January 2015 U.S. Auto Sales Scorecard

Washingto DC February 4, 2015; The AIADA reported that U.S. auto sales took off last month, setting the tone for what dealers expect will be a successful sales year. Light trucks drove gains in January, with sales up 19.3 percent from January 2014. Cars trailed with a 7.7 percent improvement. Honda saw sales rise 11.6 percent, Lexus’ sales was up 31.2 percent, and Toyota’s sales rose 13.2 percent. Volkswagen’s sales remained almost perfectly flat from 2014, with a sales bump of just ten vehicles. After breaking the 500,000-unit sales mark for the first time in 2014, Subaru continued to define itself as an automotive dynamo, improving sales 23.7 percent from a year ago.

“The final months of 2014 gave dealers plenty of momentum to work with in January,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “Meanwhile, low gas prices and falling unemployment have given shoppers new confidence. We’re optimistic that 2015 will be another year of growth for our industry.”

Internationals Maintain Lead in U.S. Auto Market

International brands opened 2015 with a 54.6 percent share of the U.S. auto market, consistent with the share they held in December. International nameplate sales totaled 628,241 vehicles, down from 822,477 sold in December, but were up from the 562,141 vehicles they sold last January. 

Asian brands sold occupied 45.7 percent of the market, up from the 43.9 percent share they held in December. Overall sales of 525,868 units were also down from the 661,026 vehicles they sold in December. However, sales demonstrated significant improvements over January 2013 when they sold 466,162 vehicles.

European market share fell slightly as they captured 8.9 percent of the U.S. auto market, down from 10.7 percent in December. Total sales of 102,376 units also fell below the 161,451 units sold in December. However, consistent with their Asian counterparts, European brand sales improved over last January when they sold 95,979 vehicles.

Domestic nameplates finished the month with 45.4 percent of the market, on par with last month’s performance. Together, they sold 522,882 units, down from 684,862 in December, but up from 450,441 units last January.

January’s Top 10 List Highlights Internationals

January’s list of top-ten-selling vehicles reshuffled from December’s lineup, but featured six international nameplates. Trucks continued to dominate the market as the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups occupied the top three spots. The month’s top international nameplates were led by the Toyota Corolla, which leapfrogged from its eighth place finish in December into the fourth spot in January making it the top-selling car for the month. The Corolla was up 20.2 percent over last January. In fifth place, the best-selling Toyota Camry finished the month with sales up 14.7 percent.

As usual, midsize sedans were among the month’s best-sellers. Behind the Camry, the Nissan Altima captured sixth place and was up 17.3 percent over last January. The Honda Accord also logged an eighth place finish for the month, with sales up 2 percent. Compact SUVs were also strong players in January, with the Honda CR-V taking seventh place and the Toyota RAV4 logging a tenth place finish.

N. American Manufacturing Helps January Market

The North American manufacturing facilities operated by international brands played a prominent role in January’s vehicle supply. Overall, production facilities operated by Asian and European brands supplied 408,261 vehicles sold in January, down slightly from 522,405 last month.

Asian automakers produced 377,667 of the vehicles sold in January at their North American facilities. Of these, 206,531 were cars (39 percent of the cars sold in the U.S.) and 171,136 were trucks (27.5 percent of the cars sold in the U.S.). European brands produced 30,594 vehicles, including 19,945 cars (3.8 percent of all cars sold) and 10,649 trucks (1.7 percent of all trucks sold).

Outlook

AutoData Corp. reports the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for January 2015 reached 16.66 million units, its highest level in nine years. Last January the SAAR stood at 15.29 million. Total industry unit deliveries increased 13.7 percent compared to last January. Industrywide, 1,151,123 light vehicles were sold in January. Sales for all brands were up 13.7 percent from January 2014.