Showing posts with label Subcompact Car Sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Subcompact Car Sales. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Subcompact Car Sales And Compact Car Sales In Canada - September 2010

Hyundai's market share dominance in the subcompact car category in Canada each and every month, in September most obviously here, isn't enough to overcome the Honda Civic in Canada's overall small car arena. Even when the Accent's sales totals were paired with the Hyundai Elantras for September, Hyundai only tallies 5206 sales. Honda meanwhile, sold nearly 6000 Civics plus a few hundred Fit hatchbacks. Toyota, on the other hand, threw down with its Corolla/Matrix tandem. Even then, however, when paired with the Toyota Yaris, Toyota's small car trio couldn't even out-sell the Civic. 

What about Mazda? The new 2011 Mazda 2 is starting to collect itself, but the Mazda 3 had a rough month in September 2010. Sales of Mazda's most popular vehicle were down 12%. Together, the Mazda 2 and Mazda 3 grabbed only 4350 customers. 

This speaks volumes about the Honda Civic's continued dominance in Canada, extending its year-to-date lead over the Mazda 3 by a couple thousand units in September 2010. But it should be pointed out that Honda Civic sales in Canada fell 16% in September. Perhaps discounts up to $7000 on 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts ate away slightly; perhaps September 2009 was an almighty month. At that time, September 2009 sales of the Honda Civic in Canada were up 32% over September 2008 levels. Honda's September 2010 sales level for the Civic has both September 2008 and September 2007 beat.

CLICK GRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW
CLICK GRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Friday, October 8, 2010

Subcompact Car Sales And Compact Car Sales In America - September 2010

Joined by 516 sales of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze in September, the gradually-deceasing Chevrolet Cobalt's total last month makes it look like "General Motors" and "small car" go together like, well, "General Motors" and "small car". But wait, the Cruze is supposed to be a really nice car. October should tell a very different story. Even so, don't be surprised if buyers don't respond favourably (at first) to a GM small car without huge incentives.

Cars of this type, both compact and subcompact, had a difficult road to tred in September 2009. Cash For Clunkers was over, and in the month prior, sales had spiked as most people who wanted a new fuel-efficient car got one in the month of August. To see September 2010 sales improve upon September 2009's totals should surprise no one. That being said, Toyota Corolla/Matrix sales were down last month and are down year-to-date, as well. Suzuki SX4 sales were down 38.8% in September 2010. Kia Rio sales were down 41.7% last month. Other than those cars and the currently-changing-over Cobalt, every single subcompact and compact car on sale in America improved on last year's figures. 

Which, you know, says something about the Corolla's performance, in particular, something Toyota might not care about since the Corolla/Matrix was the best-selling small car in America in September 2010.


As for the 2011 Ford Fiesta, which of course wasn't on sale last year, sales have yet to reflect any efforts by Ford Motor Company to find more stock for North American dealers. This comes along with news yesterday that the Ford Fiesta is the best-selling car in the UK - again - with over 19,000 sales. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's over 19,000 Fiestas that somehow made it to UK Ford stores, unravaged by hurricanes and bad railways and bodystyle selections (ahem... no ugly sedans?) which didn't reflect potential buyers' tastes. Ford would've needed to more than double sales of the Fiesta in the U.S. last month just to be number two in the segment.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Subcompact Car Sales And Compact Car Sales In Canada - August 2010

Lacking in safety features and aging faster than Liza Minnelli, the Hyundai Accent still has no trouble out-selling its direct rivals, including the all-new to North America 2011 Ford Fiesta. Dealers say they could sell more Fiestas if only they had more to sell, but could Ford Canada have sold an extra 1766 in August to unseat the Accent? Doubtful. Ford surely isn't worried. The average Fiesta transaction price is certainly thousands higher than what Hyundai's getting for the Accent.

Hyundai isn't struggling in the larger segments, either. The 2011 Sonata was the only non-small car to place in Canada's Top 10 Best-Selling Cars list and the Elantra finished ahead of the Toyota Corolla, as well. Keep this in mind: if Toyota called the Matrix the "Corolla Touring" you wouldn't even see the split in Corolla/Matrix sales (joined in the Graph below, separated for Canada Best Sellers lists, always joined for U.S. Sales Stats). And if Hyundai called the Elantra Touring by some other name, the two cars wouldn't be joined and the Elantra sedan would have only possessed 2350 sales in August 2010 in Canada. 


