Midsized Wars: The "Big Six" Sedans, 1995-2010
With signs of change appearing in the midsized segment, I thought we would look at our archived sales results for the “Big Six” sedan nameplates in hopes of some historic context. And here it is: competitive convergence is turning what used to be Toyota and Honda’s wading pool into a bloody knife fight.
Sonata has relentless momentum on its side, and Altima has enjoyed remarkably consistent, if less dramatic, growth. Fusion looks like it’s taking off like a rocket ship, but I purposefully left out sales results for its predecessor, the Taurus, which actually overlapped Fusion by several years (sorry Ford fans, but I wanted to keep this to a single nameplate per manufacturer). Malibu’s been up-and-down since the late 90s (I also did not include fleet-special “Malibu Classic” sales), and with a facelift coming, 2011 will be key to determining the most recent model’s ultimate success. And while Camry peaked in 2007, Accord’s peak was much earlier, in 2001… and both are currently on an unmistakeable slide. With the two kings tumbling, and everyone else gunning for them in a tight cluster, it’s clear that we’re in the midst of a possible long-term shift in the US car market.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Looking forward to TTAC posting pictures of the 2012 Camry. From the few pictures I have seen, a stunning vehicle. Toyota's drivetrain, which is typically best in the industry, should make this the must have vehicle.
People need to realize that car buyers didn't flee from Toyonda (they are fleeing from GM/Chrysler, when you look at a 5 or 10 or 20 year trend). Toyonda's market shares are quite stable. That's means, car buyers simply bought other models in their line-up. Camry's decline, IMO, is mostly due to the rise of Prius and Venza. Accord's due to the fact that it has the least discount, plus a very strong Civic/CRV. In a cooling market, it means fewer sales, but the margin is held. The other players aren't as good as they seem: Altima's number go up, at the expense of the Sentra and Maxima. Malibu's due to the decline of Cobalt/Impala, and to a lesser degree that of Buick. Fusion's number is actually down from the Taurus (it's the last American model to beat Camry). Only Sonata is the big winner. The number goes up, at the same time the number for Elentra also goes up.
Maybe this misses the point, but are sales any sister cars that these vehicles have included? Fusion, Milan, MKZ (Zephyr) or is this strictly the name-plate exercise? I'm not sure if the overall point of the data would change at all, but people had a choice between the Fusion and Milan and some chose the Milan.
One could argue that Accord sales are slipping because my '99 is so damn good there is no reason to replace it with a new one. Then again most people aren't like me and drive things forever. IMO my old Accord is better than every modern car in this segment, but I don't value things on bells and whistles. Of all the cars on that list the only one I haven't driven at a rental lot is the new Accord. If I were to pick a best it would probably go to the Fusion. Second would be a toss up between the Sonata and Altima. The 'bu is pretty damn terrible, right with the Camry. All of those (excluding Accord) are fleet queens. Remember the days when rental lots were 100% domestic brands and nothing else?