Like yesterday’s Compact chart, today’s look at the midsized (D) segment shows either profound changes afoot or a lingering tsunami hangover, depending on how you look at it. Accord, Prius and Camry were the biggest year-over-year losers last month, although the Malibu also lost a small amount of volume as well. Nissan, which has clearly weathered the tsunami aftermath better than its competition, took advantage and added to the Altima’s volume. But once again, the changes look less profound when you look at YTD numbers, with Camry remaining on top by a healthy margin, Altima and Fusion close behind, and Honda falling just out of the top three. Meanwhile Chrysler’s midsizers just barely beat the Prius… in combined volume. Yikes! [NB: Optima’s July 2010 volume (which is invisible in the codger-friendly chart above) was 1,857]
Optima sales will probably hit the 10K mark once US production starts.
That Camry remains number 1 by a wide margin in spite of supply shortages comes as no surprise, but I am surprised that the Sonata came in behind the Altima, although not by much. The Altima is not near as good as the Sonata and the dreaded CVT is plagued by the whine of death, often while still under warranty.
It also is no surprise that the Accord lags so far behind because of the shortages. Hopefully all manufacturers will have resolved their parts shortage problems when the 2012 models are introduced.
Does anyone know who/what came in tenth place? Inquiring minds want to know.
According to the other graph, the Chrysler 200 came in at just a bit behind Kia.
Thanks. I wasn’t able to pull up the other chart. All I got was a spinning loading icon for eternity.
There hasn’t been a shortage of Camrys around here they never stopped discounting them heavily. Currently they are offering 0 for 60+ $1000 cash and have upped the college grad and military to $1000 ea. In addition at least one local dealer has kept running ads about how much they are discounting them and how they have many in stock and ready for immediate delivery.
Highcat “using the shortage card” again? :)
Accord is allot newer than the Camry and still didn’t sell well? When Toyota slaps $X’XXX on the hood of Camry’s and when people cling to Consumer Reports, circa 2009, what do you expect them to buy?
Highcat got more than a clocking symbol going on. :)
Norm, I can only speak from the data at my relatives’ dealerships in California and Arizona and both the Camry and Sonata are in short supply there. Many of those Camry sedans are built in Japan and exported to the US. That still happens. The VINs of those Camry sedans begin with a JT…
I understand this can vary from region to region and even state to state. It appears that overall the Camry remains the best selling midsizer in the US, no matter where it is made. If Toyota-USA could crank out more Camry sedans they would have done so.
If I were in the market to buy a midsizer (which I’m not) my choice would be either of the Sonata sedans. IMO the Sonata is better than the Camry and it runs like a raped ape. The Camry is staid by comparison.
Scoutdude, where in California do you live near? At the dealerships owned by my relatives the discount dollars are a come-on. Transaction prices typically are higher than the advertised sales prices because of padding and dealer-installed options like wheels and tires, etc. Only the top-of-the-line trims get the advertised discount off MSRP but that is offset by all the options installed at the factory which only cost 86% of the retail price anyway. What they can’t make on retail they can make up in financing with ToMoCo, if the buyer chooses to go that way. Many buyers can get a better deal from their credit union, bank or investment house, thereby cutting out any financing kickbacks from factory-financed deals to the dealer. Dealers have to make money any way they can, or they go under.
Yet, there are BS’ers on here saying the tsunami was nothing more than “somebody left the toilet running and flooded a bathroom at the Honda plant” and has no effect on the Accord slump and all.
Yes, suddenly people are just flocking to a three year old Rental car (Malibu) instead.
Too funny. ignorant but funny.
what you do have here as opposed to years past is that there are six players with big volume. 5-6 years ago it was Camry and Accord way out in front by a mile. The Altima built slow and steady momentum, then the Fusion caught on, now the Malibu and Sonata are also contenders. The massive gap is closing quickly.
The Mazda6 should be their volume car. wow. poor mazda. The 1st gen sold much better than this, right?
w/o Ford’s tie-up, I have to think Mazda is only slightly longer for this market than Mitsubishi
Subaru a contender? Didn’t see that happening. And it was already the case last year.
Subaru’s numbers include both the Legacy sedan and the Outback CUV. If you included the Edge with the Fusion numbers, Venza with Camry numbers, Equinox with Malibu numbers, etc, Subie’s relative sales numbers would appear much smaller.
