Find Reviews by Make:
Trucks are staying strong, the mid-sized sedan market is getting more competitive, large sedans are enjoying a comeback, and compact crossovers are growing like gangbusters. But what else do you see in these numbers?
>76 Comments on “The 50 Best-Selling Vehicles In America, Year-To-Date...”
Read all comments
What would the numbers be without leasing?
I wish we could take fleet or rentals out as well.
JUST those cars purchased for ownership are the numbers I am interested in.
Without this, it’s just not possible to tell how consumers feel about a model.
I’m not seeing the Sebring on the list.
I see the Sonata eating at Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.
The Rav4 numbers don’t make sense.
I am the ONLY person to have purchased a Mazda6.
Yeah, there are two RAV4 numbers there… one for imports and one for domestically produced versions (our sales numbers are from a company that mostly serves suppliers). According to my math the combined sales were up about 17 percent.
Best yet, there is no “domestically produced” RAV4. They closest they make it is in Canada.
Still, having the Rav4 outsell the Equinox handily is quite surprising given Toyota’s troubles. Nipping at the heals of the Escape even.
@daga: RAV4 is outselling the Equinox? I don’t see it on that list. Did you mean CRV?
EDIT: Oh, I see it now. It’s at the bottom. Why do they separate them out?
I traded my RAV4 away for a Jeep because Jeep made a better midlife-crysis vehicle. But looking back, RAV4 was a great little CUV. 28 mpg, not a single mechanical problem in 80k miles. AND as I discovered too late, it had a greater towing rating than the jeep (mine is 2D version with 2500 lbs capacity).
The good news is you won’t be lost in the crowd.
@daga my understanding is GM can’t meet sales demand on the Equinox and are building them 24/7 – it’s a good problem to have.
Sonata sales are held back by capacity also, and GM has/had SS model Camaros on restriction due to capacity issues. Toyota is swimming in RAV4 capacity domestically.
The Camaro is outselling the HHR and the Tahoe. Looks like there was more than one year’s worth of pent up demand.
Don’t forget the Mustang as well. So much for the blind Ford cheerleaders saying “oh yeah…well just wait until the 2011 engines launch…then GM won’t be able to give the Camaro away”.
If you even want to know what crow tastes like, as a Ford fanboy.
It gets better:
1. Chevy Camaro outsells *both* Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang.
2. Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger *both* outsell Ford Mustang.
Of the three pony cars, the Chevy is the top seller, and the Ford is the worst. No way for the blue oval to spin it any other way.
Maybe having IRS is actually worth something in the real world.
The Challenger is not outselling the Mustang. I think you are confusing it with the Charger.
The Challenger is not even on this list. You’re probably looking at the Charger (aka rental queen) numbers.
Thanks to redrum for making both points.
The Camaro is only outselling the Mustang by 10%, so everyone just relax.
I’m just glad that they’re both selling well – that’s good no matter which brand you get worked up about. Go America!
Keep in mind that the Mustang’s new engines didn’t hit until April or May of this year, so the Camaro had a four or five month head start.
The current Mustang has been on the market for many years now whilst the Camaro is still relatively new.
Mid-size is definitely the heart of the car market in North America. The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord take the number 1 and 2 slot for cars, with the Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu in the next grouping after Corolla and Civic.
Even though I own its Mazda sibling, I can’t understand how the Ford Escape can do so well on such an old platform and top hat. Maybe it is because Camry, Altima, Fusion and Malibu aren’t offered as wagons. Just a thought.
2 things: packaging and marketing. The square upright shape gives the Escape more usable inside space – even though it is smaller than more modern designs, and Ford has kept updating the design all along. Also, Ford has an excellent dealer network promoting it, it’s cheaper than the Edge, and Ford sells a lot to business fleets.
The Escape is pretty affordable, it’s good on gas, has a lot of usable space and great visibility as dwford states, and looks like a SUV, which a lot of people like.
Also, it isn’t that old. The roots of the platform might go back quite a while, but a 2011 Escape drives and feels nothing like a 2005 Escape. The bodystyle was brand new for 2008, and the engines and transmissions were brand new for 2009. For 2011 it also get’s electric steering, which makes it feel even smoother and more effortless around a parking lot, which a lot of buyers for this type of vehicle like.
