The Toyota Camry was America’s most popular car in 2014, the 13th consecutive year in which the Camry has led all passenger cars. The Camry ranked fourth among vehicles overall, trailing only three pickup trucks.
• Camry volume represents a six-year high
• Accord volume shoots up to seven-year high
• Corolla leads all small cars
Camry volume rose to a six-year high in 2014. With a 5% increase in the lead-up to a MY2015 refresh, the Camry outsold its nearest rival, the Honda Accord, by 40,232 units. (The Accord trailed the Camry by 41,806 units in 2013.) Accord volume, at 388,374 units, improved to a seven-year high.
Despite reporting record-high U.S. sales, the Nissan Altima fell from third place in 2013 to the fourth spot this year. Altima volume increased in each of the last five years.
Toyota Corolla volume grew at a much faster rate in 2014, however, and with a 12% gain – 37,318 extra sales, year-over-year – the Corolla climbed into the third spot, up from fifth a year ago.
The Honda Civic, America’s second-best-selling car, was the highest-volume car to report fewer sales this year than last. Civic volume dropped by 10,199 in the 2014 calendar year, increasing 5% in the first half and falling 10% in the second half.
Ford reported more than 300,000 sales of the Fusion in 2014, the first Ford car to top the 300K mark since the Taurus in 2005. Sales of Chevrolet compact cars improved for the fifth consecutive year. The Cruze accounts for 25% of GM’s U.S. car volume.
Now one of the older members of the compact fleet, Elantra volume decreased 10% in 2014. Likewise, the Focus declined 6% in 2014 after falling 5% in 2013. Hyundai’s Sonata started slowly in seventh-gen form – only 30,481 were sold in September and October combined – but the Sonata ended the year strongly with an 12% YOY improvement in November and a 24% jump in December.
|
Rank
|
Car
|
2014
|
2013
|
%
Change
|
|
#1
|
Toyota Camry | 428,606 | 408,484 | 4.9% |
|
#2
|
Honda Accord | 388,374 | 366,678 | 5.9% |
|
#3
|
Toyota Corolla * | 339,498 | 302,180 | 12.4% |
|
#4
|
Nissan Altima | 335,644 | 320,723 | 4.7% |
|
#5
|
Honda Civic | 325,981 | 336,180 | -3.0% |
|
#6
|
Ford Fusion | 306,860 | 295,280 | 3.9% |
|
#7
|
Chevrolet Cruze | 273,060 | 248,224 | 10.0% |
|
#8
|
Hyundai Elantra | 222,023 | 247,912 | -10.4% |
|
#9
|
Ford Focus | 219,634 | 234,570 | -6.4% |
|
#10
|
Hyundai Sonata | 216,936 | 203,648 | 6.5% |
* Included by the Corolla in Toyota USA’s sales reports are sales of the now defunct Matrix.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
Conclusions: America thinks a car is an appliance and FCA is a truck company
Sedans, blah, blah, blah… TL;DR
FCA basically is a truck company. The only cars they sell are the 200, 300, 500, Dart, Charger, and Challenger. Most of those are in small market niches (i.e. large sedans) or average at best (looking at you Dart).
Compare that to the Durango, Journey, T&C/Caravan, 500L, Ram’s pickups/vans, Wrangler, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Compass, Patriot, and soon the Renegade/500X.
@whynot – same can be said for GM and Ford. One can thank CAFE laws and tariffs dating back to the 70’s favouring larger truck based SUV’s. I don’t know anyone who has taken Chrysler seriously when it comes to any car other than a performance based one.
The Ram 1500 is more of a BOF car than it is a truck. The crew cab variant has pizz poor cargo capacity.
Ok..Tim I will give it a try and go over to your site. It was good reads so far
I’m not sure I want to live in a country where the number one selling car, that only offers an automatic transmission, is the Toyota Camry.
Poor thing, you’ll get used to it. In fact, you’ve already been living here quite some time. When wasn’t the best selling car a bland auto-box sedan?
Let’s see, going back 50 years it’s Ford, Ford, Chevy, Chevy, Chevy… Yep, pretty dull
Oh come off it, people. If the most popular car in the States was a Golf SportWagen R with a 6-speed and AWD, it would still be considered dull and unoriginal. The Camry is a perfectly fine car, and though it doesn’t float my boat, I respect it.
