With the rapid decline in prices at the pump, currently equivalent to about GBP0.47/litre [vs around GBP1.20 in UK after recent falls – ed], US November light vehicle sales kicked into high gear, coming in 4.6% ahead of last year and 1.7% ahead of October 2014.
Last month’s 1.3m deliveries produced a seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of 17.2m, about 900,000 more sales than November 2013. This is the second-highest SAAR of 2014: August’s was 17.53m.
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Honda enjoyed a record November thanks to a 20.8% increase in CUV/SUV sales. Subaru set another monthly sales record on its way to setting a new annual sales record. Mercedes-Benz had a record November, taking the top spot for the month in the premium segment. BMW is still in the lead for the year but the margin is only about 1,800 sales so look for a shoot-out this month.
Audi set its 47th consecutive monthly sales record and has already surpassed its previous annual benchmark. Porsche chipped in a November record of its own. Between the two, and the VW Golf, the Volkswagen Group was in the black last month.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reported the first US sales for Alfa Romeo since 1995 with 24 units of the new 4C. Maserati sales continued to grow.
The Chrysler side of the house reported a 20.1% jump in sales, the largest increase of the Detroit automakers. In November, it was Ram trucks that led the way, followed by Jeep. Chrysler’s new 200 saloon had its best sales yet as passenger cars took a slightly larger slice of the pie. Jeep again was top CUV/SUV brand in November.
Ford turnover fell 1.8% last month, although the revamped Mustang received a warm reception from buyers. Sales of the original pony car soared 62.4% in November. Ford brand truck sales fell 9.9% as the company transitions to the redesigned, part-aluminium F-series.
The new Transit, replacing the long-running E-series vans, and Chrysler’s Ram ProMaster both outsold the Mercedes/Freightliner Sprinter last month. The three Eurovans combined for a healthy 10,673 sales in November, beating the 10,486 total sales of traditional vans from Chevrolet, Ford, GMC and Nissan.
General Motors parlayed the 27% increase reported by Buick into a 6.5% improvement in total sales. The new Colorado and Canyon light trucks did reasonably well in their second month on the market but currently pose no threat to their rivals from Nissan and Toyota.
Sales of full-size pickups softened in November, growing just 6.0%, mostly due to the 9.9% drop in sales of the market-leading F-series.
Toyota sales rose 3.0% in November. As with Honda, the driving force was its CUV/SUV lineup. The Sienna was the most popular MPV in November, beating the second-place Dodge Caravan by 104 sales. Lexus had another strong month as deliveries of its passenger cars rose 10.7%.
Nissan’s win streak ended at 13 months. Weakness in car sales and a 13.3% drop in Infiniti turnover were the culprits.
Jaguar Land Rover took a big hit in November as both brands stumbled.
While a 16m sales year looks to be in the bag, industry watchers are urging caution for those looking for a blowout December. Strong ‘Black Friday’ weekend sales likely pulled some December deliveries ahead. Last month’s higher transaction prices took some of the sting out of incentive spending but car companies might be willing to keep the cash and be happy with the best sales year since before the recession.
| Manufacturer | Current Month 11/14/2014 | Current Month 11/13/2014 | Volume Change | Daily Sales Rate Change | Market Share 11/14/2014 | Market Share 11/13/2014 | Calendar Year-To-Date 2014 | Calendar Year-To-Date 2013 | Volume Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiat Chrysler Automobiles | 170839 | 142275 | 20.1% | 24.9% | 13.1% | 11.4% | 1897378 | 1633215 | 16.2% |
| Ford Motor Co. | 186334 | 189705 | -1.8% | 2.2% | 14.3% | 15.2% | 2251946 | 2268644 | -0.7% |
| General Motors Co. | 225818 | 212060 | 6.5% | 10.7% | 17.3% | 17% | 2660525 | 2555921 | 4.1% |
| Detroit Total | 582991 | 544040 | 7.2% | 11.4% | 44.8% | 43.7% | 6809849 | 6457780 | 5.5% |
| American Honda* | 121814 | 116507 | 4.6% | 8.7% | 9.4% | 9.4% | 1403591 | 1390057 | 1% |
| Mazda North America | 21242 | 20754 | 2.4% | 6.4% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 280993 | 260982 | 7.7% |
| Mitsubishi | 6534 | 6071 | 7.6% | 11.9% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 71098 | 55804 | 27.4% |
| Nissan North America | 103188 | 106528 | -3.1% | 0.7% | 7.9% | 8.6% | 1269577 | 1138662 | 11.5% |
| Subaru* | 45243 | 36621 | 23.5% | 28.5% | 3.5% | 2.9% | 463740 | 384511 | 20.6% |
| American Suzuki | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 0% | 0% | 0 | 5946 | -100% |
| Toyota Motor Sales | 183346 | 178044 | 3% | 7.1% | 14.1% | 14.3% | 2158714 | 2045199 | 5.6% |
| Japan Total | 481367 | 464525 | 3.6% | 7.8% | 37% | 37.3% | 5647713 | 5281161 | 6.9% |
| Hyundai | 53672 | 56005 | -4.2% | -0.3% | 4.1% | 4.5% | 661211 | 657778 | 0.5% |
| Kia | 44936 | 45411 | -1% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 3.6% | 534647 | 501548 | 6.6% |
| Korea Total | 98608 | 101416 | -2.8% | 1.1% | 7.6% | 8.1% | 1195858 | 1159326 | 3.2% |
| BMW North America | 36028 | 36327 | -0.8% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 2.9% | 347709 | 331801 | 4.8% |
| Daimler AG* | 37925 | 37347 | 1.5% | 5.6% | 2.9% | 3% | 328319 | 306922 | 7% |
| Jaguar Land Rover | 4897 | 6047 | -19% | -15.8% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 59801 | 59654 | 0.2% |
| Maserati North America* | 1203 | 887 | 35.6% | 41.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 11531 | 3715 | 210.4% |
| Volkswagen Group** | 53387 | 48652 | 9.7% | 14.1% | 4.1% | 3.9% | 542007 | 556336 | -2.6% |
| Volvo Cars North America | 3623 | 4233 | -14.4% | -11% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 51446 | 56345 | -8.7% |
| Other (est.) | 2626 | 1715 | 53.1% | 59.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 28878 | 29997 | -3.7% |
| Europe Total | 139689 | 135208 | 3.3% | 7.4% | 10.7% | 10.9% | 1369691 | 1344770 | 1.9% |
| Total Light Vehicles | 1302655 | 1245189 | 4.6% | 8.8% | 100% | 100% | 15023111 | 14243037 | 5.5% |
