Camaro Surges, Mustang Plunges: Camaro Ends Mustang's 22-Month Winning Streak

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

In September 2016, for the first time since October 2014, the Chevrolet Camaro outsold the Ford Mustang in the United States.

Year-over-year, Chevrolet Camaro sales jumped 25 percent to a five-year September high of 6,577.

With the worst Ford Mustang decline since (not coincidentally) October 2014, the Blue Oval’s pony car saw its share of the three-car Detroit pony/muscle car sector fall by 15 points to 34 percent.

Thus, the Camaro wins. Over the span of one month. By a small margin.

In 2015, for the first time since 2009, the Mustang generated more U.S. sales than the Camaro. It wasn’t an unexpected turn of events. In 2015, the Ford Mustang was an all-new sixth-generation car. The Camaro, on the other hand, was in the final year of its fifth iteration.

Camaro sales fell to a six-year low. Mustang sales rose to an eight-year high.

The expectation that 2016 would be a turnaround year for the Camaro apparently lacked foundation. With the Mustang no longer hot off the presses and the Camaro now the all-new car, year-over-year Camaro sales volume plunged 15 percent through the first two-thirds of 2016, a loss of 8,340 sales that General Motors largely laid at the feet of decreased fleet emphasis and a focus on stocking high-priced, high-performance examples for the Camaro enthusiast.

The sixth-gen Camaro’s dynamic enhancements, however, were linked to a car that doesn’t look new and continues to suffer from the sort of wretched visibility that decreases the car’s daily driver appeal by the masses.

Even the Dodge Challenger, long a third wheel, began to outsell the Camaro on occasion.

With inventory on the departing 2016 models too strong, GM responded with a Camaro price cut. (GM currently offers interest-free financing over six years for most 2016 Camaros.) And then, as 2017 Camaros came on stream, GM also sliced away at the new model year’s pricing scheme.

The result of more attractive prices: the Chevrolet Camaro outsold the Ford Mustang by 148 units in September 2016. Though it was a tiny margin caused more by the Mustang’s 32-percent dive than the Camaro’s 25-percent increase, the Camaro’s September victory still marks a sharp turnaround from the 4,210-unit margin of victory the Mustang scored at this stage of 2015.

Dodge Challenger sales rose 19 percent to 5,698 units, a four-month high and the best September result since the Challenger returned in 2008. Annually, Challenger sales have steadily increased ever since the nameplate was reborn, rising 80 percent between 2010 and 2015. But through three-quarters of 2016, the Challenger is off last year’s pace by 2 percent.

As for the Mustang’s harsh decline in September, Ford mostly blames the Mustang’s success in 2015. Speaking about last year, Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle told TTAC, “We were satisfying a lot of pent-up demand, as buyers in this segment tend to wait for launch of the newest model.”

Pointing to the Mustang’s massive year-to-date sales lead — Ford sold 60-percent more Mustangs than Chevrolet sold Camaros in the first nine months of 2016 — Merkle also noted recent price alterations. In September, Merkle says, “We also saw a healthy increase in incentive activity for the overall segment,” claiming that Mustang incentives decreased by $250 compared with August while the sector’s average incentives were up $600 compared with the previous month.

With the newer car priced appropriately, it seems the Chevrolet Camaro can beat the slightly older Ford Mustang. But after 22 months of Mustang leadership, was this surprising Camaro victory just a blip on Ford’s radar?

[Images: GM, Ford, TTAC]

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.

Timothy Cain
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  • 05lgt 05lgt on Oct 04, 2016

    I think that graph shows a two month dive in Mustang sales both compared to previous year and the two competitors. The sales didn't go to FCA & GM ponies, they didn't pick up nearly what Ford dropped. What's Mustang inventory doing?

  • Priusracer Priusracer on Oct 04, 2016

    Drive by a Chevy dealership then drive by a Ford, they are offering HUGE discount on camaro because of the massive amounts on the lots. Do the math Chevy doesn't want the inventory on the lots and with Ford dealers, you have to take whatever is left, there still is a selection but not 20 of the same car.

  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
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