. Hey, anyone out there doing something new? The Mazda6 looks different, and went nowhere fast however for sales :( The Sonata is pretty wild looking, but kinda Japanese in a way, as in sorta looks like something Lexus would make — maybe that’s a good thing.
Why does the Mazda3 sell well, but not the Mazda6?
Why do people buy the Corolla now with that EPS steering of questionable driving pleasure when they could get the Civic or better yet the Mazda3 and enjoy the drive???
Any opinions on the newer VW with i5 engines — reliable now??? Do the VW Golfs all use EPS steering?
The Corolla is coasting on its reputation. It’s essentially the same as the ’03 Corolla in terms of mechanical bits, with slightly different styling.
Mazda6 sales are low for 3 reasons:
– a terrible dealer network relative to rivals
– consumer concerns about rust and resale value
– focus on being the sporty entry in a segment that doesn’t really value sportiness.
Buyers of midsize sedans are family and value oriented, and risk averse. That means Honda, Toyota, and increasingly Hyundai.
The American public is blinded by brand loyalty. How else can you explain how a truly awful car like the Camry is top seller in the segment when much better offerings languish in 4th and 5th?
Agree 100%
It really is a “perception gap” so to speak.
As much as you hear that consumers are savvy shoppers who do their homework, there are lots of them that will just be lazy and repurchase what they have for the past 20 years. Toyota and Honda do quite well with brand loyalty, and that alone.