Cain's Segments: September 2013 Large Car Sales
As America’s new vehicle market posted a 4% sales decline in an abbreviated September 2013 and total passenger car sales slid 7%, sales of large cars at mainstream brands rose 5%.
Growth was powered in large part by the Dodge Charger, which hasn’t sold this well since 2008.
Toyota reported its tenth consecutive significant Avalon sales increase. The Hyundai Azera’s 67% jump equalled 596 extra units. In its sixth month, Kia sold 926 Cadenzas, down 35% from the average it had achieved over the prior three months.
On five separate occasions during the first three quarters of 2012, Hyundai sold more than 3000 Genesis sedans and coupes, but only once this year. Hyundai USA reports sales of the Genesis sedan and coupe as though they’re one car.
The priced-like-a-G37 Nissan Maxima outsold the Toyota Avalon in September, but Nissan hasn’t reported a monthly increase in Maxima volume since October of last year. Only once since October has Buick reported a monthly increase in LaCrosse volume. After rising above 90,000 units in 2005, LaCrosse sales in the U.S. dropped in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. But after a huge increase to 61,178 sales in 2010, LaCrosse volume is steadily declining again, and Buick could struggle to top 50,000 LaCrosse sales in 2013.
1299 of the Ford Taurus’s September total was generated by the Police Interceptor sedan. Sales of the civilian Taurus fell 9% to 4279 units in September. Civilian Taurus sales are up 8% to 54,935 this year.
Ford has sold 8686 Taurus Police Interceptors and 10,087 Explorer Police Interceptors in 2013. Sales of Chevrolet’s Caprice PPV are up 4% to 2966. 514 Caprices were sold in September.
In 2012, with a near doubling in year-over-year volume, Chrysler 300 volume rose to the model’s highest level since 2007, but that level has proven to be unsustainable this year. Still, in September 2013, despite two fewer selling days than September 2012 and no Labour Day weekend output, 300 volume grew by 274 units.
General Motors said that, “fleet sales in September reflect the strategic repositioning of the Impala.” Chasing retail customers has limited the Impala’s monthly U.S. totals, but it hasn’t resulted in the Impala’s removal from the top of the segment’s leaderboard. 3797 fewer Impalas were sold this September than last; 19,146 fewer through the first nine months of 2013. Combined, the 300 and Charger outsold the Impala in September but trail the Chevrolet by 3505 sales year-to-date.
The Impala was America’s 11th-best-selling car in September 2012 but fell to 14th in September 2013. The Charger ranked 18th in car sales last month, ahead of the Mazda 3 and BMW 3-Series; just behind the Chrysler 200 and Nissan Versa.
4.3% of all new vehicles sold in September were large mainstream brand cars, up from 3.9% a year ago. Defining this segment only by the perceived status of badges is deceiving, however. These are very well-equipped cars, typically very powerful, and almost always exceedingly roomy. In most (if not all) cases, they’re viable competitors for luxury-branded sedans, at least those which lack sporting intentions.
On that note, Lexus ES sales fell 26% to 4866 in September but have risen 44% to 52,076 this year, numbers which are Avalon-like. Lincoln MKZ sales rose 12% to 2874 in September and are up 1% – 301 units – to 23,775 through nine months, better than what Hyundai and Kia manag with the Azera and Cadenza siblings.
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AutoSeptember 2013September 2012September % Change9 mos.20139 mos. 2012YTD % ChangeBuick LaCrosse39524580– 13.7%38,84545,066– 13.8%Buick Lucerne—2– 100%9966– 99.1%Chevrolet Impala11,46215,259– 24.9%121,033140,179– 13.7%Chrysler 30050364762+ 5.8%44,18653,630– 17.6%Dodge Charger87135863+ 48.6%73,34263,485+ 15.5%Ford Taurus55785555+ 0.4%63,62156,848+ 11.9%Hyundai Azera1487891+ 66.9%91055993+ 51.9%Hyundai Genesis29262669+ 9.6%25,11727,016– 7.0%Kia Cadenza926——5758——Nissan Maxima47175718– 17.5%36,19646,121– 21.5%Toyota Avalon45141571+ 187%53,79521,673+ 148%—— —————Total 49,31146,870 + 5.2%471,007 460,977+ 2.2%
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It doesn't make sense to include the RWD cars in the list. They belong to another level. Also, I have seen LaCrosse many times. It's no full size.
Our local 3 Chevy dealers see a lot of action with the new 2014 Impala. Every week I check them out there are 5-6 different cars than the prior week. Meanwhile the same lonely white Cadenza is sitting in the second row at the Kia dealer and the 2013 demo Genesis with a few thousand miles has been collecting dust since early Summer at the Hyundai dealer across the street. The large Korean sedans are a tough sell in Upsate, NY it would seem.