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Saturday, September 11, 2010

Subcompact Car Sales And Compact Car Sales In America - August 2010

This marks the end of Ford's excuses for the 2011 Fiesta. Hurricanes, train tracks, parts suppliers.... I don't care anymore. Sales figures for the Fiesta haven't been up to where they should be yet, beaten soundly by four competitors in the USA in August, and Ford has been in a valid place with its reasons why. Come September Sales Stats, however, and low-rung Ford Fiesta sales volume will be criticized for what it is: the results of what appears to be an overpriced subcompact car. August Fiesta sales were actually lower than July's.

One size segment up, Ford isn't struggling to sell the highly incentivized Focus. Only the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla were more popular compact cars in America in August 2010. Again, thanks discounts... and SYNC. GM's small car numbers should improve dramatically in the near future with the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze now in production in Lordstown, Ohio. Images of the 2012 Chevrolet Aveo bode well for the subcompact segment, as well.

CLICK GRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW
CLICK GRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Monday, August 23, 2010

COMPACT CAR SALES AND SUBCOMPACT CAR SALES IN CANADA - JULY 2010

Very few people would argue with the man who makes a point about the 2010 Honda Fit being superior to the 2010 Hyundai Accent. More refined, more fun to drive, roomier, and at least as fuel efficient, the Fit is by no means handsome but stands out from the pack. The Accent, a car The Good Car Guy recommends with alarming frequency, is pleasant enough and warrantied up to the hilt. Plus, it's ridiculously inexpensive and frequently available with low, low, low financing. 

The Good Car Guy would go so far as to say that, barring a little more knowledge of the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2, the Honda Fit is best-in-class. Yet over the 31 days of last month, July 2010, Canadians acquired 2733 Hyundai Accents and only 477 Honda Fits. There is but one explanation for this frequent phenomenon: price. To find a Honda Fit with air-conditioning and an automatic transmission, you must spend at least $16,980. Over at the local Hyundai dealership, you can have air-con and an auto trans for $13,949. Hyundai will finance that car interest-free for five years or at 0.99% for six or seven years. At Honda, you're more likely to be charged 5.9% interest.

Why are we making this point? There are no automotive categories more price-sensitive than the subcompact segment. Dearborn's Blue Oval, like Honda, has priced their car, the 2011 Ford Fiesta, far beyond the best-selling car in the class. Air-conditioning isn't even an option on the base sedan. Will Ford's Canadian sales volume of the Fiesta rise beyond this early hurricane-afflicted, basement-dwelling 386? For sure, but it won't be up in Versa/Accent territory until Ford drops the price.

As for compacts, the sway of price isn't quite as substantial. Deeply discounted Chevrolet Cobalts and Ford Focuses sold well in July 2010, but the best cars in the class, Honda's Civic and the Mazda 3, continued to sell well with weaker promotions. Details on every single subcompact and compact car competing in the Canadian marketplace are in the Graphs below.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Thursday, August 12, 2010

SUBCOMPACT CAR SALES AND COMPACT CAR SALES IN AMERICA - JULY 2010

Don't judge the 2011 Mazda 2's long-term potential for success on July 2010. On sale for only a few days, the month for the Mazda 2 to try and outshine its fraternal twin, the 2011 Ford Fiesta, is August. Numbers for August, hopefully numbers higher than 38 sales, will be revealed in early September after The Good Car Guy gets back from another vacation to Prince Edward Island.

Whether or not the Ford Fiesta will be able to attract large numbers of clients and secure those clients despite its high price, the influence of the Ford Fiesta didn't harm the segment leader in July. Though Nissan Versa sales dropped 9.4% from last year during the same period, Versa sales jumped from 6,762 in June 2010 to 7,725 in July 2010, a month in which we can safely say the Fiesta was known as the newest/latest/greatest/brightest/bestest. 

GoodCarBadCar.net is holding out hope for the Fiesta - in hatchback form it's a looker with a fuel efficient powertrain, great dynamics, and loads of features - but with a base price 33% beyond the Versa's, the Fiesta could be in for a tough fight if it wants to take over the category.

