US dealers delivered 1,318,210 new cars and light trucks last month, 1.2% more than in November 2014. For the first 11 months of 2015, sales passed 15.8m, a 5.4% gain.
The seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) came in at 18.19m sales, the second highest for the year and the third month in a row for an 18m+ reading.
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The results were about half the analyst consensus: four of the major automakers beat the forecasts and four missed their marks
According to Kelley Blue Book, estimated average transaction prices rose US$231 (GBP157) compared to November 2014 but those sales came at a cost: TrueCar.com estimated average incentives rose above the $3,000 (GBP2,008)/vehicle mark in November, 6.6% more than was spent last year.
The big loser for the month was Volkswagen, which took a big hit on sales of the Beetle, Jetta and Passat due primarily to the diesel debacle but also due to shortages of vehicles that dealers could sell. Aggressive lease offers kept the metal moving and sales of some lines increased. Sales of the Tiguan jumped 87.7% in November.
The hands-down big winner of the month was Volvo with a 90.5% improvement. Car sales boomed, growing 56.4% in a market where car sales were generally down. The new XC90 SUV accounted for half of Volvo’s volume last month.
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By GlobalDataLand Rover also had a spectacular month. Solid gains in sales of the LR4, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport drove sales up 79.4% and easily covered the 15% shortfall at Jaguar.
Jeep had another good month. It not only padded its lead as the best-selling brand of SUV in the US, it set a new worldwide sales record, beating the full-year record it set last year with another month to go. By the end of November, more than 1.1m Jeeps had found new homes around the world.
Audi, Hyundai, Kia and Subaru all posted record November sales. Audi has now had 58 months of year on year improvements.
Fiat Chrysler chalked up its 68th consecutive month of year on year gains in November thanks to Jeep and despite softness in its Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands. Chrysler got hit by the slump in mid-size car sales that affected many automakers.
Fiat has a real problem: the new 500X crossover is bringing in buyers but they aren’t looking at anything else. Sales of the 500L, never all that strong to begin with, were down 79.8% to just 228 deliveries last month. Sales of the Cinquecento, which is now in its eighth year, fell 51.2% in November. Sales of the 500X were over 50% higher than the combined sales of the other two models.
Light trucks claimed a 60.4% share of the total market last month. Crossovers and SUVs took a 38.7% share, a piece of the pie only slightly smaller than the 39.6% that went to passenger cars.
Sales of light commercial vans rose strongly last month, up 34.4%, while full size pickup sales, often considered a bellwether for business, rose just 1%, less than the market as a whole. Mid-size truck sales rose 19.8%, but the majority of those go to retail customers as personal vehicles.
Premium brand sales grew just 1.1% last month as BMW solidified its lead over second place Mercedes-Benz. Honda’s Acura is poised to beat Cadillac in full year sales: it already has a 5,800+ lead over the top US luxury brand.
The industry is hoping December will lift 2015 sales to an all-time record. Look for some serious wheeling and dealing this month.
Members’ Report: U.S. light vehicle sales
* indicates a sales record.
**Volkswagen Group figures include Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen brands
Other includes estimated sales for Aston-Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Rolls-Royce and Tesla