In my experience the Escape is very popular with women, and with buyers who might typically buy a Fusion/Camry/Accord but want a SUV/CUV instead. The Escape is Vanilla and a bit of an appliance vehicle, but that is all a lot of people want.
I’m a little surprised the Escape sells so well, I can only assume a lot of them go to fleets or something. Having been shopping for this class of vehicle, I noted that our local FLM dealer has more than a few ’10 Escapes and Mariners on the lot, while the Terrains and Equinoxii seem to be flying off the lots, and the GM dealers almost have that old time Honda “take it or leave it” approach to the deal.
It’s the Sonata and Malibu that are doing damage to Japan’s big three; they are eating the lunches of Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Both have great looking lines compared to the stodgy Camcordsins. North Americans still love a good looking automobile and once perceived performance is evident all bets are off on the old reliable models.
1. With Toyota & Honda midsize numbers down and rivals up, that says consumers are not willing to pay the premium price to have that badge on the trunk. Quality is now assumed in more brands. They are willing to cross-shop.
2. The poor economy and strict financing did not illustrate a trend that more & more people would move down market in their vehicle choices.
3. People are now comfortable with $3.00 gas. However, for the few that are still concerned managed to keep the Prius numbers close to flat. I would have expected a drop, especially seeing the other Toyota numbers down.
I’m not uncomfortable with $3.00 gas, but would have to replace my current vehicle quickly if $5.00 gas arrived.
Anybody who doesn’t plan for a gasoline price we’ve already seen ($4.00+) is very shortsighted. It will be back.
1. Ford Econoline – 90,548 WTF???
2. Toyota Tundra – 75,832 has to be considered a giant disappointment – there’s no other way to spin it.
3. Nissan Titan doesn’t even make the list – why is Nissan even bothering?
4. Ford Escape and Focus – twelve year old platforms holding down 12th and 13th place respectively
5. Chevrolet better move the HHR onto the Cruze platform – almost 68,000 sales? Who the heck is buying all those HHRs?
HHR comes as a panel van version too.
1. Ford Econoline – 90,548 WTF???
Plumbers, electricians and carpenters don’t really have much of a choice. It’s ironic that considering how much focus group testing GM, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota do to make their pickups appealing to tradesmen and other business owners, they ignore the full size vans.
1. Ford Econoline – 90,548 WTF???
That stat jumped out at me too. Does the Econoline always sell this well? Who’s buying them? It’s also kinda mindblowing that a 30 year old design could still make money in a market this competitive.
The only other insight I can glean from this is that competition is finally making major inroads on Toyota and Honda. Ford and Hyundai have finally punched through.
Nevermind focus groups. The Econoline sells simply because it is still a far better workhorse than the GM full-size vans could ever hope to be. In my experience, the Fords don’t fall to pieces within the warranty period (or for years after that.) The GMs do. Simple as that.
The numbers are especially hilarious given the amount of money GM wasted on not one but two major redesigns since 1996. By comparison, the Fords have had a couple minor front-end redos and interior reskins since… 1990.
Based on anecdotal evidence, the HHR has become an almost exclusively fleet vehicle. For example, on edmunds.com the 2010 Hyundai Sante Fe (one spot below the HHR in sales) has 71 customer reviews. The 2010 HHR? A whopping 10.
“1. Ford Econoline – 90,548 WTF???”
I wonder if that number includes only fully finished vans or if it also includes E-series chassis cabs that are turned into mini-schoolbuses, rental car shuttles buses, small motorhomes, U-Haul trucks, etc?
The E-Series is still the best tool for the job for a lot of people. The Transit Connect is making inroads, but some people still need the larger space and payload of a full size van. The numbers also include E-Series cutaways, which are turned into school buses, ambulances, box trucks, utility vans, etc.
Sales of the E-Series are probably well over 90% to businesses, governments, and other commercial fleet buyers, but that is what the van is really built for nowadays. The design is old, but it is perfect for the job at hand. Modernized powertrains could help with fuel economy, but other than that, there is little to improve for current uses, and there is no other cost effective option in the marketplace.