Up a notch in size and expense, generally speaking, Toyota and Honda and Hyundai proved the merits of their respective compacts. The new Elantra, known as the Avante in other parts, isn't far off, but sales of the current Elantra are as strong as can be expected. Honda's Civic, in its eighth generation, feels like it's been around forever but still managed to out-sell the Mazda 3 by 13,526 units in the USA last month. And the Corolla, with its Matrix hatchback sibling, was the second-best-selling car in America in July. 

Details on July's U.S. sales of subcompact and compact cars are in the Graphs below.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

COMPACT CAR SALES AND SUBCOMPACT CAR SALES IN CANADA - JUNE 2010

subaru impreza red
65% of Canada's most popular cars can be found in the two Graphs below. Were the Kia Soul placed here instead of the Niche Car Sales chart, that number would rise to 70%. To Canadians, size doesn't matter. Value, however, is of great importance. Small cars offer the equipment we require, just enough space for a small family, and the sort of efficiency small crossover buyers can only dream of (or remember from their previous car).

Subcompact cars and compact cars aren't the halo vehicles of any automaker's fleet. In certain cases, nonetheless, the power of these cars has helped to make a brand. Take the Honda Civic, for instance. The Civic is either the most well-known Honda or the second-most well-known Honda. Five years into the eighth generation and the Civic is still Canada's best-selling car, not just in June, but in the first half of 2010.

On the other side of the coin are automobile manufacturers who know they've got to start caring about these segments but haven't actually done so. The Subaru Impreza is a fine car, Driven by The Good Car Guy and considered to be a Corolla competitor with an extra dose of fun-to-drive; excluding low-volume performance derivatives like the WRX and STi of course. 

Subaru will tell you about their rapid sales growth in North America, and they're not lying. Yet Subaru finds its Impreza ranked way back in the field of compact cars thanks to a high base price - $20,995 compared to the Civic's $15,990 - and all-wheel drive can't account for $5K. Perhaps Subaru is content to remain an idiosyncratic firm, but they say they're ready for the big time. Start with a viable compact competitor and consider selling a subcompact, too. More cars on the road will mean more people seeing your cars on the road, and that'll help sell more of the expensive Outbacks and Forester XTs.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Thursday, July 15, 2010

COMPACT CAR SALES AND SUBCOMPACT CAR SALES IN CANADA - MAY 2010

honda fit
Scroll down to the Graphs below and you'll find 90% of Canada's best-selling cars. Only the Ford Fusion fails to appear here, it being a midsize sedan and these Sales Stats focusing on subcompacts and compacts.

We're not far from a brand new Hyundai Accent, but the current model is selling like it's going out of style. Which I guess it is, come to think of it. It's hard to understand how the fun-to-drive and practical Honda Fit does so poorly in the Canadian market. Well, it's hard to understand until you discover its base price: $4,481 higher than the Accent's base price. For every Honda Fit sold in Canada in May, 4.79 Hyundai Accents exited Hyundai dealers. Makes you feel bad for the guy who only got 80% of an Accent, though.

True volume is seen in the compact segment, however. Joined with the Corolla (as Toyota does it in the States), the 8th-best-selling car in Canada helps propel Toyota's market share in the compact segment to nearly 20%. (This doesn't include irregulars like the Kia Soul or Chevrolet HHR, seen here.) Indeed, the Toyota Matrix is a major player in the Canadian automotive market, a vehicle so appealing that it's twin, the Pontiac Vibe, sold 297 units in May despite existing as part of a defunct brand. 297 Vibes is, if you couldn't figure it out for yourself, more than 275 or 217, the numbers put up by the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, respectively.

Year-to-date, the Honda Civic is ahead of the Mazda 3 by 218 sales.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, July 7, 2010

SUBCOMPACT AND COMPACT CAR SALES IN THE USA - JUNE 2010

kia rio 5
Nobody grows up hoping to one day sell the least-expensive, least-profitable product on the market. When a business case is made, however, anyone and everyone will jump at the opportunity. With increasing frequency, the subcompact car class in North America is seeing new models or rejigged old models. With the Fiesta, Ford is back in the segment for the first time since the.... *puke*.... Aspire. The current Chevrolet Aveo will be replaced by something more like the Aveo RS concept. And the soon-coming Hyundai Accent will inevitably spawn a new Kia Rio.

