Sales: Midsized Sedans, February 2011
For all the buzz surrounding the Compact segment, the real battle at the moment seems to be in the Midsized (D-Segment) class. As in the C-Segment, Toyota is maintaining its leadership by a healthy margin, but right below it there’s a knife fight between Fusion, Accord, Altima and Malibu (look for this fight to include Sonata if Hyundai brings more capacity online). The fact that Accord no longer has a lock on second place has opened a huge opportunity, as the contenders clamor to become the Camry’s main rival. But this battle for second place has also bifurcated the segment into contenders (15k units and up) and everyone else. And speaking of “everyone else,” Mazda6 dropped off our chart this month with only 2,838 deliveries, hanging out with such underachievers as the Passat/CC (1,750 units) and Saab 9-3 (494).
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Don't forget that cars also cost significantly more in Canada than in the U.S.. I've done a lot of research on this, and I have learned that most mid-size and larger vehicles (including most crossovers) cost anywhere from $3,000-$6,000 more in Canada than in the U.S. (and the difference can be even higher than that on some premium and luxury models). On the other hand, most compact and subcompact cars usually cost from $2,000-$3,000 more in Canada than the U.S.. So generally speaking the margin of difference in cost between compact and sub-compact cars is smaller than the margin of difference in cost for many mid-size and higher models (the Ford Fusion is a notable exception here, by the way, as is the Mustang--both of which have Canadian prices that are much closer to their U.S. prices than many other similar mid-size models) So the point is, I guess, that when you compare Canadian and American prices, Canadian seem to get more value for their dollar with compact and sub-compact cars than they do with many mid-size and higher cars. Also, because of the higher prices of cars in Canada, car payments will generally take a larger chunk of a person's income in Canada than in the U.S., and this may prohibit many people from buying larger, even more expensive models and types.
Good to see the Altima making some volume. It's a much, much better car than people realize, and it was doing the "better than the Camry/Accord" thing well before the Sonata and Fusion saw the light of day.
Government Motors dumps a few more rentabus to fleets and they'll take the lead for sure.
The Honda Accord is the best Buick ever built.