The Econoline has always sold this well. I don’t understand everyone’s shock on fullsize trucks and vans selling so well. Tradesmen can’t carry their stuff in the back of a Prius or a BMW 3-series. They need basic, reliable, practical vehicles that can take a licking and keep on ticking. Vehicles like the Silverado, Econoline, F-150, Sierra and Tundra, especially in their base trim forms, meet these needs.
To your point number 5, the HHR has always sold vastly better than anyone expected, this is a declining year for the HHR. They are no where near as bad as you think (I’ve had a couple of rentals and was STUNNED) and the high roof, square sides, calls for a very practical and useful interior. The SS model was incredible, with 260 HP and tuned at “the Ring,” it was an incredible sleeper. I’d love to find a gently used SS in a few years with a manual.
Well, then why not to sell them Transit? Econoline is a gas hog, low inside. Undermine the blasted Sprinter on price, you’ll make a fortune. If it weren’t overpriced like any other Daimler-Benz product, it would’ve wiped the floor with your Econoline already.
Pete –
While I fully predict the Transit to eventually make its way over here, gas prices will have to be high enough for it to make economic sense first.
The Econoline has a huge installed base already, and a huge upfitter aftermarket. You can buy an Econline cargo van or cutaway and tailor it to meet the needs of any profession. It will take a while for the upfitter companies to catch up with that on a new platform, and in the meantime it will be more expensive.
Keep in mind that the great efficiency of the Transit vans also comes largely from their diesel engines. The Euro market is much more diesel friendly, so Ford will have to spend a lot to federalize a new set of diesel engines, and the cost of meeting CA’s emissions standards will add even more cost to the vehicles. There will also have to be enough demand to establish North American production lines, or else the costs of building them overseas and shipping them over will also have to be figured in. A combination of both of these factors leads to the high cost in the US of Dodge/Mercedes Sprinters.
Right now Ford can offer big commercial discounts on the E-series and still make money. The vans can take huge payloads, tow a lot, and with the right upfitter options are very productive for their given tasks. For the Transit to gain any traction the math on fuel savings vs. increased cost of the vehicle itself will have to make sense.
As Ronnie mentioned, the Econolines / Ford E-Series are used by a variety of trades – which allows you to lock up your tools and supplies, so they are out of sight.
Throw in the delivery and shuttle vans, as well. 90,000 of these haulers ten months is not an unreasonable number. They are a profitable niche for Ford. The tooling costs decades were amortized decades ago.
Except for a few tradespeople carrying low-value, heavy cargoes such as masonry, Econoline vans far outsell pickups in the urban Northeast.
You can’t swing a dead cat in Manhattan without hitting an Econoline van.
Tacoma! The best selling small/mid size pickup declines and the GM models don’t make the list and it is no wonder that Ford is dumping the Ranger.
It’s all nice and wonderful to to envision that a small pickup would be successful but when you have millions to spend Ford, Dodge and GM are leaving the small truck market and Mahindra wants to enter? WTF, small dealer body, suspect quality and no announced pricing, I don’t see it being successful.
Call me a cynic but the proof is in the sales and the money.
I have never and likely never will comprehend separating sales of Chevy and GMC pick-ups when the only “real” difference between them is appearance/trim items.
Just don’t make a lick of sense to me.
As with most efforts around badge duplication at GM in it’s latter days, it was a way to give whinging dealers something to sell. It’s the same reason that Pontiac, and now Buick got a duplicate of everything Chevy sells: dealers complained that they had nothing in class _____ to sell customers, and were thusly losing sales. These complaints made it to regional and national sales people who only saw the count of lost opportunities and decided, yes, that Buick needed a minivan, or the GMC needs a small crossover, or that Pontiac needed a subcompact.
What GM didn’t realize is that by offering Pontiac/Buick/GMC/Saturn versions of everything they sold as a Chevy all they really did was drive the price of Chevrolets and P/B/G/S down because, quite frankly, GM wasn’t swaying people from non-GM brands much at all. The strange, artificial options packaging only made it worse for everyone.