It should be no surprise to you then that this is one dog-eat-dog segment. Except, no dogs are being eaten. Although it appears as though the Fiesta is struggling, it's early days. The Kia Rio looks likes it's down for the count, but in fact, being only 5,000 units behind the class leader means the next-generation Rio stands a great chance at becoming a class leader. This is a tight knit group of contenders, very unlike the midsize segment where the difference between the top-sellers and bottom-dwellers is far, far greater.

One notch up the belt is the compact category where two of America's favourite cars reside. The Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla were, of course, dominant in June 2010. North of the border, Mazda's 3 is in a fight with the Civic to be Canada's best-selling car in 2010. Yet in the States, the 3 is an alternative, not the obvious choice, with the Honda out-selling the Mazda 3 by more than 3-to-1 in June. Hyundai, Chevrolet, and Ford looked poised to make a run for it once the new Elantra, Cruze, and 2012 Focus arrive.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, June 9, 2010

U.S. SALES OF SUBCOMPACT CARS - MAY 2010

Think of three reasons people buy subcompact cars when there are larger, more powerful, better-equipped available. The first thing that probably came to mind was price. That led your mind towards value. Thinking of value brought further thoughts of cost. 

Yep. Price, value, and cost - come to think of it, the exact same thing. How much money do you have to spend, how little can you spend? Typical buyers would choose a Hyundai Elantra instead of a Hyundai Accent.... if the Elantra didn't require spending more money. In other words, people buy a subcompact car because that's what they can afford. As an added bonus, small cars require very little fuel and don't depreciate nearly as much as a very expensive large car. 

Thus, the fact that the most popular car on this list is also the second-cheapest, only $20 more than the cheapest, won't surprise you at all. You like the Honda Fit best? You'll be forced to pay the highest price. Outside of incentives, the domestic alternative from Chevrolet costs a couple grand more; even the Korean Kia Rio is priced above the Nissan Versa. The Hyundai Accent actually has the lowest U.S. base price ($9,970) so it won't shock you to discover it's one of Canada's most popular cars. The hype regarding the introduction of the 2011 Ford Fiesta is well-deserved: the Fiesta is a really nice car. But keep in mind, the Fiesta's base price is $13,320.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Friday, May 28, 2010

SUBCOMPACT CAR SALES IN CANADA - APRIL 2010

Profiled as one of Canada's Top 20 new car deals this week, the Hyundai Accent is racking up sales like there's no tomorrow. What does this say for the potential of the next Hyundai Accent? It'll be more stylish and more refined; probably more fuel efficient and more powerful. But.... the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2 will be new rivals in the sandbox. 

The Accent's total Canadian sales figure in April was enough to propel it to #5 on Canada's Top 10 Best-Selling Cars list. Hyundai has actually watched Accent sales slip slightly in 2010, but sales of the Honda Fit have fallen, too, and Toyota Yaris sales have slipped, fallen, broken necks, and severed limbs. Yikes. After four months of 2009, 9,795 Toyota Yarises (Yari?) had been sold. Through the first third of 2010, 5,896 Yaris sales appears downright abysmal. Better to be a Yaris salesperson than a seller of Suzukis - only 6 Swifts were sold in April.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Thursday, May 13, 2010

U.S. SALES OF SUBCOMPACT CARS - APRIL 2010

The car buying public in America doesn't seem to care that The Good Car Guy is wholeheartedly against the purchase of a Nissan Versa sedan. As the most popular subcompact car in America last month, surely some of the Versa's 6,599 sales were of the ugly sedan sort. Shed a tear for those poor souls.

Granted, the alternatives aren't drop-dead gorgeous. At least the first-gen Honda Fit was cute; the new car sure ain't. The Chevrolet Aveo's massive grille doesn't suit the current car (but does suit the future Aveo). But the continued allegiance Americans hold toward the Nissan Versa is shameful. It's cheap and quite unloveable. So why do they buy it? Few cars create so much space with such a small footprint - Versas are cavernous inside. 

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)