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With market share in the first three months of 2011 at 26.4%, Nissan (and corporate partner Renault) are more dominant in Mexico than General Motors or Ford are in the United States; more dominant than Volkswagen and its group partners are in Great Britain. In quarter one of 2010, Nissan/Renault's market share in Mexico was 25.4%. And if March 2011's 26.5% market share is anything to go by, Nissan/Renault are on the upswing, setting aside any production/supply issues that may have become apparent for Nissan, Mexico's favourite car brand, in the spring.Compared with Q1 of 2010, General Motors has slid a full percentage point from its former 19.2% hold on the market. Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, and Porsche have improved their portion from the 15.6% the quartet achieved in the first three months of 2010 to 17.3% this year. We've already explored the difficulties facing Ford when ranking all this chart's automakers and a few others in an earlier post.Before studying the chart below, keep one other fact in mind. Through March 31st of 2011, the luxury auto brands for which Mexican sales data is known owned just 2.7% of the Mexican new vehicle market. Those same nine brands held 6.6% of the U.S. new vehicle market in the first quarter of 2011.
Through the end of March 2011, no automaker had sold more automobiles in Mexico than Nissan. In fact, the year-to-date Mexico Auto Sales rankings below show that Nissan's nearest rival, the whole sum of General Motors, was 12,350 units behind Mexico's favourite brand.In March, the Mexican auto market grew 15% year-over-year to 75,126. These year-to-date standings reflect the brand-by-brand reflections of a market which improved by 12% in the first three months of 2011 to 210,903 sales. In the first quarter of 2006 the Mexican new vehicle market was 530,221 sales strong. Q1 volume shrunk to 460,399 in 2007, 432,478 in 2008, 300,564 in 2009, and 188,994 in 2010. So yeah, there's improvement, but compared with what Mexican auto dealers are accustomed to, 2011 can only be considered good because 2010 was so bad.To be a seller of one of the eight brands which have again suffered declining sales must be awful. (08/25/11 update separates Ford from Lincoln, altering some of this analysis.) It's worth noting that Ford passenger car sales are up 53.7%. It's the Blue Oval's truck/SUV division that brought the brand down. Sales of non-car Fords fell from 15,600 to 13,297 in Q1 of 2011. The story is reversed at Honda where car sales are down 24% and CR-V/Pilot/Odyssey/Ridgeline sales are up a combined 32.2%.Though there are fewer automakers reporting sales for this post, there are brands you'll notice in this group that you won't see when The Good Car Guy publishes monthly rundowns for Canada or the United States. Renault and Seat stand out; scroll down and you'll spot Peugeot and Isuzu. There isn't much excitement in Mexico's Renault, Peugeot, or Isuzu showrooms, but the Golf GTI-related Seat Leon Cupra is a gorgeous and aggressive 240-hp hatch you'll want to test drive on your next visit to Tijuana or Puerto Vallarta.The brand-by-brand breakdown of Mexican Auto Sales through the first quarter of 2011 can be viewed in the table below.
Rank | Automaker | Jan-Mar 2011 | % Change |
#1 | Nissan | 50,647 | +12.1 |
#2 | General Motors | 38,297 | +5.4 |
#3 | Volkswagen | 30,227 | +19.8 |
#4 | Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep | 20,222 | +7.2 |
#5 | Ford | 19,038 | +0.2 |
#6 | Toyota | 12,884 | +23.3 |
#7 | Honda | 8683 | -0.1 |
#8 | | | |
#9 | Renault | 4988 | +79.1 |
#10 | Seat | 4669 | +54.7 |
#11 | Mitsubishi | 2748 | -11.8 |
#12 | Suzuki | 2152 | +2.7 |
#13 | Peugeot | 1622 | +1.5 |
#14 | Mercedes-Benz | 1611 | +33.7 |
#15 | Audi | 1583 | +34.5 |
#16 | BMW | 1519 | +12.5 |
#17 | Mini | 681 | +29.5 |
#18 | Fiat | 440 | -33.9 |
#19 | Lincoln | 428 | -32.4 |
#20 | Acura | 365 | -1.9 |
#21 | smart | | +76.5 |
#22 | Isuzu | 320 | +70.2 |
#23 | Volvo | 305 | -11.8 |
#24 | Subaru | 187 | +10.0 |
#25 | Porsche | 137 | +87.7 |
#26 | Land Rover | 119 | -11.9 |
#27 | Jaguar | 14 | -50.0 |
#28 | Bentley | 1 | level |
Source: MAMA & ANDC
After a trip south of the border, Canadians never cease to mention the huge number of trucks and sport-utility vehicles on American interstates. Based on March 2011 sales figures, however, it's the Canadian bunch which possesses the propensity for purchasing pickup trucks.Seen in pie chart form, the difference between the Canadian and U.S. auto markets is stark but not at all what you'd expect based on Canada's higher fuel prices and higher vehicle prices. Nevertheless, when split up more thoroughly - as has been done all month on GoodCarBadCar.net - the smallest models make up the vast majority of Canadian car sales. Three in every ten new vehicle sales in Canada in March were part of this Graph. In the United States, on the other hand, the best-selling car is almost always a midsizer.Just to clarify, the green "other" section of the U.S. Graph below is filled with defunct models which no longer appear in GCBC's charts like the Ford Crown Victoria and Kia Rondo as well as brands like Maserati which don't offer a model-by-model sales split. Those sorts form an inconsequential portion of the Canadian market. And how 'bout them Sprinters and Econolines?