Come off what? I agree with you. I don’t understand why people become so irate with the Camry’s sales success. I’m tired of the “I’d rather walk than drive a Camry” idiocy that has metastasized on car forums.
By the way, I’d love a Golf SportWagen R with a 6-speed and AWD
That would make me trade in my Jetta SportWagen TDI with the DSG.
A higher end Camry SE with the V6 and paddle shifters garners even more respect.
Toyota actually sold a five-speed Camry for quite some time. No one bought it.
You have only yourself to blame.
Ditto: Fusion and Altima, which killed theirs a little after and a little before the Camry. It looks like the only choice for an MT is a Legacy, 6 or Accord, and I’ll bet you the Accord and Legacy see it cancelled next year.
Actually the all-new 15 Legacy is only available with a CVT with a manual-mode with paddle shifters.
No one is stopping you from leaving…I dare you!
I have never felt the Altima to be the equivalent of the Camry and Accord. It’s like a step down. Remember when the Altima was a Corolla competitor, and similarly sized? I also find the Accord to be a step up in terms of prestige when compared to the Camry. With a wider range of options, and the fact that it must fill the competition gap for Honda’s lack of Avalon competitor. It has a better interior, and the available V6 is superior to the Toyota option.
The Accord is just a better car, and it’s a shame more people don’t choose it. The Maxima could be on this list too, if Nissan had done more to keep it current. I wonder if more people might choose one if they knew it existed. Probs not, because of the price (too high) and size (smaller than Altima now).
Altima has always been a size larger than the Corolla, even when it was still a Stanza. Nissan split its midsize offerings into separate models for 4 and 6-cylinder options in the ’80s and ’90s.
I guess it just seemed small to me. The Altima with the slanted trunk especially (circa 99).
That was the second generation, when it was still a compact. The next gen was made into a midsize, with all the lux touches, but not quite the fit and finish of competitors. I rented two Altimas in ’13, and they had the same cheap materials of the ’95 compact version I once owned. The start button and digital dash weren’t enough.
I’m not sure I’d call Hondas v6 better than toyota’s, but the Toyota Camry V6 is on the way out so I guess it’s a moot point. That said without a new turbo 4 honda’s behind the times as usual.
I recall that for the first several years, Toyota’s 3.5 was putting down notably better acceleration numbers than Honda’s 3.5.
At least in the minivans I’ve owned, Toyota V6 >> Honda V6. Same for the trannies, as everyone knows.
I agree. The Accord feels much more durable and handles far better. But I like that Toyota is trying again with the Camry, and though I can’t stand that faux C-pillar windowlette, I’m pleased with the refresh. It seems to be spurring sales.
And yes, the Altima is a step below the Camry and Accord, but it offers the features that matter to people in that segment. I rarely see the base model, and the volume model, the S, offers excellent bang for your buck. Honestly, the only problem with the Altima that was a deal-breaker for me was the thin-rimmed steering wheel.
We’ve had an ’13 Accord Sport with a 6-speed manual on the lot for less than a day, and five people are scheduled to look at it. I bet the salesmen will strike a deal with the first customer.
I wouldn’t say the Accord has held any prestige for me for quite some time, but I do agree the interior is a step up over the Toyota. Last generation wasn’t much of a step, though. Two reasons to buy the Camry over the Accord: road noise and ride quality. If you value quiet, cushy and isolated, the Camry has done this far better than the Accord.
We bought a used 2012 Altima for several reasons: 1) Price. 2) Price. 3) It has the responsiveness and firmer ride of the Accord with the quietness of the Camry. The CVT also put the Fusion’s slug of a 6sp to complete shame.
I like the stiffer ride of the Camry SE and the seats fit me better than the Accord. None of these cars are fun drivers and so not having a manual is not a problem for me.
Here in So Cal the Altima is the official car of the working poor. Local Nissan dealers will apparently finance literally ANYONE who comes through the door. And if you really have poor credit or no money there’s always the Sentra or (god help them) Versa.
So what was fleet on the Camry? If we go with last year levels that means that once again the Accord is the retail sales leader with a lot of margin to spare.
If I recall correctly, if fleet sales are subtracted from the Camry’s total sales, it’s still in first place, but just barely.
