While still an industrial giant on the global scene, Mitsubishi is a shadow of its former self in the United States. After leaning a bit too hard on its status as a value brand, annual deliveries went from about 346,000 units to just 58,000 between 2002 and 2012. Meaningful progress has been made since then, but the road to redemption has been a hard one.

The looming threat of tariffs isn’t making things any easier for Mitsubishi. The automaker doesn’t have a single production facility in the U.S., meaning it will receive the full force of whatever percentage is tacked onto the import fee. There is hope, however. Bizarrely, the brand’s biggest weakness (U.S. sales) is also its greatest strength when it comes to enduring import tariffs.  (Read More…)

Following Ford’s announcement that production of the Focus and C-Max would leave Wayne, Michigan in the next few years, sales personnel at Ford dealers across America were heard asking their managers, “We still sell the C-Max?”

No, that’s not entirely true. Ford is moving Focus and C-Max production out of Wayne by 2018, but we weren’t privy to the conversations inside Ford showrooms. That question may or may not have been asked.

Through the first-half of this year, Ford’s U.S. dealers only sold an average of four C-Max Hybrids and C-Max Energis per dealer per month.  (Read More…)

December sales of automobiles and light trucks in the U.S. were up slightly from last year, but failed to meet analysts’ predictions due to winter storms and some sales being pulled forward in a strong November. Nissan led gainers, up 11% while GM had the worst year to year performance, down 6%. Most automakers closed out the year with an increase.

The seasonally adjusted sales rate also came in below expectations. The SAAR fell in December to 15.4 million from November’s six-year high of 16.4 million. Last year’s SAAR for December was 15.2 million so it’s a slight improveent. Most analysts predicted a 15.6 million unit SAAR for the month. Overall, December sales were up 0.2% from last year and for the year deliveries were up 8% to a total of 15.6 million units, the best year since 2007. Car sales were up 4% while light truck sales rose 11% on the strength of CUV and large pickup sales. This is the 5th straight year of increased sales since the industry cratered at 10.4 million units in 2009.

Full table below (Read More…)

Sales of cars and light truck in the United States went up 9% overall to 1.24 million units delivered in November, selling at the fastest clip in almost seven years. The SAAR rose to 16.4 million units, exceeding analyst predictions of about 15.8 million vehicles. That’s the best seasonally adjusted annual rate since Feb. 2007, before the start of the global recession. November sales were the best since 2003 and close to the best November ever.

(Read More…)

The recent rise in U.S. car sales emboldened forecasters to predict that 16 million units will be made in North America this year. Some already raise a specter that was thought to be dead for nearly a decade: Capacity constraints.

According to Automotive News [sub]

“Automakers are expected to build more than 16 million light vehicles in North America this year, the region’s highest output since 2002. Two major forecasters, LMC Automotive and IHS Automotive, predict that production will rise from last year’s 15.5 million units as the U.S. economy continues to improve. “

LMC’s Jeff Schuster  said: (Read More…)