13 Canadian residents took possession of a 563-hp, 479 lb-ft V8 in March, a V8 ensconced in a gullwing body with a blunt, Mercedes-Benz-badged nose and AMG lettering on the trunklid. Love it or loathe it, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has the sort of presence a regular SL-Class Benz (18 March sales, down 25%) could only dream of carrying. Don't let yourself believe that Nissan GT-R sales are so low because its price is so high. The SLS AMG is twice as expensive, an Audi R8 is between 45 and 75% more expensive, and the naturally-aspirated Jaguar XK is similarly priced. No, the Nissan GT-R is no longer selling because those who wanted one got one and nearly every other buyer with $100,000 wants a premium badge. GT-R sales were off 88% in March and are down 79% year-to-date.The GT-R wasn't the only sporting Nissan car with falling sales in March. The $40,898 2011 Nissan 370Z and $47,398 370Z Roadster dropped from 123 sales in March 2010 to just 45 in March 2011. Sales of the 370Z's value-oriented competitor, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, also dipped, but not nearly as badly. While the 4-door Genesis suffered a decline of 42%, the Genesis Coupe was down 18%. Amidst all the talk of Hyundai Canada's best ever month, only the Elantra and Sonata (and obsolete Entourage) posted year-over-year improvements. The Accent, Tucson, Santa Fe, Veracruz, and Genesis duo lost a combined 1086 sales last month. As for the greatest gains in the first chart you'll see below, those were put up by the Mazda RX-8 (up 400%) and Audi TT (up 32%). The Mitsubishi Eclipse was level at 49. All other posted declining sales.
Chew on these facts. First, of the 27,869 new pickup trucks acquired in Canada in March 2011, 92.1% were sold by Dodge, Ford, and General Motors. Add to that the Japanese-badged trucks that are built right here in North America. 18.1% of all new vehicle sales in Canada last month were trucks. Compare that with the truck segment's 12.6% market share in the United States for a better idea of just how strong truck sales in Canada have been of late.There were disappearing acts, however. Suzuki sold 6 Equators in Canada in March 2010 but none so far this year. It's still shown as the $34,995 2010 Suzuki Equator on Suzuki's Canadian website. Dodge Dakota sales, meanwhile, fell 10% in March and are off 13.2% year-to-date. Toyota truck sales dropped 16.8%. Honda Ridgeline sales were almost cut in half. And as you'd expect given their death notices, sales of the Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series dropped 27.5% and 24%, respectively.Yet sales of the Ford F-Series, Dodge Ram, Chevrolet Silverado, and GMC Sierra - the major players - all increased thanks to huge incentives that helped some consumers quit their fretting over high fuel costs. Of that quartet, the Silverado's gain was greatest as Chevrolet posted a 28% increase in sales of Canada's fourth-best-selling truck.The term, "minivan sales in Canada", has always been very nearly synonymous with, "Dodge Grand Caravan sales in Canada." 61% of the Graph below is taken up by a big blue slice of DGC, not to mention the 234-sale slice afforded to its twin, the Chrysler Town & Country . Toyota Sienna sales jumped 72.7% in March, Mazda 5 sales dropped 8.8%, and Honda Odyssey sales were up 51.1%. Nissan, just getting the Quest off the ground, saw sales of 2011 model increase tenfold over what was a basically un-marketed, defunct Quest in March 2010.
