Chart Of The Day: Auto Brand Market Share In America In April 2015

by Timothy Cain

Published: May 4th, 2015

Compared with the prior month, General Motors’ U.S. market share increased by more than two percentage points to 18.5% in April 2015. Toyota’s trio of brands lost slightly more than half a percentage point. American Honda jumped from 8.2% to 8.9%.

Nissan and Infiniti dropped by nearly two percentage points as the automaker suffered its normal, anticipated, severe drop-off in April volume. The auto industry’s size decreased 6% between March and April; Nissan USA’s sales fell 24% during the same period.

Compared with April 2014, GM’s market share elevation was only slight. American Honda lost more than half a percentage point, sliding from 9.5% to 8.9%. And Nissan’s 7.5% share remained on an even keel.

Auto industry volume increased at a 4.6% clip to 1.455M units in April 2014

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.

#April2015Sales #AutoSales #ChartOfTheDay #MarketShare #SalesCharts #U.S.AutoSales

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13 comments

Fred on May 04, 2015

Just a couple of days ago I read that Honda sales were down some for April, but here it says they gained market share. I guess if the over all market went down then it could happen, but then I reminded of the old saying about statistics and lies.

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- Mike978 on May 04, 2015
  
  +1, also Nissan and Infiniti grew at or above the industry last month so how do they lose market share?
  
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- Timothy Cain on May 04, 2015
  
  Pay particular note to two key phrases: "Compared with the prior month...", and, "Compared with April 2014..." Compared with March, Honda's market share was improved. YOY - which is where you would have seen that Honda sales were down - Honda's market share decreased. Volume is measured on a year-over-year basis because of seasonal changes in the size of the market. April, for example, is traditionally a much lower-volume month than March. But market share is worth tracking both YOU and on a month-to-month basis.
  
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- Mike978 on May 04, 2015
  
  @Timothy Cain Thanks - I missed that first time. I really don`t see the value in comparing with the previous month. Year on year is apples to apples and is much more useful to comparing performance.
  
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- WheelMcCoy on May 04, 2015
  
  @mike978 Comparing to the previous month can give a feel of how one auto brand is faring against the competition. Year-over-year is a good indicator of how your own brand is doing overall. And I finally see movement in Mazda! Last month they were at 2.1%. This month, they're up to 2.2%! :)
  
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Val.catiniit on May 04, 2015

Is always General Motors the "winner"? Show Auto Reviews

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- DenverMike on May 04, 2015
  
  Yeah but if the chart was about profitability, GM would have one of the smallest slivers up there. That's much more interesting to me anyway. Especially if broken down by individual model's profits, pre tax.
  
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- JMII on May 04, 2015
  
  @DenverMike What if the chart didn't include trucks and SUVs? 2/3 of Ford's piece is the F150 alone I think. If it was based on profit Porsche wins right?
  
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- DenverMike on May 04, 2015
  
  @JMII I'm not sure Porsche is profitable, like at all, nor could it tread water on its own. Warranty claims alone, and we're talking Davey Jones Locker. But no fullsize pickups and SUV, and it's a totally different chart.
  
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- Wmba on May 04, 2015
  
  @DenverMike You're not sure Porsche is profitable? Why not? http://www.dw.de/porsche-emerges-as-worlds-most-profitable-carmaker/a-16727077
  
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Rod Panhard on May 04, 2015

And to think that in 1965, GM, Ford and Chrysler held 90.5 percent of the market, according to Ward's.

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- Bball40dtw on May 04, 2015
  
  In other news from 1965, Walt Disney was still alive and monorails were the transportation of the future.
  
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- 56BelAire on May 04, 2015
  
  In other 1965 news......LBJ was POTUS, we had no worries about Radical Islam but were instead fighting "gooks" in Vietnam. Race riots engulfed Watts in Los Angeles............50 years and not much has changed for the better. Dr. Zhivago, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Hogan's Hero's, I Love Lucy, I Dream of Jeannie, Andy Griffith.........how far Hollywood and TV industries have sunk........Oh well, I guess I'm just a "Grumpy Old Man".
  
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