Cain's Segments, January 2014: Subcompacts

The Mitsubishi Mirage’s status as the best-selling Mitsubishi passenger car in America in January 2014 wasn’t enough to help the subcompact segment overcome the declines reported by its leaders last month.

Up from nothing a year ago, Mirage sales totalled 1170 units in January 2014, the nameplate’s second-best month since its return in September. Excluding the Mirage from the equation, subcompact sales slid 9% (rather than 7%) in January, right in line with the overall passenger car market’s decline.

It could be argued that the Mirage is more of a competitor for the Chevrolet Spark than the Chevrolet Sonic, sales of which slid 23% to 1848 units in January. We’ve excluded the Spark, Fiat 500, Hyundai Veloster, Mini Cooper, Scion iQ, Scion xD, Smart Fortwo, and Volkswagen Beetle and from this list in an attempt to showcase the most direct mainstream subcompact rivals. Including those cars, sales of 18 small cars were indeed down 9% in January.

Digression complete, the Nissan Versa was again America’s top-selling subcompact car. Simply put, space wins, and the Versa (and Versa Note) provide space for families in an incredibly affordable package. Complaints regarding its CVT or frumpy sedan styling were set aside by a record 117,352 new Versa owners in 2013. 2014 is off to a slower pace.

The next-best-selling Chevrolet Sonic is joined by the Ford Fiesta in claiming 30% of the subcompact market for Detroit. That the Sonic and Fiesta could do so on the basis of offering the lowest price or the highest incentives would be one thing; but that they compete as two of the most dynamically competent subcompacts is a sign that Detroit automakers have a future in the small car business. Sales of both the Sonic and Fiesta were down in January.

The Honda Fit, another friend of drivers, recorded a narrow 34-unit loss, but we can expect Fit sales to fluctuate as the second-generation car departs this year and the third-gen Fit arrives.

Jointly, sales of the Hyundai Accent/Kia Rio fraternal twin duo rose 24% in January 2014 to 7402 units. The pair generated 101,210 sales in 2013, 20% of the category’s volume.

The bottom four – Mazda 2, Mirage, two Toyotas – attracted just 16% of subcompact buyers in January. The same cars, without the Mirage’s help, owned 19% of the market one year ago.

Year-over-year, Mazda 2 volume has decreased in twelve of the last thirteen months. Toyota’s Yaris volume has decreased in ten of the last thirteen months. Yaris sales fell 79% between 2008 and 2013. The Sonic, Fiesta, Accent, Rio, and Versa, all of which sell more often, are available in hatchback and sedan form, unlike the hatchback-only Yaris, 2, and Prius C.

The Prius C was just one part of a Prius family which fell 23% to 12,205 units in January. The Prius C accounted for 20% of total Prius sales last month, up from 17% in January 2013. Although Prius C volume increased 17% in 2013 (4% in a direct year-over-year ten-month period), the year didn’t end well, and Prius C sales are down 7% over the last five months.