Slow rollout of new Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator resulted in good but not great segment growth
Sales in the US Small Pickup segment rose by 15.0% to 298,120 in the first half of 2019, just a bit slower than the 15.9% rate at which they grew in 2018. However, now that the Ford Ranger and the long-awaited Jeep Gladiator pickup have finally hit the market their sales are bound to build up in the second half of the year – this means that [Read more…]
New models and solid sales of older models drive healthy segment growth
Sales in the US Mid-sized SUV segment rose by 8.9% to 1,077,859 in the first half of 2019, a faster rate than the 3.4% the segment experienced in 2018. This growth was due to two factors: first, the past year and a bit has seen the market debut of a number of models new to the segment (Subaru Ascent, Volkswagen Atlas, Chevrolet Blazer [Read more…]
Segment growth slows down as declining sales of Jeep Renegade blunt sales growth from new models
Sales in the US Subcompact SUV segment rose by 11.9% to 330,770 in the first half of 2019, a significant slowdown on the 31.5% growth rate the segment enjoyed in 2018, but still one of the fastest rate of growth in the shrinking market. With the new Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Kona, and Nissan Kicks hitting their stride now, the new Buick Encore [Read more…]
Segment resumes its double-digit sales decline as every model falls into the red
Sales in the US Minivan segment fell by 15.8% to 216,835 in the first half of 2019, rapidly accelerating the sales decline the segment has been experiencing in the past few years. With the new Toyota Sienna being the only new model on the (seemingly still-distant) horizon, and the Kia Sedona not long for this world now that the Telluride has [Read more…]
Segment decline continues with only Dodge Charger managing positive growth
Sales in the US Large segment fell by 20.3% to 135,494 in the first half of 2019, continuing the decline for the once-1 million plus segment. [Read more…]
Segment sees sales decline lessen as barrage of new models hope to recover ground lost to crossovers
Sales in the US Mid-sized segment fell by 5.8% to 822,522 in the first half of 2019, a slightly less bad performance than the 10% plus sales decline the model experienced in 2017 and 2018. What’s more, while the sheen of newness may be coming off the latest Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, and the Ford Fusion leaving the segment, there will be [Read more…]
Compact segment is heading towards one of its worst year of the past three decades
Sales in the US Compact segment fell by 15.5% to 821,200 in the first half of 2019. If the segment’s performance turns any more sour, 2019 may mark its biggest sales decline of the past three years, topping the 17% sales decline the segment experienced in 2009. In fact, with few new models on the horizon the segment’s decline appears [Read more…]
After looking at June sales by brand, let us now look at how individual models performed. [Read more…]
From early 2020, Europeans will no longer be able to officially buy new Infiniti cars. The brand started in 2008 but hasn’t managed to gain a foothold in the European luxury car market, even after launching a pair of new cars that were specifically designed for this market. During a time of cost savings, Infiniti’s parent company Nissan has decided to give up trying to be an alternative to the German brands and Lexus, and to focus on markets where it has been successful, the US and China.
What went wrong for Infiniti? I think there are three factors that made this venture troublesome from the get-go, and one more trigger that caused the plug to be pulled this year. [Read more…]
The stagnation of the Chinese car market has continued in the second quarter of 2019, with double digit declines in April and May, and an 8,3% loss in June, which market the 12th consecutive month of declines. In the first half of the year, just under 10 million new passenger cars were delivered to Chinese dealers, nearly 15% fewer than in the same period last year. These figures exclude commercial vehicles, minivans and imported cars. In the short term, the Beijing government is not planning any incentives to prop up the market, and in fact is sharply reducing subsidies on one of the fastest growing segments of the Chinese car market: that of EVs and plug-in hybrids. Rather, the government seems to see this market contraction as an excellent opportunity to consolidate the market as (too) small players will be forced to close down or be taken over, while the larger state-owned carmakers also feel extra pressure to merge their operations and cut loss-making domestic brands. Also, China’s central government has pressured most major cities and provinces to adopt State 6 emissions rules (which are similar to the Euro 6 standards) on July 1. This caused local dealerships to offer steep discounts on vehicles that don’t meet these standards. The upside of this is that by now most dealerships have reduced their inventory so there’s hope that the second half of the year will be a whole new ballgame.