This is why the dealer cull is singularly unnecessary. Want to cut dealers? Make them all Chevy stores and let them fight it out. No “cull” required.
GMC is still around because it actually drives more profit. Pontiac & Saturn are both gone because they drove less profit.
Maybe I don’t leave my house enough, but I hardly ever see any new Altimas in the Portland area… it’s usually the new Prius.
Also, more Cameros than the Mustang? Wow.
I would hazard a guess that the Portland market is significantly more of a treehugger market than average.
Wouldn’t just be Portland: Some areas are remarkably lopsided when it comes to vehicles within class.
For example, commuting from Burlington, MA to downtown (Boston) using any of the myriad routes I’ve got available I’ll generally see many multiples of the following compared to their chief competitors: Mustang v Camaro; Camry v Accord; Civic v Corolla; A4 v C-Klasse; GM truck v Ford; Subie anything wagon v Volvo wagon; BMW 2dr v competitor 2dr.
Yet I have no doubt that other readers could easily find the reverse of this in other locales…
The death of the mini-van has been greatly exaggerated. The four biggest players are on the list and all report year over year sales increases. Combined sales are in excess of 349,000 units.
Of course it was. The only ones touting the death of the minivan was Government Motors when they were releasing their “Minivan alternative” Lambda clones after abysmal results with their own miserable piles of crap (rebadged Venture deathtrap clones).
Really smacks those tools in the face when the companies who stuck with it (Honda, Toyota, Chrysler) continued to improve their entries while the other players just plain gave up. And now it will be even harder to jump back into the playing field.
Oops.
When you hear people say “the minivan is dead” you can be assured that they were building really piss-poor minivans and selling them only via toe-tag sales.
And the WindFreeStar and U-Bodies were nothing if not piss-poor. Anyone remember “King Door” or the U’s conspicuous lack of seating versatility?
For SVX pearlie,
Where do you see the Challenger outselling the Mustang? I don’t see it.
“Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger *both* outsell Ford Mustang.”
“Of the three pony cars, the Chevy is the top seller, and the Ford is the worst. No way for the blue oval to spin it any other way.”
OK, another thought:
Does anybody know how the demographics break down on th’ three pony cars? What’s the proportion of boomers buying vs. everyone else? I’m guessing that the enormous unemployment among younger people in America has hit the Mustang disproportionately hard.
What gets me is that 11.5% of all vehicles sold are pickup trucks… more than one in ten auto sales… I find that amazing… Plus, I’m surprised that Ford trucks sell so much better than the competition – more than twice as many Fords are sold than any other truck, save for the Silverado. Actually the Ford nearly outsells the Silverado and Impala combined, which are two of GM’s best sellers…
Bob the Builder cannot haul sheet rock to his job site, Megan the Mechanic cannot haul her tool boxes to a house, and Fred the Furnace man cannot keep his HVAC parts in the back seat of a Prius.
Remember when looking at GM, you have to add the Silverado and Sierra number together for a fair comparo against the F-150; they come from the same family. Ford is outselling at about 30K units total so far for the year; this has been pretty typical since, well, forever.
I would say that Chrysler and Nissan are digging out of the same hole. Each has only one truly strong product. The Altima for Nissan and minivans for Chrysler.
Selling one third the volume of Ram trucks of the leading GM and Ford pickups is not a sign of strength, even if the Ram does have twice the Tundra’s sales. Toyota can afford a loser in a prime market segment, Chrysler and Nissan cannot.
Well, there is some strong evidence now. The Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, and Huyndai Sonata are taking market share away from from Camry and Accord. The numbers simply don’t lie on Camry/Accord declines and Malibu/Sonata/Fusion gains in the class.
Why is the imported and domestic RAV4 broken out as two numbers?
Except that, for 2009, 30 percent of all Malibus went to fleet customers, and it would be quite a stretch to believe that retail customers suddenly discovered the Malibu this year, given its age. The Sonata and Fusion also rely heavily on fleet sales, although not quite to the extent of the Malibu.
