What Can The Fiat 500L Do For Fiat USA?

Let's assume for a moment that the new Fiat 500L will undercut the Mini Countryman in price, just as the 500 undercuts the Cooper. With that assumption in mind, we'll assume that the stylistically-challenged Fiat 500L might sell at least as often as the Countryman. 

The 500L is only available with front-wheel-drive. Even the Mini is only available with all-wheel-drive at the top of lineup. Neither car is a faithful design follower of the iconic original; the Fiat less so. Neither car is particularly quick. Both cars feature highly stylized interiors, neither of which is roomy like a proper SUV. By Mini standards, the Countryman isn't pretty. By car standards, the Fiat is ill-proportioned.

Regardless of their stark differences and apparent similarities, it's safe to project approximately 20,000 annual U.S. sales for the 500L, based on the Mini Countryman's total. Fiat USA will likely sell around 43,000 500s in 2012.

If the 500L can find 20,000 buyers in 2013 while selling another 43,000 500 hatchbacks, where does this position the Fiat brand?

Strictly judged by volume,  Fiat would only barely be trailing Mini. Fiat would be selling nearly as many cars as Volvo and would be selling twice as many vehicles as Porsche. 

Even if the 500L becomes a 20,000-units type of vehicle, Fiat won't sell 20,000 in what will be an abbreviated 2013 launch year. Yet we can still expect to see Fiat's 2013 year-end volume climbing at least 40% even if the 500 posts no year-over-year sales increase.

Check out historic monthly and yearly sales figures for the regular Fiat 500, Mini Cooper range, Mini Countryman, and any other vehicle or brand by making your selection at GCBC's Sales Stats home. U.S. brand rankings, where Fiat ranked 29th in October and Mini ranked 24th, can be accessed here.

October 2012 Canada Sporty Car Sales And Premium Sporty Car Sales

October 2012 was the fourth consecutive month in which the Audi A5 outsold the Chevrolet Camaro.

No, they're not direct rivals. One is a $46,900-$77,000 all-wheel-drive German GT. The other is a $28,200-$64,250 rear-wheel-drive American muscle car. But the fact that the more expensive German luxury car is routinely outselling the theoretically more mainstream sporty car suggests a trend our American neighbours know nothing about. South of the border, the Camaro sold nearly four times for every A5 in October.

Not only is the A5 capable of periodically (or usually) outselling rare cars like the Chevrolet Camaro, Scion FR-S, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and BMW 1-Series, it's also a hugely important car for Audi.

Sporty Car Sales Chart
Click Either Chart For A Larger View

The 1-Series, for example, was responsible for just 3.6% of all BMW Canada sales in the first ten months of 2012. Volume-wise, the Mustang plays a small role for Ford, accounting for just 2.1% of all Ford Canada sales this year. The Genesis Coupe brings in just 1.4% of Hyundai buyers. But one in ten Audi Canada sales is an A5, S5, or RS5.

Elsewhere at the VW Group, the Volkswagen brand continues with its new strategy of hiding GTI and R sales within the Golf's total. That's hugely frustrating, but it's not uncommon. You won't see the Civic Si, Focus ST, or MazdaSpeed 3 listed here, either. 12.6% of the Golfs sold in 2011 were GTI variants. Based on that figure, we can estimate around 163 GTI sales in October 2012. 160 were sold at this time last year.

All 261 Vehicles Ranked By October 2012 YTD Canadian Sales

Porsche sold 35 911s in October 2012, a 59% year-over-year increase. That takes the 911's total up to 528 through the first ten months of 2012, a 14% improvement over 2011's year end total. In fact, Porsche Canada hasn't sold this many 911s in a full calendar year since 2007.

Premium Sporty Car Sales Chart

As we always say, historic brand and corporate totals (monthly and yearly going back to 2004) are now available through the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats page, along with results for more than 260 currently sold vehicles. That's where you'll find out that Chevrolet sells 31 times as many Camaros in the U.S. as Chevrolet does in Canada. Ford sells 15 times more Mustangs. Dodge sells 26 times more Challengers.