In 2013, retail for the Accord was 363k units, versus 344k for the Camry. They’re both well ahead of every other midsize sedan — the third-place Altima had retail of 240k units.
Thanks. I hadn’t realized that the Camry had quite that many fleet sales.
In my mind, Camry is always the ultimate beige mobile.
Wow. The Malibu isn’t even on the map…
It was #11…
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2015/01/2014-25-best-selling-cars-in-america-sales-figures.html
It’s a shame Mazda is not on this list. Its also interesting that there is a big gap between tier one selling midsizes (Camcord, Altima and Fusion) and tier 2 – Sonata, everything else. Where as in compacts, a lot of other brands are able to hit striking distance of Toyota and Honda. Why is it that Nissan can sell so many Altimas but not Sentras?
I think the Sentra is being cannibalized from cheap Altimas on the high end, and loaded Versas on the lower end.
Owners seem to hate their Sentras:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/12/09/consumer-reports-owner-survey-hate-worst/20122641/
But they hate their Versas more.
This article would have been far more interesting if it had listed the top 10 VEHICLES rather than just “cars”. To me, the CUV/SUV is as much a ‘car’ as sedans and coupes. They certainly don’t qualify as ‘trucks’ unless they’re intentionally built to be cargo haulers and not people haulers.
In other words, I wouldn’t buy any one of those ‘top ten cars’ if my life depended on it. The type simply doesn’t interest me though I AM now driving a “car’ in the form of a Fiat 500.
You can smash the data from the two articles together if you would like. I personally like how Tim seperated cars and SUVs/CUVs. It paints a picture of who is winning in each category.
If he would have just given you just the top ten, the list would have all of these cars except for the Elantra, Focus, and Sonata. Then you would add the CR-V, Escape, and Rav-4.
Great, but the industry has a different definition, so that’s how the article is formatted. A CUV/SUV is considered a light truck. I think it’s also fair to say that plenty of consumers wouldn’t drive a 500 if their life depended on it. I sure wouldn’t.
One article would have been worse than two.
The top 25 vehicles will be on Tim’s site, if you absolutely must see said list.
That may be too difficult for some people.
I like Mirage more than 500, or at least I would buy one among the two.
I also had a funny conversation about 500 with one white lady in her 20s. I asked why didn’t she buy the 500. She replied, “I did not want to look like a liberal”. But wait, I asked, aren’t you a registered Democrat who voted for Obama in 2008? “That’s different, I just don’t want to _look_ like one while driving one of _these things_”.
I don’t know how political implications figure into this, I just think Mirage is cuter and fits my frame better (when I test-drove 500, I was unable the find a suitable seating position). But apparently some people are just like Derek wrote.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2015/01/usa-30-best-selling-vehicles-2014-year-end.html
As noted above, the Altima sells on price and is held in less esteem.
In December it was Altima, Camry, Accord, – win place show w/ not too much distance.
The Altima incentives must have set records.
btw, CR just had some article in which it noted that Nissan vehicles lead in owner dissatisfaction:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/12/09/consumer-reports-owner-survey-hate-worst/20122641/
Ugh, the Altima is the ultimate rental lot fleet queen. I surely is the lesser of the Camry Accord and Fusion, by a long shot IMO. Money talks though and they do tend to give them away. Also, that 38mpg is wishful thinking per my driving of many of their rentals.
The Camry finally looks like something I’d tire kick. While the Accord is probably the class leader I’m no fan of Honda’s interior styling and over use of buttons. Must be a Japanese thing. I’d also rather drive the Fusion turbo 4 over either V6, but I like the feel of a turbo. Personal preference. None of these cars really need the 200+ HP they have as they are just appliances. Still think Ford wins hands down in the styling but again, very subjective measurement.
I averaged 39 MPG in a newer Altima rental. It had 29,000 miles and had been broken in, though…
Only one US engineered car on the list.
What a disgrace!!!!!!
Two American cars on the list: Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Highest by US content and engineering input.
I write about cars a little too, and as I like your vernacular and composition, I offer you some positive inspiration:
http://ingallswalter.wix.com/panda#!automobiles/c24ol
Here’s a sample:
“It’s really not about impulse, buying never really has been, it’s about accruing all the right reasons to stay happy with your decision and purchase.”