53% of all BMW 7-Series sedans sold in Canada so far in 2011 came in the month of March. 46% of all new vehicles sold in Canada in 2011 were acquired in March, so it's not that crazy to see that March was worth so much to the big bruiser of a Bimmer. Lexus LS sales plummeted 61% in March to just 12. Only one Lexus LS600hL was sold in March, down from 5 in March 2010. Porsche Panamera sales took a slight dip, down four units (10%) to 36, but are up by one unit (1.3%) year-to-date. Sales in Jaguar showrooms across Canada increased 8% in March 2011, no thanks to the Jaguar XF's 25% decline nor the Jaguar XK's 13% drop. One year ago Jaguar Canada didn't sell a single XJ; this year Canadian residents picked up 23. XJ sales are up 378% in 2011. Similarly strong growth was posted by Audi Canada with its new A8 sedan. From two sales last March, sales of the A8 grew 750% to 17. Year-to-date totals are up 1225% to 53, or about the same as BMW's 7-Series total in March. Finally, sales of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (and its CL-Class coupe sibling) increased by 13 units to 70 and are up 23 units so far in 2011.As for jumbo luxo sport-utility vehicles, there is not as much balance as we just found in the large luxury car segment. Nearly four out of every ten large luxury SUVs sold in Canada in March were Mercedes-Benz GLs (or, rarely, G-Wagens). Barely fewer than one-fourth were Cadillac Escalades. Sales of all others combined don't measure up to Mercedes-Benz's total. Speaking of Cadillac, 23 of the Escalades sold were of the long-wheelbase Suburbanesque ESV sort, another 18 were Avalancheesque EXT trucks. The remaining 65 were regular Escalades.
Lincoln MKX sales more than doubled to 597 in March 2011, but that wasn't enough to unseat the Lexus RX as Canada's most popular luxury utility vehicle. Of all premium brand vehicles, the MKX was the fourth-best-seller last month, an impressive feat for a vehicle which managed to find just 295 buyers in March 2010. Lexus RX sales rose 5%, pretty much on par with the overall market's year-over-year increase.Though at first glance MDX sales appear healthy, sales of Acura's largest utility vehicle actually dropped 16% in March. Of the seven Acura nameplates on sale in Canada only the awfully slow-selling RL posted a year-over-year increase. The Acura ZDX had it roughest - sales plummeted from 56 to just 13. Is that because Canadians are listening more intently to GoodCarBadCar.net's The Bad 8? We wish.These two categories are difficult to isolate; that's part of the reason for displaying them in the same post. Nevertheless, with the definition used here, there were 3394 "midsize" luxury SUVs sold and 2248 "small" luxury SUVs sold in Canada in March. Combined, that's down 4.5% compared with last year. Don't blame the Land Rover LR2, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Volvo XC60, or Cadillac SRX for that fact. Those five vehicles together found 499 more buyers this March than last. Sales of the Good 12-winning Audi Q5 jumped 40.5%. The second-generation X3 brought about a 72.3% boost.
Combined, the Audi A6, Hyundai Equus, Hyundai Genesis sedan, Infiniti M, Jaguar XF, Lexus GS, Lincoln MKS, Saab 9-5, Volvo S80, and Volvo XC70 weren't as popular in Canada in March 2011 as the BMW 5-Series. Those ten cars didn't accumulate as many sales as Mercedes-Benz did with the E-Class and CLS-Class, either. 5-Series sales shot up 106% in March; sales of the E/CLS duo were up 19%. With five available bodystyles it perhaps isn't all that surprising that the E-Class does so well, but it's to Mercedes-Benz's credit that the company has seen a market for a midsize sedan, wagon, coupe, cabriolet, and rakish coupe-like sedan and then conquered that market by flooding it with every option known to mankind. The sedan and ugly hatchback Munich make available to North Americans currently start with the $53,900 2011 BMW 528i and top out with the $79,900 2011 BMW 550i xDrive Gran Turismo. A terribly pricy M5 based on the F10 5-Series is coming. The Benz range goes from the $59,900 E350 Coupe through to the $106,900 E63 AMG and finally the $126,000 CLS63 AMG.Many Canadians chose to put a much less expensive German car in their driveway in March. The C-Class, which has a base price of $38,800 and can be financed over five years at 2.4% right now, was Canada's best-selling premium brand vehicle last month with 1082, up 20% from March 2010. The $29,900-$32,400 B-Class added another 271 sales to Mercedes-Benz's tally. Mercedes-Benz Canada will have more challenging opposition once BMW finishes off-loading current 3-Series sedans in favour of the yet-to-be-revaled F30 3-Series. Even now, the 3-Series remains a major player. It was 2010's best-selling luxury vehicle in Canada and came out ahead of the C-Class as recently as February.
