U.S. Auto Sales Brand Results: February 2015 YTD

An unexpectedly strong winter impact slowed February 2015 auto sales compared with the expectations of forecasters but not in comparison with February 2014. The market jumped by more than 5% with the strongest gains coming from Jeep, GMC, Subaru. A number of lower-volume brands – Mini, Mitsubishi, Land Rover, Lexus, and Infiniti – all posted year-over-year improvements of at least 20%.

Ford Motor Company suffered the loss of sales at its namesake Ford brand and at Lincoln. GM volume dropped at Buick and Cadillac but increased at the automaker’s two higher-volume brands. FCA/Chrysler Group suffered a sharp drop at Dodge, but the big Jeep improvement was married to strong Chrysler and Ram sales.

AutomakerFeb. 2015Feb. 2014% Change2015 YTD2014 YTD% ChangeAcura 12,99211,54512.5%24,97422,36811.7%Alfa Romeo 47——144— —Audi 11,45510,8815.3%22,99620,9829.6%BMW 25,20122,01714.5%44,18240,2709.7%Buick 17,41819,192-9.2%29,97132,470-7.7%Cadillac 11,73913,437-12.6%23,41924,823-5.7%Chevrolet 159,788153,9133.8%302,670273,00210.9%Chrysler 28,50225,23013.0%51,895 46,34312.0%Dodge 42,11549,744-15.3%77,46284,649-8.5%Fiat 3,2893,465-5.1%6,5446,687-2.1%Ford 173,509 176,688-1.8% 344,331 324,2096.2%GMC 42,43335,56219.3%78,10463,29523.4%Honda 92,47488,8604.1%182,676169,6687.7%Hyundai 52,505 49,0037.1% 97,010 93,0084.3%Infiniti 11,6599,72919.8% 21,317 18,72713.8%Jaguar 1,4101,552-9.1%2,6762,899-7.7%Jeep 55,64245,946 21.0%107,16587,85622.0%Kia 44,03041,2186.8%82,32978,2295.2%Land Rover 4,9174,00622.7%10,1988,68017.5%Lexus 22,99518,85522.0%46,12636,49226.4%Lincoln 6,1646,661-7.5%12,78312,6341.2%Maserati 481837-42.5%9331405-33.6%Mazda 25,65024,3415.4%45,92143,1546.4%Mercedes-Benz 23,61622,609 4.5% 48,235 45,213 6.7%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,6751,421 17.9% 3,180 2,709 17.4%Total Mercedes-Benz 25,291 24,0305.2% 51,415 47,9227.3%Mini 3,7202,45951.3%6,9485,00238.9%Mitsubishi 7,5335,97726.0%14,02610,84429.3%Nissan 106,777 105,6311.1% 201,226187,1037.5%Porsche 3,2023,232 -0.9%7,1396,32812.8%Ram 33,99130,481 11.5%65,38356,51415.7%Scion 3,8644,529-14.7% 7,5548,540-11.5%Smart 458941-51.3%9501462-35.0%Subaru 41,35834,90918.5%82,17067,90921.0%Toyota 153,608135,90013.0%295,981260,61713.6%Volkswagen 25,71027,112-5.2%49,21450,606-2.8%Volvo 4,0123,9910.5%7,8067,7830.3%————— ——BMW-Mini 28,92124,47618.2%51,13045,27212.9%FCA/Chrysler Group 163,586154,8665.6%308,593282,0499.4%Daimler25,74924,9713.1%52,36549,3846.0%Ford Motor Company 179,673183,349-2.0% 357,114336,8436.0%General Motors 231,378222,1044.2%434,164393,59010.3%Honda Motor Company105,466 100,4055.0%207,650 192,0368.1%Hyundai-Kia 96,535 90,2217.0% 179,339 171,2374.7%Jaguar-Land Rover 6,3275,55813.8%12,874 11,57911.2%Nissan Motor Company118,436115,3602.7% 222,543205,8308.1%Toyota Motor Corporation 180,467159,284 13.3%322,840 305,6495.6%Volkswagen Group * 40,56341,403-2.0%79,64178,2861.7%———————Industry Total1,258,570 1,194,679 5.3% 2,411,050 2,208,105 9.2%

* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands

** Industry total takes into account Automotive News estimates for brands such as Tesla (2000 February units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.

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