After the jump you'll find detailed October 2012 and year-to-date U.S. sales figures for a number of wildly different sporty vehicles. If the vehicle you're looking for isn't grouped together with these premium-priced vehicles, it may be listed in the small/entry luxury car category, the small car category, or any other segment you can access through the eighth dropdown menu on GCBC's Tally page.

Sporty Car	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Audi A5	195	+ 59.8%	1784	+ 1.2%
Audi TT	38	- 2.6%	418	+ 4.5%
BMW 1-Series	100	+ 1.0%	969	- 30.8%
BMW Z4	19	+ 26.7%	297	- 3.9%
Chevrolet Camaro	108	- 50.2%	2405	- 30.5%
Chevrolet Corvette	15	+ 36.4%	222	- 29.3%
Dodge Challenger	42	- 48.1%	1388	- 36.7%
Fiat 500C	114	+ 70.1%	2042	+ 364%
Ford Mustang	263	+ 104%	4864	+ 16.9%
Honda CR-Z	13	- 23.5%	225	- 53.6%
Hyundai Genesis Coupe	94	- 54.8%	1629	- 35.7%
Hyundai Veloster	394	- 7.3%	5025	+ 404%
Lexus ISC	17	+ 41.7%	271	+ 4.2%
Lexus ISF	3	0.0%	48	- 17.2%
Mazda MX-5 Miata	14	- 56.3%	687	+ 19.7%
Mercedes-Benz SLK	18	+ 38.5%	470	+ 42.0%
Mitsubishi Eclipse	4	- 86.2%	228	- 58.2%
Nissan 370Z	10	- 33.3%	475	+ 13.1%
Porche Boxster	28	+ 833%	240	+ 65.5%
Porsche Cayman	3	- 62.5%	91	- 21.6%
Scion FR-S	125	-----	1177	-----
Scion tC	124	- 13.3%	1339	- 21.1%
Subaru BRZ	69	-----	407	-----
Volkswagen Eos	42	+ 35.5%	596	- 8.6%
Volvo C70	8	+ 100%	131	- 13.2%

Premium Sporty Car	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Audi R8	1	- 90.9%	105	- 18.6%
BMW 6-Series	71	+ 173%	393	+ 171%
Jaguar XK	9	+ 28.6%	105	- 10.3%
Lexus LFA	-----	-----	4	0.0%
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class	20	+ 100%	300	+ 73.4%
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	6	- 14.3%	89	- 2.2%
Nissan GT-R	6	- 25.0%	109	+ 70.3%
Porsche 911	35	+ 59.1%	528	+ 18.4%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Clearly GoodCarBadCar is not suggesting that the cars in the two tables above are all direct competitors. Establishing categories among cars as unique as even the Audi TT and Porsche Boxster has never pleased a single reader, so cars have been lumped together so you can simply see how buyers looking for sports cars, roadsters, hot hatches, convertibles, GTs, and wanna-be sports cars spend their money. Greater categorization of cars would only lead to problems that automakers create by not isolating model-specific sales figures: we don't know how many M3s BMW has sold or how many Civics are Si models, for example. The numbers we do have are listed above.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Sporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - November 2012
Sporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - September 2012
Sporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - October 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - October 2012
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2012

October 2012 Canada Large Luxury Car Sales And Large Luxury SUV Sales

Land Rover Canada sold a ridiculous number of Range Rovers in October 2012. Though not the brand's most popular model - that'd be the Range Rover Sport - Range Rover sales did climb 239% year-over-year. Compared with September, Range Rover sales shot up 286%.

Jaguar-Land Rover sold approximately three Range Rovers for every Jaguar sold in Canada last month: XF, XJ, and XK combined. The Range Rover was nearly twice as popular as the whole Cadillac Escalade family and outsold the Infiniti QX56, Lexus LX570, and Lincoln Navigator combined.