The Legacys and Outbacks that come from Subaru’s Indiana factory have always been extremely closely related in a way that the other pairs here (Edge/Fusion, Venza/Camry, Equinox/Malibu) are not. The Outback began as a dressed-up Legacy wagon 14 years ago, and, because it was more profitable, received dedicated advertising and eventually squeezed out the Legacy wagon entirely in the U.S., a great shame. As for the larger current models, the Legacy sedan and Outback wagon, their appearance is somewhat more differentiated than in previous generations, but they share a great many components (dashboard, body panels, glass, headlamps, etc.) that the other pairs listed here don’t share. So they should indeed be counted together.
If the Outback were still basically a Legacy wagon with higher ground clearance I could see combining the sales figures. As it is, while you are right that there is a lot of parts similarity, the Outback is positioned as a CUV while the Legacy is positioned as a sedan.
Subarus aren’t very popular here so it’s rare that I get anyone cross shopping something I have against one, and aside from an occasional Forrester or WRX I don’t see a whole lot of them as trade-ins either. It would be interesting to hear from someone who does have experience on the sales floor of a Subaru dealer though, as I’m curious how many customers cross-shop the Legacy vs the Outback inside of the Subaru dealership.
Subaru isn’t alone in their odd reporting behavior though. Ford, GM, and Chrysler all report light duty and heavy duty pickups together, Toyota combines the Matrix with the Corolla, and Hyundai is probably the most egregious offender in reporting the Genesis Sedan and Genesis Coupe together even though the vehicles share virtually nothing in common and focus on two very different segments of the market. At the same time I don’t know why VW feels the need to report the Jetta and Golf separately (though now that the Jetta has jumped platform before the Golf there may be some justification for it). An even better question may be why VW keeps the Golf name around at all, given Jetta sales are so much higher perhaps renaming the Golf the Jetta Hatchback would help it out.
With only 10% separating 2nd through 5th place, it’s quite a horse race.
Aren’t the Sonata and Optima basically the same car?
Just for the record my parents bought an Sonata Turbo last month after debating over the Altima. So far they are super impressed with mpgs. I was happy to see the car has paddle shifters, keyless start and ton of nice touches. Looking forward to test drive soon.
Awful CVT transmissions will kill off Nissan but the Camry seems ever green look out when production catches up with demand
Poor Kizashi. I’m seriously bummed about its nosales. And the indignity of being stuck in the outhouse with Galant, that’s completely undeserved. But the market has spoken.
Suzuki has wandered in the North American market wilderness for so long that very few potential buyers even consider the brand. This is a tough segment, and “competitive” doesn’t get it done for a third tier brand.
There are also very few “Zuk” dealers left for buyers to head to. Who wants to drive 50, maybe 100 miles away to have their car serviced?
I don’t see Suzuki lasting much longer. The Kizashi came about 5 years too late I’m afraid.
Suzuki’s problem is that they never managed to leverage their successful motorcycle business into getting a jump-start on a successful car business, the way Honda did. In fact, it seemed almost like they were trying to distance the two as much as possible, which is really bizarre. Yeah, now it looks like their window of opportunity might have passed for good.
As NN pointed out it is a 5-6 horse race rather than in previous years a 2 horse race. That is a major change that will not go away – the Sonata and Optima have greatly increased sales from their previous models and in a fairly flat market that volume has to come from somewhere. Also remember the new Passat is due out soon and even if it only takes 10,000 units that will, again, have to come from somewhere.
The Camry/Accord have been losing market share for the last few years in the midsize segment and the gap has shrunk considerably. Look at the camry sales figures since 2007.
Camry Sales
2007 – 473 K (Market share – 20+%)
2008 – 436 K
2009 – 356 K
2010 – 327 K (Market share – 14%)
2011 – 299 K (Projected)
The midsize segment itself has grown tremendously in the last few years, so the numbers above are worse than they appear. The Fusion has quietly crept up there and looks to stay put. Same for the Altima. Hyundai will inevitably raise production and that will cause more pain for Toyota and Honda. The Sonata and Optima are grabbing more sales from ToyHonda than anyone else. The current gen Malibu has also been consistently growing retail sales and the new one for 2013 will only do better. If the Cruze is any indication, the next gen Malibu will be gunning to top sales charts. The Passat is starting at zero and will probably sell 6k to 10K a month. Those sales have to come from somewhere, and since import buyers tend to buy import and domestic buyers tend to buy domestic, most passat sales will come from the most vulnerable models(Camcord). Its amazing how fast the market could turn around for the domestics and Koreans once they start rolling out decent products. Toyota has been pushing unprecedented deals and fleet dumping to stem the bleeding for the last two years, at least until the quake happened.
