Cain's Segments: Subcompact Car Sales In America In 2014

With the hatchback Note available for the duration of the 2014 calendar year, Nissan’s Versa lineup posted huge year-over-year gains in the United States in 2014.

Total Versa volume jumped 19%, or 22,429 units, to a class-leading 139,781 sales in 2014.

• Segment grows in a stagnant car market

• Fit ranked second in the category in 2014 Q4

• New Mazda 2 arrives this year

Had Versa volume declined 19%, it still would have ended 2014 as America’s top-selling subcompact. The Versa’s market share in the strict confines of this nine-car subcompact category grew from 23.3% in 2013 to 26.8% in 2014.

The latter stages of 2014 were slightly more difficult for the Versa, as interest in the Honda Fit continued to build and even Toyota’s revamped Yaris generated far more sales activity than is usual. The Versa’s December share slid to 22.9%.

The subcompact segment as a whole was surprisingly strong given the tendency of consumers to veer away from cars in 2014. The total car market was up less than 2%, but subcompact volume increased nearly 4%. Strong growth from the second-ranked Chevrolet Sonic was a big help. An all-new Fit produced year-end gains of nearly 6000 units.

On the flip side, the Hyundai Accent’s improvements were not sufficient to overcome the losses of its platform-mate, the Kia Rio. The ST halo hatch has not provided the Fiesta lineup with any boost: sales fell 11% in 2014, and the Fiesta fell from third place in the category in 2013 to fourth in 2014. The Fiesta ranked fifth in U.S. subcompact sales in the fourth-quarter.

Theorists may suggest that low fuel prices would hamper subcompacts, yet December’s 10% year-over-year improvement stands in stark contrast to that message. That said, subcompacts remain rare cars in the U.S. The larger siblings of just these nine cars – Cruze, Focus, Civic, Elantra, Forte, 3, Sentra, Corolla – combined for more than 1.7 million U.S. sales in 2014, more than triple the total number of sales achieved by these subcompacts.

Back at Nissan, the Versa’s strong performance was representative of a brand which grew at a rate that was far above average in 2014. Moreover, Nissan possesses a car lineup which expanded its sales in spite of the fact that the U.S. auto industry sourced much of its growth from SUVs and crossovers. Total Nissan brand sales jumped 12% to record highs in 2014 as industry-wide volume rose 6%.

Combined, the Versa, Sentra, Altima, and Leaf were up 17%. The Altima was America’s fourth-best-selling car; the Sentra ranked twelfth; the Versa 18th. The Altima and Versa broke their own sales records.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.