Large Luxury SUV Sales Chart
Click Either Chart For A Larger View

However, the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class (with its G-Wagen sibling) was up 11% in October to 196 units, up 84 on the Rangie. Will the next Range Rover be able to keep up this kind of monthly Canadian volume? Almost certainly not. The offers on leftover 2012s won't initially be available on the all-new model.

Jaguar sold just 14 XJ sedans in October. That's down from 18 at this time last year and a yearly high of 28 in March. Mercedes-Benz sold nearly six S-Class sedans (and CL-Class coupes) for every XJ sold in October. The XJ did sell more often than the Lexus LS last month.

All 261 Vehicles Ranked By October 2012 YTD Canadian Sales

Large Luxury Car Sales Chart

Detailed October, year-over-year, and year-to-date sales figures for a bunch of large luxury cars and SUVs are visible in the tables after the jump. Click either of the two accompanying charts for a larger view. We also post the BMW 6-Series with sports cars like the Porsche 911 and Mercedes-Benz SL-Class.

As usual, historic brand and corporate totals (monthly and yearly going back to 2004) are now available through the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats page, along with results for more than 260 currently sold vehicles. This is where you discover Toyota's 28 October Land Cruiser sales. But Toyota only sells cab and chassis Land Cruisers for off-road and mine use in Canada. So the visible Land Cruisers are Lexus LX570s, 21 of which were sold in Canada in October. The $87,500 LX costs 8% more in Canada than it does in the U.S.

Large Luxury Car	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Audi A8	18	- 5.3%	197	+ 5.9%
BMW 6-Series	71	+ 173%	393	+ 171%
BMW 7-Series	45	- 46.4%	474	+ 5.6%
Jaguar XJ	14	- 22.2%	143	- 25.1%
Lexus LS	9	- 18.2%	81	- 32.5%
Mercedes-Benz S-Class & CL-Class	81	+ 19.1%	588	- 3.6%
Porsche Panamera	34	- 10.5%	339	+ 3.7%

Large Luxury SUV	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Cadillac Escalade & Escalade ESV/EXT	63	- 37.4%	746	- 16.4%
Infiniti QX56	25	- 56.1%	307	- 20.1%
Land Rover Range Rover	112	+ 239%	397	+ 22.5%
Lexus LX570	21	+ 163%	225	+ 132%
Lincoln Navigator	35	- 10.3%	472	- 6.7%
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class & G-Class	196	+ 10.7%	1572	+ 15.3%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Large Luxury Car & Large Luxury SUV Sales Figures - November 2012
Large Luxury Car & SUV Sales In Canada - September 2012
Large Luxury Car & SUV Sales In Canada - October 2011
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2012
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales Figures - October 2012
Small/Entry & Midsize Luxury Car Sales Figures - October 2012

October 2012 Canada Small Luxury SUV Sales And Midsize Luxury SUV Sales

Canada is too small a market to judge low volume luxury SUVs based on a single month's results. The timing of a Wallenius Wilhelmsen ship's arrival and the strength of current incentives play as great a role as desirability.

And so, year-over-year, Range Rover Evoque sales plunged 89% in October 2012. And BMW X1 sales slid 74%. But keep in mind, the longer term view shows that the Evoque has been a big addition to the Land Rover family, and the X1 is BMW's most popular X model.

Small Luxury SUV Sales Chart
Click Either Chart For Larger View

These sharp declines occurred even as Acura RDX sales jumped 46%, 151 units, to 480 October sales. BMW X3 sales rose 50%, 203 units, to 610. And the Audi Q5 recorded a 102% increase, equal to 318 extra sales compared to October of last year.

Through the first ten months of 2012, the RDX, Q5, X1, X3, Evoque, RX, and XC60 have all posted notable gains. At Lexus, RX450h sales are up 11% this year and rose 58% in October to 71 units, 10% of the RX's total. The RX is Lexus's best-selling model and the 18th-best-selling utility vehicle in Canada in October. The Audi Q5 ranked 20th. By percentage decline, the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque was the second-worst-selling vehicle in Canada.

