U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: January 2017

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Auto sales slid 2 percent in January 2017, starting off the new year on the wrong foot after a record December ended 2016 by stealing this year’s sales.

Sharp declines at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Toyota Motor Corporation brought down an industry that saw numerous notable gains. While FCA and Toyota tumbled by more than 11 percent, year-over-year, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru were among the biggest brands to report improvements compared with January 2016.

The Honda Civic topped all passenger cars in total January volume, despite falling 13 percent. With a 53-percent surge, the Honda CR-V held off the Nissan Rogue to begin 2017 as America’s top-selling utility vehicle. Pickup truck sales jumped by more than 4 percent, thanks mainly to a 13-percent uptick in Ford F-Series sales.

As Acura and Lexus saw their monthly sales volume fall to the lowest point in five years, Mercedes-Benz was America’s top-selling premium brand thanks to a 4-percent rise to 25,527 sales, boosted by a 27-percent C-Class increase.

The overall industry, however, lost roughly 22,000 sales as car sales continued to dive and minivan volume plunged for a sixth consecutive month.

January is nevertheless a poor predictor of future sales. Typically the lowest-volume month of the year, January accounts for 8.5 percent of the calendar but only 6.5 percent of the year’s sales.

Auto BrandJanuary 2017January 2016% ChangeAcura 9,20210,250-10.2%Alfa Romeo1086858.8%Audi 13,20111,85011.4%BMW 18,10918,0820.1%Buick 13,11718,269-28.2%Cadillac 10,29810,740-4.1%Chevrolet 135,170137,803-1.9%Chrysler 13,37721,772-38.6%Dodge 40,10948,302 -17.0%Fiat 2,1642,379-9.0%Ford 162,401 165,301-1.8%Genesis 1,818——GMC 37,32436,9331.1%Honda 97,17890,2477.7%Hyundai 44,68945,011-0.7%Infiniti 11,5588,51435.8%Jaguar 2,9391,352117%Jeep 58,41562,767-6.9%Kia 35,62638,305-7.0%Land Rover 6,1635,6559.0%Lexus 15,57220,933-25.6%Lincoln 8,7857,17722.4%Maserati 88952569.3%Mazda 21,69819,70410.1%Mercedes-Benz °25,527 24,664 3.5% Mercedes-Benz Vans ° 2,0491,899 7.9% Total Mercedes-Benz ° 27,57626,5633.8%Mini 3,1103,238-4.0%Mitsubishi 6,4576,2643.1%Nissan 100,76197,2203.6%Porsche 4,6024,3545.7%Ram 38,04536,0645.5%Smart 324399-18.8%Subaru 43,87941,1016.8%Toyota 127,476140,350-9.2%Volkswagen 23,51020,07917.1%Volvo 3,4724,244-18.2%————BMW-Mini 21,21921,320-0.5%Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 152,218 171,352-11.2%Daimler AG27,90026,9623.5%Ford Motor Co.171,186172,478-0.7%General Motors 195,909203,745-3.8%Honda Motor Co.106,380100,4975.9%Hyundai-Kia 82,13383,316-1.4%Jaguar-Land Rover 9,1027,00729.9%Nissan Motor Co.112,319105,7346.2%Toyota Motor Corp.143,048161,283-11.3%Volkswagen Group * 41,07436,03714.0%————Industry Total1,142,1811,164,137-1.9%

Source: Manufacturers

[Image Source: Mercedes-Benz]

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

° Mercedes-Benz USA releases sales figures for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the conventional sense, vans excluded, as well as totals for the Metris and Sprinter vans. The complete picture is included here.

° Scion’s sales figures are now folded in to Toyota’s.

** Industry total takes into account Automotive News figures/estimates for brands such as Tesla (2,800 January 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.

Timothy Cain
Timothy Cain

More by Timothy Cain

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 44 comments
  • VW4motion VW4motion on Feb 02, 2017

    Infiniti sales up to 11558 is a surprise. Guess money on the hood is helping sales. But the new G60 3.0T is damn nice and is actually not so trendy, like previous designs. I'd like to see those sales numbers broken down to what actually is selling at Infiniti.

  • Elliot86 Elliot86 on Feb 02, 2017

    Mitsubishi sold more vehicles than Volvo,fiat,and mini...hmmm.. maybe those 3 brand should just pull out of the U.S. market..

  • 1995 SC Man it isn't even the weekend yet
  • ToolGuy Is the idle high? How many codes are behind the check engine light? How many millions to address the traction issue? What's the little triangular warning lamp about?
  • Ajla Using an EV for going to landfill or parking at the bad shopping mall or taking a trip to Sex Cauldron. Then the legacy engines get saved for the driving I want to do. 🤔
  • SaulTigh Unless we start building nuclear plants and beefing up the grid, this drive to electrification (and not just cars) will be the destruction of modern society. I hope you love rolling blackouts like the US was some third world failed state. You don't support 8 billion people on this planet without abundant and relatively cheap energy.So no, I don't want an electric car, even if it's cheap.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Lou_BCone of many cars I sold when I got commissioned into the army. 1964 Dodge D100 with slant six and 3 on the tree, 1973 Plymouth Duster with slant six, 1974 dodge dart custom with a 318. 1990 Bronco 5.0 which was our snowboard rig for Wa state and Whistler/Blackcomb BC. Now :my trail rigs are a 1985 Toyota FJ60 Land cruiser and 86 Suzuki Samurai.
Next