The Honda Accord, meanwhile, is at about 3 percent fleet.
If the Malibu is stealing sales from anyone, it’s with the corporate buyers at Avis, Hertz and Alamo.
I cannot believe how strong sales of the BMW-3 series ares. Not one single other German or otherwise luxury sedan on that list. I am uncertain as to what this means. Has it really become the de-facto standard bearer of the aspirational middle class? A car that says I’ve made it but don’t look at how much debt im in.
The 3-Series isn’t price so high that it is unreachable to the average Joe, and it leases pretty well, which combined with BMW’s free maintenance for the first few years works out for some people. You can lease a 3-Series for about the same payment as a no money down buy on a Fusion/Camry/Accord, so it makes a certain amount of sense that people who want the badge choose to go that route. Plus, it is a pretty great little sedan when it comes to dynamics and handling.
The insane treatment I was getting at local Jeep dealership cannot be worse than the infamous BMW “service”. Seriously, it’s not as bad when compared with domestics. Also, 3-series is only unreliable when compared to Accord. It is far, far better than your father’s BMW. No wonder it sells. IMHO its only downside is run-flats.
While not a luxury sedan, per se, the Volkswagen Jetta is another German sedan on the list. Unless coming from Puebla makes it less Germanic than a 3-Series from Toluca. :-)
I can understand not seeing the luxury cars, since they’re low volume, but what really stuck out was the absence of the A segment. Where are the Honda Fit, the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris? Could it be Americans want more room than an econobox provides? Or is it that compacts and midsize cars have such improved mileage that the A segment isn’t economical enough anymore?
Those vehicles are technically ‘B’ segment, if you buy into that whole alphabetic segmentation thing. The Versa is in the segment and on the list.
If you ask certain posters here why, they will tell you because it is the roomiest and most practical vehicle in the segment, even if it is also one of the ugliest and most dull.
While there may be some truth there, it is also a big rental queen. It also probably gets a sales boost because the C segment Sentra is a fairly lackluster vehicle, and there are few reasons to choose a Sentra over a Versa if you want a small Nissan, as evidenced by the Versa outselling the Sentra on the list.
First – as a 6 foot 2 American, a compact or intermediate is not only roomier, but feels safer on the highway than a subcompact like the Fit or Yaris.
Second – although they may be past their sell-by date, a base 010 Focus or Corolla should be easy to find for under 15K at this time of year and it will still get 35 MPG on the highway – which is more than acceptable in my view.
So unless I did all of my driving is in a congested urban center, a sub-compact isn’t for me.
In the Boston area, most weekends you can pick up a Camry 4 cyl automatic strippo for 17K with good financing. This includes 4 wheel disk brakes. This vehicle gets great mileage. Hard to justify saving a couple grand for a Yaris, or spend more for a Fit. The mileage is not that different.
Even harder to justify the Ford Fiesta and next Focus pricetags. Hard to imagine who would pay extra for the next Focus with 4 wheel disk brakes.
I run a fleet of vehicles for my business and the Econoline sales to not surprise me at all. They are stout as five inch nails and about as high tech as an anvil. They even still have Twin I-Beam suspension. Few people in the retail business want a Sprinter because with $3.00 gas (or $1.00 per litre here in Canada) it is not worth dealing with diesel maladies and downtime and the initial cost is absurd, you may as well go to a Hino for that money if you need the space. I have several and you can’t kill a 5.4 Triton with a stick, the whole darned thing is bullet proof. I will hardly mention the GM van, it is trash, I tried two because they were cheap and stuff like door hinges, latches and seat mechanisms were constantly breaking on the things which gives expensive repairs and lots of downtime. So the Econoline rules and every tradesman knows it.
What surprises me is how badly the new Taurus is doing.
There’s no real “point” to the Taurus. The Fusion does the same job for a lot less money, anyone who needs the space would be better served by a minivan or crossover, and anyone who wants to spend premium dollars is going to insist on a premium badge.