All 261 Vehicles Ranked By October 2012 YTD Canadian Sales

Speaking of increases, among larger and more expensive luxury utility vehicles, the Porsche Cayenne's 227% year-over-year increase was most impressive. Six out of every ten Porsches sold or leased in Canada in October were Cayennes.

Meanwhile, the Land Rover LR2, Cadillac SRX, and Infiniti EX - all down in 2012 despite the market's improvement - posted notable gains in the month of October. Same goes for the much pricier BMW X6.

After the jump you'll find detailed October and year-to-date sales figures for 27 luxury utility vehicles. The two accompanying charts rank these vehicles by October volume; you can click either chart for a larger view. Historic brand and corporate totals (monthly and yearly going back to 2004) are now available through the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats page, along with results for more than 260 currently sold vehicles. That's where you'll find out that March was the Range Rover Evoque's best Canadian sales month, but Land Rover USA hasn't yet been able to match the Evoque's first month total.

If the vehicle you're looking for isn't grouped together with these SUVs, it may be listed with luxury cars, with mainstream brand SUVs, or in one of the other segments you can access through the eighth dropdown menu on GCBC's Tally page.

Small Luxury SUV	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Acura RDX	480	+ 45.9%	3935	+ 67.4%
Audi Q5	629	+ 102%	4905	+ 26.9%
BMW X1	91	- 73.9%	4288	+ 82.7%
BMW X3	610	+ 49.9%	4203	+ 12.1%
Cadillac SRX	357	+ 35.7%	2524	- 6.8%
Infiniti EX	177	+ 21.2%	1169	- 9.5%
Land Rover LR2	51	+ 292%	257	- 10.5%
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	12	- 88.9%	987	+ 814%
Lexus RX	693	- 4.5%	6011	+ 7.7%
Mercedes-Benz GLK	447	- 2.8%	4286	- 4.8%
Volvo XC60	123	- 27.6%	1629	+ 4.2%

Midsize Luxury SUV	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Acura MDX	497	+ 24.9%	4287	- 7.3%
Acura ZDX	1	- 90.9%	87	- 21.6%
Audi Q7	188	+ 24.5%	1410	+ 3.3%
BMW X5	498	+ 21.2%	3438	+ 1.1%
BMW X6	135	+ 35.0%	836	- 7.9%
Cadillac SRX	357	+ 35.7%	2524	- 6.8%
Infiniti FX	58	- 51.7%	633	- 15.8%
Infiniti JX35	204	-----	1798	-----
Land Rover LR4	20	- 54.5%	442	- 12.1%
Land Rover Range Rover Sport	155	- 10.4%	1379	+ 11.8%
Lexus GX460	32	- 5.9%	299	- 13.1%
Lexus RX	693	- 4.5%	6011	+ 7.7%
Lincoln MKT	41	- 8.9%	369	- 13.0%
Lincoln MKX	226	- 47.4%	3287	- 9.8%
Mercedes-Benz M-Class	414	- 32.7%	4682	+ 68.3%
Porsche Cayenne	160	+ 227%	1330	+ 29.9%
Volkswagen Touareg	203	+ 63.7%	1626	+ 20.7%
Volvo XC90	30	- 46.4%	413	- 34.5%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Small Luxury SUV & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales - November 2012
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - September 2012
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - October 2011
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2012
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - October 2012
Small/Entry & Midsize Luxury Car Sales Figures - October 2012
Large Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - October 2012

October 2012 Canada Small/Entry Luxury Car Sales & Midsize Luxury Car Sales

BMW's class-leading 3-Series, along with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi's A4 and A5, accounted for 1.8% of the overall Canadian new vehicle market in October 2012. Those four vehicles outsold all the vehicles from the second table below, combined.