PS: The new camry by the looks of it will not be setting the world on fire. Pics out on the web.
The compact segment is the same story , only substitute CamryAccord with CorollaCivic. And lets not get started on the Subcompact segment where the Fiesta is trouncing the Yaris and Fit.
next gen malibu if you haven’t seen it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TOaH951jdM
I think the malibu sales have been kept down because of the impala, which competes on price, value etc. Once the new premium Impala is out, the price will go up and the volume down. This could give the ‘Bu a sales boost.
Camry is going to go under the knife I bet 18 months after production starts. It’ll transforming just the Acura TL”s beek look.
Funny how domestics like Fusion and Malibu can go for years untouched and sales continue to grow each year.
My gosh, what a boring slate of late model run choices. Those looking for mid-sizers must be horrified. To me it’s Sonata or bust, based on those choices.
Surprising the Altima is going so strong. It’s essentially the same body as the 2001. Goes to show how fixated America, and especially the Baby Boomers are with the Japanese nameplates. Old habits are sticky!
Three of them are due for full redesigned within the next year – Camry, Malibu and Fusion. So I am not surprised that some of them are tired.
Great to see that the stupid hybrid is way down compared to last year.
Optima should be higher, but compared to last year…it’s doing amazingly well.
Sonata should be first…by FAR the best car in the class.
Fusion is sitting where any Ford should. Mid-pack. Mid-pack product gets you mid-pack sales results.
Haha, Kia. “1” (I know)
Honda is in terrible trouble. For years, Accord and Camry did battle at the top of this chart. Enthusiasts even adopted one of those TooCuteComboNames …. Camcord, to describe the perennial Homecoming King and Queen.
Now, the relationship is over and Accord is trying to figure out “was it me, or was it them”? Who is that vaguely french Altima chick, and what is she doing up there with Camry?
A few years ago I was full of praise for Honda’s laser focused product discipline. I described Honda as the company which took careful rifle shots at sizable markets and got it done. Somehow, Honda lost the plot and introduced product after product which missed the mark.
And don’t forget “Camcordima” to describe the mid-sizers from the Japan Big Three.
The Accord is such a boring car, I hope it’s dismal sales are coming from the right reasons.
I never understood Honda, reliability is nice to have but if this is the only thing you have to offer me, sorry, not for me.
I never liked any Honda as a driver or passenger, the Pilot look and feel like a military vehicle, the Accord feels cheap and dated, try to drive the the 2009 with cloth seats for more than 1 hour, the seat back will kill you.
And the Civic is also over rated, the stupid dash and the terrible rear suspension, and what’s with that small 1.8?
http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/08/honda-redesigns-is-the-automaker-resting-on-its-laurels.html
“The Accord is such a boring car”
It’s still available with a manual gearbox, something that many of it’s competitors don’t offer.
And don’t forget there is a V6 coupe with a 6-speeder that would be foolish to call “boring”. It’s muscle car quick. And again, its only competition in the segment is from Nissan. But this is about sedans.
Even if it has a manual, it still handles like a barge. I hope you were joking about the V6 coupe, too. If you ever want to lay some money down on a race between that and a Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger, give me a call. I could use the money (and the satisfaction of seeing a Toyhonda fanboy called out).
I sure wish they’d make the malibu in a manual just for the hell of it. I much perfer a manual anything over an automatic. Im surprised the snota is selling so well.
Not many rental companies stock manuals. Can’t get a Chevy Snuze with a stick either.
The Cruze is sold with a manual in several trim levels (although the only way to get a manual transmission and the turbocharged engine is with the Cruze Eco and its crappy tires).
Not at the rental counter
How many of these cars have grown into full size territory recently? I’m curious if they should all be on the same list anymore.