Note from the author: work commitments had taken me away from CSS for the past few months, and in the effort to make up for lost time I will try to quickly catch up on the monthly US summaries, before progressing to other articles. Apologies for the absence! Also, have to say: good to be back!
After seeing sales drop by 1.0% in January, the market suffered an even worse February, with sales down 2.9%.
New Ram Pickup contributes to robust growth, as segment almost bests all-time record
Sales in the US Large Pickup segment rose by 2.1% to 2,420,162 in 2018, making it the third-best year on record, close behind 2,450,000 or so that were sold in 2004 and 2005. With the rollout of the new Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and RAM Pickup, as well as their different variants, continuing in 2019, it is entirely possible that [Read more…]
After eking out a 0.6% growth in 2018, the US market got off to a sluggish start in 2019, as cold weather and the federal government shutdown contributed to a 1.0% drop in sales compared to January’18. Interestingly, this makes it the eighth month in a row where a monthly increase in sales is immediately followed by a sales decrease, and vice [Read more…]
Segment grows by more 15% even before Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator swell sales in 2019
Sales in the US Small Pickup segment rose by 15.9% to 524,231 in 2018, the first time sales have climbed over half a million vehicles in almost two decades, and not far off the record the segment set in 1999, when 543,438 were sold. What’s more, with the Ford Ranger and the long-awaited Jeep Gladiator pickup finally arriving in the coming [Read more…]
Rising Ford Expedition sales lift the segment into the black, while the Nissan Armada loses steam
Sales in the US Large SUV segment rose by 4.6% to 358,118 in 2018, a return to growth after the small decline in sales the segment experienced in 2017. However, while the total number of cars sold in the segment was the highest it has been since 2008, it still was less than half of the record the segment set in 2001, when more than 750,000 [Read more…]
Sales rise over 2 million cars for the first time on the back of solid, if unspectacular growth
Sales in the US Mid-sized SUV segment rose by 3.4% to 2,056,905 in 2018, the first time ever the segment has sold more than 2 million cars, and a huge increase on only 800,000 cars in 2009. Moreover, with many of the segment-leading models about to be replaced, including the Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander, the segment should see its [Read more…]
Jeep models shine as segment tops 3.5 million and double-digit sales growth continues unabated
Sales in the US Compact SUV segment rose by 12.6% to 3,557,102 in 2018, making it by far the largest segment in the US, some 50% larger than the second largest segment (Large Pickup). What’s more, despite its size it still recorded the fourth-fastest growth rate in 2018, and was the only segment with total sales over 1 million to record [Read more…]
The frantic pace of growth continues as new Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Kona and Nissan Kicks find success
Sales in the US Subcompact SUV segment rose by 31.5% to 601,943 in 2018, a significant increase on the 6.5% growth rate the segment recorded last year, and more in keeping with the almost-40% growth rate it recorded in 2016. This once again made it the quickest-growing segment, significantly outpacing the 20% growth rate recorded by the [Read more…]
Segment continues its gentle decline, propped up by aging Dodge Grand Caravan and new Honda Odyssey
Sales in the US Minivan segment fell by 0.5% to 482,185 in 2018, their lowest level since the car market bottomed out in 2009. Overall, this puts the segment roughly where it was in the mid-1990s, before a boom in uptake took total sales to almost 1.3 million cars in 2004. And it’s not just the customers who have been fleeing the segment – the [Read more…]
Segment shrinks to a third of what it once was, as new models fail to spark sales revival
Sales in the US Large segment fell by 18.9% to 317,289 in 2018, a third of the 2006 peak of over 1,000,000 cars, and their lowest level in over 30 years. Arguably, this segment is pummeled by a perfect storm of factors buffeting the market: (1) move from traditional sedans to crossovers (2) move from mainstream manufacturers to luxury ones [Read more…]