Canada's 20 best-selling vehicles posted a slight market share increase compared with February, up 1.7 percentage points to March 2011's 51.1%. That 51.1% figure is way, way up on the 40.2% America's most popular vehicles reported in March.More than six out of every hundred vehicles sold in Canada in March were Ford F-Series pickup trucks. After owning "just" 2.9% of the overall new vehicle market in Canada in February, the Honda Civic's market share grew to 5.2% in March 2011. Down among the narrower pie slices in this Graph of Canada's 20 best-selling vehicles, the Toyota Matrix and Ford Fusion fell off the list and were replaced by the Hyundai Sonata and Chevrolet Equinox. The Sonata and Equinox combined to own 3.1% of the overall market - the Fusion/Matrix market share clump in February 2011 had been 2.6%.For more on new vehicle market share in Canada, check out the biggest brands here and luxury brands here. Oh, and if ever there was a reason for you to stop saying, "Nobody can afford to fuel a big truck," it'd be now. Thousands of Canadian buyers - many of them rental companies and governments and corporate fleets, admittedly - considered themselves capable of paying for the gas in an F-150, Ram, Silverado, Sierra, Tundra, Titan, Escalade EXT, or Avalanche in March.
Thrown into a fire that's already flaming with the surprisingly popular Mitsubishi RVR, rather successful Nissan Juke, and most of the best-selling SUVs in Canada, the 2011 Mini Countryman appears prematurely thwarted. Out-selling only one rival - the defunct Honda Element - isn't terribly un-Mini-like, given the regular Cooper's lackluster totals. No, Mini makes plenty of money outfitting and accessorizing just one Countryman. There's no need to sell thousands per month. Besides, the Countryman may be as much of an indirect rival for the larger and more expensive Audi Q5, upcoming BMW X1, or rumoured Mercedes-Benz GLC as it is for the mainstream Volkswagen Tiguan or Subaru Forester. Then again, the Volvo Acura RDX, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Infiniti EX35, Mercedes-Benz GLK, and Volvo XC60 all out-sold the Mini Countryman in Canada in March 2011.As in the United States, the Ford Edge and Ford Explorer combined to be a magnificent force in March. The Edge out-sold all direct rivals; the Explorer out-sold all rivals save for the Edge. Speaking of U.S. sales, though the market south of the border was just eight times bigger than the Canadian market, Mini Countryman sales were 19 times stronger in the U.S. than in Canada. Five of the jumbo sport-utility vehicles in the Graph below were (in a not at all direct manner) conquered by the Countryman in March. Perhaps it's better to describe the situation this way: the lowest volume small utility vehicle sold in greater volume than all but two of the largest utility vehicles in Canada last month.
Of all the cars shown in the Canadian Graphs below, it was the Volkswagen Jetta that posted the greatest year-over-year percentage gain in March 2011, up 181%. Framed another way, however, the Honda Civic found 2246 more buyers this March than in March 2010, a figure which compares quite favourably with the Jetta's 1575-unit increase. In the Midsize Car Sales chart, no vehicle turned on the afterburners quite like the Hyundai Sonata, up 91.9% from March 2010 levels. Scrolling further down, the Buick Lucerne's 248 sales represent a 61% increase.As for the strugglers, of which there were some particularly pronounced offenders, the Nissan Cube, Mitsubishi Galant, Lincoln Town Car, Volkswagen Passat, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Camry, Suzuki SX4, and Honda Accord led the way. All eight of those cars saw their sales chopped in half, at the very least. Forgive Lincoln - the Town Car has been put out to pasture. Mitsubishi Canada isn't even featuring the Galant on its website. And the Passat is on temporary hiatus, although that's Volkswagen's own problem, a problem which still represents a decline in demand. But the Yaris, Camry, SX4, and Accord? The Camry ranked sixth among midsize competitors; the Accord eighth. The Yaris was less popular than the Hyundai Accent, Ford Fiesta, and Mazda 2. (Honda Fit sales dropped 32.8%.) As for Suzuki, it would've been hard to imagine in March 2010 that the SX4 and Kizashi could fare any worse. From 584 sales, the SX4 dropped to just 247 in March 2011. Kizashi sales fell from 99 to 80.