Small/Entry Luxury Car Sales Chart
Click Either Chart For A Larger View

German midsize luxury cars like the Audi A6, Audi A7, BMW 5-Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and M-B CLS-Class found 722 Canadian buyers last month. That 3.4-to-1 ratio shows the emphasis Canadians place on affordable luxury or at the very least, the means by which we de-emphasize pricier luxury cars. In October, the same U.S. comparison produced a 1.7-to-1 count.

44% of the Acura passenger cars sold in Canada in October 2012 were ILX sedans. Lexus sold three ISF sedans last month. After two straight months with sharp declines, the Lexus CT200h reported a 73% jump. Cadillac sold its first 56 ATS sedans in Canada in October, but CTS sales slid 15% and are down 27% this year. The Lexus ES, which sold more frequently than any other midsize luxury car in October, did so with two models. More than a quarter of all ES sales were hybrids. 209 ES300h sedans have been sold in Canada so far. With 259 October sales, the ES350 outsold the Acura TL in October. And yes, Audi has sold more A7s this year than A6s.

All 261 Vehicles Ranked By October 2012 YTD Canadian Sales

Midsize Luxury Car Sales Chart

The tables visible after the jump break down Canada's October 2012 luxury car situation with detailed year-over-year and year-to-date sales figures. Historic brand and corporate totals (monthly and yearly going back to 2004) are now available through the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats page, along with results for more than 260 currently sold vehicles. That's where you'll find out that Americans are rather more taken with the Lincoln MKS than Canadians.

If the vehicle you're looking for isn't grouped together with these cars, it may be listed with mainstream brand cars, with luxury SUVs, or in one of the other segments you can access through the eighth dropdown menu on GCBC's Tally page.

Small/Entry Luxury Car	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Acura CSX	1	- 99.3%	27	- 98.3%
Acura ILX	400	-----	1487	-----
Acura TSX	259	+ 25.1%	1221	+ 17.9%
Audi A3	99	- 22.0%	1272	+ 12.7%
Audi A4	598	+ 15.9%	5245	+ 7.2%
Audi A5	195	+ 59.8%	1784	+ 1.2%
BMW 1-Series	100	+ 1.0%	969	- 30.8%
BMW 3-Series	1000	+ 57.5%	9384	- 1.1%
Cadillac ATS	56	-----	56	-----
Cadillac CTS	145	- 14.7%	1967	- 26.6%
Infiniti G	230	- 32.9%	2744	- 11.7%
Lexus CT200h	178	+ 72.8%	1407	+ 36.1%
Lexus IS	176	- 0.6%	1692	- 11.9%
Mercedes-Benz C-Class	679	- 16.3%	8777	+ 16.5%
Volvo C30	19	- 52.5%	567	- 6.0%
Volvo S60	83	- 41.1%	1410	+ 8.8%

Midsize Luxury Car	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Acura RL	4	+ 100%	25	- 50.0%
Acura TL	245	- 36.5%	2724	+ 13.1%
Audi A6	89	+ 27.1%	802	+ 56.0%
Audi A7	91	+ 89.6%	805	+ 66.3%
BMW 5-Series	204	- 33.3%	2342	- 0.9%
Cadillac XTS	51	-----	154	-----
Hyundai Equus	8	- 27.3%	98	- 6.7%
Hyundai Genesis	101	+ 9.8%	1058	+ 50.7%
Infiniti M	35	- 5.4%	275	- 24.0%
Jaguar XF	15	- 46.4%	304	- 9.5%
Lexus ES	352	+ 148%	2019	+ 25.6%
Lexus GS	59	+ 354%	804	+ 618%
Lincoln MKS	28	- 42.9%	444	- 19.4%
Lincoln MKZ	26	- 71.1%	780	- 43.2%
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class	338	- 4.5%	3599	+ 12.3%
Volvo S80	9	+ 80.0%	187	- 40.1%
Volvo XC70	60	- 20.0%	657	- 12.5%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Large-size Equus and XTS are here on pricing grounds. Buick, Chrysler, Avalon, Maxima etc. are listed here. Genesis refers to the sedan only.

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