Though subprime auto lending is growing, lenders believe a new credit bubble isn’t on the horizon as it was in the runup to the Great Recession.
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You might be thinking that in a fit of absent-mindedness, I’ve mistakenly put a photo of a Opel Insignia or Buick Regal as the main image – and technically, you’re right. But the car above, though it’s difficult to see, is actually wearing a Holden badge.
Demand from the Middle East and Asia has helped fuel a new record in U.S. auto exports for the third consecutive year.
Ford’s second-generation Transit Connect is losing market share at a furious rate.
However, that’s not a valid commentary on the Transit Connect, but rather a side effect of a revolution in the small commercial van category.
Transit Connect sales jumped 72% in the first month of 2015 to the highest January level in the model’s brief history. 55% of the small commercial van category belonged to the Transit Connect in January 2015, down from 71% in January 2014 despite the Transit Connect’s 1543-unit improvement. Read More >
Although General Motors’ full-size truck twins failed to outsell the Ford F-Series in January 2015, GM still came out on top as the best-selling truck manufacturer in America last month.
In the previous five months, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra had accomplished this feat on their own, outselling the F-Series by 939 units in August 2014, 7076 in September, 2120 in October, 6294 in November, and 6918 units in December 2014. (The F-Series outsold the Silverado/Sierra by 12,263 units in calendar year 2014 and the total GM pickup truck family by 1045 units.)
• Colorado/Canyon sales steadily rising
• 14 of GM pickup sales generated by midsize trucks
• Still not approaching historic levels
Fast forward to January, when pickup truck volume jumped 22% year-over-year and the F-Series’ core F-150 line became more available in new aluminum-intensive form, and GM’s bigger set of twins fell 5643 sales short of overtaking the F-Series for a sixth consecutive month. But viewed as a full-line pickup truck manufacturer, GM’s 42% YOY improvement to nearly 57,000 sales was more than enough to fend off Ranger-less Ford.
Can’t wait until New York to see the 2016 Chevrolet Spark? These leaked photos should do.
As connected technologies make inroads into vehicles et al, the growing possibility of sabotage has the Department of Defense and DARPA on notice.
The oft-delayed Tesla Model X is currently set for a Q3 2015 launch, two years after it was originally supposed to enter showrooms. How did this happen?
Up to this point, the arrival of a potential familial rival has not hindered the success of the Lexus RX, America’s favourite premium brand utility vehicle.
The RX, still a relatively affordable two-row Lexus crossover, has been sold alongside the more affordable but somewhat less spacious NX since the very end of November. 5717 copies of the NX were sold in December and January combined. Year-over-year, U.S. sales of the RX rose 8% to 20,194 over the same period.
• RX sales reached an eight-year high in 2014
• 2905 NXs sold in December; 2812 in January
Admittedly, the RX’s rate of growth doesn’t compare well with that of the overall SUV/crossover market. RX sales increased just 3% in the 2014 calendar year and 3% in December specifically. January’s 17% jump translated to 962 extra sales in a SUV/crossover market which rose 19%. U.S. SUV/crossover sales were up 12% in December and in 2014 as a whole.
Of the 14.3 billion gallons of ethanol produced in the United States in 2014, a near-record 836 gallons were exported.
Looking for new stock to add to your portfolio in 2015? Credit Suisse has one for your consideration: Tesla.
Aside from holding onto its global sales crown for another year, Toyota is also doing well at the bank thanks to a weaker yen.
Concerned with Takata’s ongoing airbag woes, ten automakers are assembling to investigate the supplier, with former NHTSA chief David Kelly likely to helm.
The Honda CR-V, soon to be the middle rung on Honda’s crossover ladder, was America’s best-selling SUV in January 2015.
This was the CR-V’s fifth consecutive month atop the SUV/CUV leaderboard. 2014 was the third consecutive year that the CR-V led the category on an annual basis.
• CR-V accounted for 26% of Honda brand sales
• Pilot sales nearly doubled, YOY
• Jeeps grab three top 10 spots for tenth time in eleven months
Perhaps of more interest than the CR-V’s position relative to its peers is its new-found dominance in Honda showrooms.
Although the CR-V didn’t outsell all non-pickup trucks in January as it did during the previous two months, the CR-V was Honda’s most popular model for the fourth consecutive month. Read More >
In January 2015, for the second consecutive month and the fourth time in the last six months, the Toyota Camry was not America’s best-selling passenger car.
But after holding the title in October and November – and the 2014 calendar year – the Camry ceded the crown to a sibling, not a rival, in January.
• Four top sellers post YOY improvements
• Hyundai held out of top 10
• Sixth-ranked Civic posts seventh consecutive decline
Sales of the Toyota Corolla jumped 20% to 27,357 units, 8658 more than the number of sales reported by the next-best-selling small car, Honda’s Civic.
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