Full-size sedans, other than the fleet-queen Impala, are a fetish rather than a utilitarian prospect.
http://www.automotive-fleet.com/Statistics/StatsViewer.aspx?file=http%3a%2f%2fwww.automotive-fleet.com%2ffc_resources%2fstats%2fAFFB10-20-car-reg.pdf
The good people at GM/Chevy had better speed up the re-design of the Impala – as much as I like the Malibu, it is inexcusable for the Impala to be ignored for so long and its sales have suffered this year as a result. The Impala is supposed to be Chevy’s “halo” car, Corvette notwithstanding. What bothers me most about the current Impala (and too many other newer cars as well) is the the back end looks much nicer than the front end. Plus the seats are too plainly styled – put some creases or pleats in them to make them more inviting. Restore the one-of-a-kind Impala badge, too! Don’t make me come up there!
As for Ford, it doesn’t surprise me that the Taurus is at the bottom of the list. Too little, too late. That’s what they get for destroying the original with a non-sensical “500” which stood for and meant nothing, regardless of the good qualities (interior room) of the first version. If Ford would’ve styled it a bit nicer and called it the “Galaxie 500”, I think the results would have been on the positive side of the ledger! Say what you will, but the exterior look of the car (any car) counts for a lot of people, and the new Taurus is much too convoluted, style-wise to make any sense. I like some of the lines, but it is over-styled and all the lines detract from the car. Oh, and they even had the audacity to give it the condemned “gun slit” window treatment as well. Shame on them!
Yes it should have been called the “Galaxie 500”.
Every Ford marketer who had a hand, actively or complicitly, in the “F” marketing fiasco should have been fired. This, including the botching of the Lincoln names, was one of the worst blunders in Ford history.
How could highly educated marketers believe that the use of alliteratives would be more effective than using familiar, trusted names for vehicles? Or that changing names would stimulate interest in the products? How can they believe that potential Lincoln buyers aren’t drawn to historical names such as “Continental” or “Zephyr”, and that meaningless characters jumbled together would strengthen the Lincoln brand name?
If Chrysler’s new products are even mildly successful, they will be able to increase their volume substantially. Right now they are not even a player in the midsize, compact, and subcompact segments of the market.
Where is the highlander? According to Toyota, the sold approx 72K of those.
And, why is the Rav4, which sold 141K showing so much less? These are big big sellers.
What we would like to see is these numbers void of fleet sales. It appears fleet buyers, including big purchases by the US government, inflates numbers for the Detroit 3 relative to foreign nameplates.
Yes, MoPar products are conspicuous by their absence (and low placement).
It would be interesting to see regional breakouts too – For instance, the Dodge Challenger is insanely popular in California – I see 3-4 per day on the road during my very limited commute. But it must be a dog elsewhere, since it fails to show here.
Hey guys,
First of all congratulations for all the data and the analysis, thanks for sharing it this is fascinating!
I’m Matt, living in Sydney and one of my little hobbies is car sales stats, and particularly by nameplate, so this kind of article rang quite a massive bell for me!
For me the big story this year is definitely the strength of the Hyundai Sonata new gen. Being 10th year-to-date as per your ranking, is as far as i’m concerned already a really good achievement, but I believe one that the previous generation managed when it launched in 2006/2007 (?).
However in September the Sonata reached #6 overall, that is #4 passenger car, which I think is a first for a Korean car in the US… It probably won’t happen again as the new generation is probably delivering its best results before stabilizing at a slightly lower level for the rest of its career, but i think it’s a pretty significant fact! I believe it is actually possible the next generation Sonata will achieve #1 passenger car, even for a month, in the US…
Anyhow, thanks again for sharing the data, as I said car sales by nameplate are a bit of a hobby for me (some of my friends say it’s an obsession…) and I am slowly building a blog that reports nameplate sales in as many countries as possible… up to 67 today, but still nothing about Canada :(… feel free to check it out, absolutely nothing commercial. http://bestsellingcars.wordpress.com
Sorry guys, proper link to my blog here: http://bestsellingcars.wordpress.com
Interesting to see that the Ford F-Series is also by far the best-selling vehicle in neighboring Canada, followed by the Honda Civic and the Dodge Caravan… If you are interested, I have more info here: http://bestsellingcars.wordpress.com