December US light vehicle sales came up shy of the 2004 mark, but were a marked improvement over the preceding two months and sufficient to put annual sales totals over the top and give almost every automaker something to celebrate.
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Based on manufacturers’ numbers, Americans bought about 1.48m cars and light trucks in December, a 4.17% shortfall compared to the final month of 2004.
Adding year-end numbers from the ultra-premium brands brought the calendar year total to over 16.99m units; the industry’s best performance since 2001.
Mercedes had its best US sales month in history, blowing past BMW’s brand-new all-time monthly record, but it wasn’t quite enough to match Lexus’ new benchmark set on its way to a sixth consecutive year as America’s favourite premium brand.
Several other upscale marques enjoyed their own good news. Land Rover set both monthly and full-year records with 2005 sales were 30% ahead of 2004. Porsche, Acura and Infiniti also set new full-year records.
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By GlobalDataThere were more celebrations as mainstream brands Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota set new annual sales records. Toyota also saw the Camry (the current model is in its final months before being replaced by a fully redesigned range) cruise to its fourth straight title as America’s best-selling car and the Tacoma end the Ford Ranger’s long reign as the top compact pickup.
Volkswagen enjoyed a 20.9% sales increase that made December its best month of the year and Audi beat not only its December 2004 mark but had one of its best years ever, coming in 6.6% ahead of its 12-month total from last year.
Though GM missed its monthly and annual marks by 10.2% and 4.3% respectively, there was still rejoicing as Chevrolet outsold Ford by 16,993 units to become America’s best-selling brand for the first time since 1986.
Considering the two usually compete on their strength in light trucks, it’s perhaps ironic that cars were the key to the ‘bowtie’ brand’s victory.
The Impala was the leading American-badged car in 2005 but dropped from fourth to sixth as Toyota, Honda and Nissan models claimed the top five spots in the segment.
The irony continued as Ford’s PR spun a 8.9% December decline and a nearly 4.7% drop for the year by saying its own monthly passenger car sales had increased for the first time since 1999.
The F-Series pickup racked up its 24th consecutive year as the best-selling vehicle and the E-series full-size van continued to dominate its competition but other Ford trucks continue to languish on dealer lots.
And Ford lost another long-standing title as the Chevy TrailBlazer replaced the Explorer as top SUV.
Volvo and Jaguar are compounding Ford’s problems. Volvo sales have slumped in recent months and came up 11.3% short for the year. Jaguar 2005 sales were down 33.7%. It’s is now the poorest-selling premium brand in the U.S.
Chrysler missed its December 2004 numbers by about 5% but was the only Detroit automaker to come out ahead at the end of the year, up almost 4.5%. Jeep sales were up 12% and Chrysler remained the minivan leader as the Caravan and Town & Country model lines took the year’s top two spots in the segment.
Moderating fuel prices sent Americans back into their trucks in December, though perhaps more cautiously. Sales of large SUVs remained slow despite high incentives but the slack was more than taken up by the crossovers. SUVs, crossovers and pickups accounted for more than 50% of December sales. This translated into Detroit’s largest share of the market since July.
For the year, passenger cars claimed their largest share of light vehicle sales since 2003. Pickup sales were also up very slightly as the SUV’s turf shrank by 0.77%.
Hybrids are the hot topic in the industry these days but there are other interesting new players like the new-to-America Toyota Yaris hatchback/sedan line on the horizon (replacing the current Echo sedan).
New small cars based on conventional technology offer a tantalising alternative to entry-level cars like the Chevy Aveo and Kia Rio and Toyota’s three-model Scion line and BMW’s Mini hatchback and convertible have shown there is an American market for vehicles that can combine panache and economy.
It’s clear that for every grim tomorrow facing automakers who can’t deliver exciting products, there is a bright future for those who can.
Bill Cawthon
