Auto Sales USA: 2015 Best Year Since 2000

Washington DC January 6, 2016; The AIADA's Marketwatch reporteds that the auto industry ended 2015 with a bang, marking its best sales year since 2000. Buoyed by holiday discounts and mild weather, automakers including Honda, up 12.2 percent for the month; Kia, up 19 percent; Nissan, up 17.9 percent; and Toyota, up 12.4 percent all led international brand sales. Hobbled by its ongoing diesel scandal, Volkswagen saw sales fall 9.1 percent from December 2014 and 4.8 percent year over year. For the industry as a whole, 2015 marks the sixth year of year over year increases.

“Consumer confidence remains high while gas prices stay low, and as a result buyers are investing in larger, more luxurious vehicles,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “There’s no end to that trend in site, and dealers are working to continue the current healthy sales pace into 2016.”

Internationals Maintain Majority Market Share 

International nameplate brands maintained their edge in U.S. sales in 2015, accounting for 54.7 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United State slast year. International brands sold 898,488 units in December, up from 727,213 units in November and 785,495 units in October. 

Throughout 2015, international brand market share hovered between 53.5 and just over 56 percent.

Asian nameplates occupied 45 percent of the U.S. market last month, equal to their share in November. European nameplates fell from 10.2 percent in November to 9.7 percent last month. Domestic brands rose from 44.9 percent in November to 45.3 percent in December.

International Models Remain Popular 

International nameplate models continued to be the most sought after among U.S. shoppers. As they did last month, seven of the top ten selling December vehicles were built by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. The Toyota Camry remains the top-selling car, logging a fourth place finish for the month behind the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups. Sales for Toyota’s midsize sedan were up 18 percent from December 2014. In eighth place, Toyota's Rav4 led the vehicles on the top ten list with an impressive 17.8 percent increase in sales from 2014 .

North American Manufacturing Charges On 

North American manufacturing units supplied an impressive number of vehicles on dealer lots in December. Overall, these units produced 573,897 vehicles. These included 283,010 Asian-branded cars (43.1 percent of all cars sold in the U.S.), 242,414 Asian-branded trucks (24.6 percent of all trucks sold in the U.S.), 26,462 European-branded cars (4 percent of all cars sold in the U.S.), and 22,011 European-branded trucks (2.2 percent of all trucks sold in the U.S.). 

Outlook

AutoData Corp. reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in December was 17.34 million units versus 16.92 million units a year ago. Total industry unit deliveries increased 9 percent compared to last December and 24.6 percent compared to November 2015. Industrywide, 1,643,289 light vehicles were sold last month, compared to 1,507,339 in December 2014, cementing 2015 as the biggest sales year ever for the industry. Sales for all brands in 2015, unadjusted for business days, were up 5.7 percent from 2014.