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 versa. In addition to unique circumstances this January, it is also worth remembering that December’18 was a particularly good month for the US market, with sales up 2.2%, so it’s reasonable to think that some of the sales that would have otherwise takes place in January’19 happened instead the month prior. Either way, it will take a few more months to get a sense for where the market is heading in 2019.
Highlights:
- Six out of the Top 10 brands registered positive sales growth this month, down from seven in December
- The Top 5 was unusually eventful, with Nissan losing almost 20% of its sales, dropping behind Honda in the standings, Chevrolet losing almost 12% (estimate), while Toyota lost 7%, all while Ford posted a much better-than-usual 6.5% sales growth (in 2018 it posted a 3.3% sales fall)
- Also surprising was Jeep‘s 2% drop in sales, the first experienced by the surging brand since Dec’17
- Less surprising were Subaru‘s steady rise in sales and Ram‘s double-digit sales growth, although for both brands the sales growth was nowhere near as impressive as it was in December
- After eking out positive growth in 2018, both Hyundai and Kia started 2019 on a positive note
- Outside the Top 10 mainstream brands did really poorly, with only Kia and Mitsubishi managing positive growth
- Among the remaining mainstream brands the biggest disappointment probably came from Mazda, whose sales fell by almost 20%, although there were plenty of “usual suspects” with double-digit sales declines, including Chrysler, Mini, Fiat and Smart
- Among luxury brands there was really only one standout, Tesla, although it has to be noted that estimates for its January sales figure vary widely between different source
- Most other leading luxury brands all saw their sales fall in January, with Mercedes-Benz doing particularly badly (sales down by almost 14%)
- Further down things brighten up for luxury brands, with Acura, Lincoln, Land Rover, Porsche and, in particular, Jaguar doing well to double-digit growth
- Unfortunately, this upswing did not extend any further though, with Genesis and Alfa Romeo both seeing sales fall by more than 20%
- Among the exclusive brands McLaren saw its sales triple (!) on Jan’18, allowing it to comprehensively outsell Bentley, which at least looks like it might start recovering from an almost-20% sales drop in 2018, as well as Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce
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Brand ranking
Monthly YTD # Model Jan’19 Jan’19 Δ # 2019 2018 Δ a1 Ford 164,048 154,001 
6.5%a1 164,048 154,001 6.5%a2 Toyota 138,601 149,142 
-7.1%a2 138,601 149,142 -7.1%a3 Chevrolet* 125,212 141,947 -11.8%a3 125,212 141,947 -11.8%a4 ( 1)Honda 96,375 95,634 0.8%a4 ( 1)96,375 95,634 0.8%a5 ( 1)Nissan 90,439 112,903 -19.9%a5 ( 1)90,439 112,903 -19.9%a6 Jeep 58,401 59,703 -2.2%a6 58,401 59,703 -2.2%a7 Subaru 46,072 44,357 3.9%a7 46,072 44,357 3.9%a8 Hyundai 40,796 39,630 2.9%a8 40,796 39,630 2.9%a9 ( 2)Ram 39,649 32,039 23.8%a9 ( 2)39,649 32,039 23.8%b10 GMC* 37,810 33,058 14.4%b10 37,810 33,058 14.4%b11 ( 2)Kia 37,376 35,628 4.9%b11 ( 2)37,376 35,628 4.9%b12 ( 13)Tesla** 31,900 7,700 314.3%b12 ( 13)31,900 7,700 314.3%b13 ( 1)Dodge 27,077 27,600 -1.9%b13 ( 1)27,077 27,600 -1.9%b14 ( 1)Mercedes-Benz 23,721 27,498 -13.7%b14 ( 1)23,721 27,498 -13.7%b15 VW 23,074 24,744 -6.7%b15 23,074 24,744 -6.7%b16 ( 2)Mazda 20,045 24,962 -19.7%b16 ( 2)20,045 24,962 -19.7%b17 ( 1)BMW 18,102 19,016 -4.8%b17 ( 1)18,102 19,016 -4.8%b18 ( 1)Lexus 17,420 17,914 -2.8%b18 ( 1)17,420 17,914 -2.8%b19 ( 1)Audi 14,253 14,511 -1.8%b19 ( 1)14,253 14,511 -1.8%b20 ( 1)Buick* 12,072 13,348 -9.6%b20 ( 1)12,072 13,348 -9.6%b21 ( 1)Infiniti 10,302 10,635 -3.1%b21 ( 1)10,302 10,635 -3.1%b22 Cadillac* 9,766 9,895 -1.3%b22 9,766 9,895 -1.3%b23 Acura 9,764 8,908 9.6%b23 9,764 8,908 9.6%b24 ( 3)Chrysler 9,054 10,584 -14.5%b24 ( 3)9,054 10,584 -14.5%b25 ( 1)Mitsubishi 8,711 8,480 2.7%b25 ( 1)8,711 8,480 2.7%b26 ( 1)Lincoln 7,715 6,410 20.4%b26 ( 1)7,715 6,410 20.4%b27 ( 1)Land Rover 7,385 6,446 14.6%b27 ( 1)7,385 6,446 14.6%b28 Volvo 5,854 5,567 5.2%b28 5,854 5,567 5.2%b29 Porsche 5,419 4,816 12.5%b29 5,419 4,816 12.5%b30 ( 1)Jaguar 3,078 2,604 18.2%b30 ( 1)3,078 2,604 18.2%b31 ( 1)Mini 2,457 2,937 -16.3%b31 ( 1)2,457 2,937 -16.3%b32 ( 1)Genesis 1,224 1,613 -24.1%b32 ( 1)1,224 1,613 -24.1%b33 ( 1)Alfa Romeo 1,150 1,648 -30.2%b33 ( 1)1,150 1,648 -30.2%b34 ( 1)Maserati* 925 897 3.1%b34 ( 1)925 897 3.1%b35 ( 1)Fiat 751 1,229 -38.9%b35 ( 1)751 1,229 -38.9%b36 ( 4)McLaren* 238 79 201.3%b36 ( 4)238 79 201.3%b37 ( 1)Bentley* 169 157 7.6%b37 ( 1)169 157 7.6%b38 Lamborghini* 97 94 3.2%b38 97 94 3.2%b39 Rolls-Royce* 92 90 2.2%b39 92 90 2.2%b40 ( 3)Smart 83 105 -21.0%b40 ( 3)83 105 -21.0%Note: * Estimate