WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — The industry sold 1.38 million units in November, a 3.7% increase from a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. November's seasonally adjusted annual rate was 17.87 million, which was slightly lower than last November’s SAAR of 18.25 million. The following is a breakdown of sales performance by manufacturer:
BMW: BMW brand sales in the United States fell 18.2% from a year ago to 26,189 units sold. Year to date, sales have fallen 10% from the year-ago period to 280,339 units sold.
BMW Group sales totaled 30,696 units, down 16.8% from a year ago. Year to date, BMW Group sales have declined 10.2% to 327,711 units. The BMW 3 Series was the group's top seller with 5,411 units sold. However, compared to a year ago, unit sales for the 3 Series were down 35.8%. Recording the biggest sales increases were the 7 Series (18%), X1 (53.2%), and X5 (18.4%).
MINI USA reported 4,507 automobiles sold, a 1.4% increase from a year ago. Year to date, the brand has reported total sales of 47,372 units sold, an 11.5% decrease over the same time period last year.
MINI's top seller for the month was the Copper S Clubman with 1,535 units sold, followed by the Cooper S hardtop two-door with 948 units sold. That total, however, represented a 35.1% decrease from a year ago. Sales of the Countryman totaled 867 units, a 31.2% decline from a year ago.
Chrysler: FCA US LLC reported sales of 160,827 units in November, a 14% decrease from a year ago. Of that total, 126,780 were retail sales and 34,047 were fleet sales, representing 2% and 42% year-over-year declines, respectively.
Ram Truck brand sales were up 12% year over year, according to the company. Much of the growth, the company added, was driven by 126% increase in Ram ProMaster van sales and the 8% increase in Ram pickup truck sales.
The Jeep Renegade small SUV also had a strong November, with sales increasing 30% from a year ago. Sales of the Fiat 500 were up 18% from a year ago, the company noted.
For Chrysler, the Pacifica — which launched earlier this year — had its second-best sales month in November, selling 8,753 units. It was also Chrysler’s best-selling vehicle for November.
Ford: Ford Motor Co. sold 197,574 units in November, a 5% increase from a year ago. The brand attributed this year-over-year improvement to a 10% increase in retail sales, which totaled 154,114 units. Fleet sales, which declined 9% from a year ago, totaled 43,460 units sold.
Leading the way were Ford’s F-Series line of trucks, with sales rising 11% from a year ago to 72,089 units sold. This was the best November for the truck line since 2001.
Ford brand SUV sales totaled 60,079 units, a 20% increase from a year ago. The Escape realized an 11% increase in sales from a year, while Explore sales grew 14% from a year ago. Sales of the Lincoln MKX were up 30%, while the nameplate’s all-new Continental has it best sales month since its launch with 1,419 cars sold.
General Motors: General Motors reported November sales of 252,644 units, a 10% increase from a year ago. Retail sales totaled 197,609 units, an 8% increase from a year ago. Fleet sales totaled 55,035 units, a 19% increase from a year ago.
By brand, Chevrolet sales were up 15% from a year ago, Buick sales were up 22%, GMC sales were up 9%, and Cadillac sales were up 17%. The Chevrolet Malibu realized its best November since 1997 with a 24% increase, while Volt realized its best November ever with a 25% increase. The Chevrolet Silverado realized its best November since 2003 with a 5% sales increase, while the Colorado recorded its best November since 2004 with a 39% sales increase from a year ago. The Tahoe and Suburban realized their best November performance since 2007 with sales increases of 12% and 6%.
Year to date, General Motors’ U.S. retail sales are up nearly 2% compared to the same time last year, the company stated.
Honda: American Honda Motor Co. reported sales of 122,924 Hondas and Acuras last month, a 6.5% increase from a year ago and a new record for the month of November. Sales of American Honda trucks increased 9.9% from a year ago to 62,737 units sold, a November record, according to the automaker.
Honda Division sales also set a not high mark for November with 111,308 units sold, a 7.9% increase from a year ago. Acura Division sales decreased 5.1% from a year ago to 11,616 units sold.
Honda car sales increased 5.6% from a year ago to 56,943 units, while truck sales increased 10.3% from a year ago to 54,365 units — a November record for the brand. Sales of the Honda Accord increased 6.3% from a year ago to 27,182 units sold, while Civic sales topped 25,000 units sold for the month.
Acura truck sales increased 7.6% from a year ago to 8,372 units sold, while sales of the redesigned MDX rose 13% from a year ago to 4,622 units sold. The RDX realized its best November sales to date, with sales rising 1.6% from a year ago to 3,750 units sold.
Hyundai: Hyundai Motor America realized an overall sales improvement during November, growing unit sales 4% from a year ago to 62,507. The Hyundai division sales increased 1.95% to 61,201 units sold, while Genesis division sales rose 9% from October to 1,306 units sold.
Year to date, Hyundai has sold 707,485 units, a 1.32% improvement from the same time last year.
Mazda: Mazda North American Operations posted a 3% decline in sales in November from a year ago, with sales totaling 22,041 units. Year to date, the brand has sold 269,019 vehicles, 7.2% decline from the prior-year period.
The brand’s top seller in November was the CX-5, which realized its best month ever with 8,865 units sold — a 1.2% increase from a year ago. Realizing its best November since 2012 was the CX-9 with 1,994 units sold, a 65.9% improvement from a year ago. Sales of Mazda’s CX crossovers through November stood at 130,614 units, with 12,214 vehicles sold in the month of November.
Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz USA posted November sales of 30,363 vehicles, a 1.1% improvement from a year ago. Mercedes-Benz Vans reported sales of 2,564 units, and smart reported sales of 563 units, bringing total sales for the automaker to 33,490 units.
Through November, Mercedes-Benz has retailed 308,226 units on a year-to-date basis. Van sales on a year-to-date total 30,444, while smart sales stood at 5,025 through November.
Volume leaders for the Mercedes-Benz brand were the C-Class, GLE and E-Class model lines. The top spot, however, belonged to the C-Class, with 7,261 units sold.
Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi Motors North America posted November sales of 6,896 units, a 1.8% increase from a year ago. According to the manufacturer, this was the best November sales performance since 2007.
Sales through November were up 1.6% from a the year-ago period, with sales totaling 88,884 on a year-to-date basis.
Top sellers were the Outlander and Mirage. Compared to a year ago, Outlander increased 29.3% from a year ago to 2,220 units sold — the model’s best November sales performance since 2002. Mirage sales were up 32% from a year ago, with sales totaling 1,432 units.
Nissan: Nissan Group sales totaled 115,136 units in November, a 7.5% increase from a year ago. Broken down, Nissan Division sales increased 8% from a year ago to 103,024 units, while Infiniti sales improved 3.6% from a year ago to 12,112.
Crossovers, trucks and SUVs were big drivers of the company’s sales growth, with unit sales for the segments rising 24% year over year. The brand’s best-selling vehicle for the month was the Rogue crossover with 26,629 units sold, and 18% increase from a year ago. Murano sales increased 36% to a November record of 7,589 units, while Pathfinder sales increased 34% from a year ago to 6,801 units. Armada sales improved 114% from a year ago to 1,738 units.
Toyota: Toyota Motor Sales reported November sales of 197,645 units, a 4.3 increase from a year ago. Toyota Division sales totaled 168,595, a 5.3% increase compared to a year ago. Lexus Division sales totaled 29,050 units, a 1% decrease from a year ago.
The Toyota Division’s top seller for the month was the Corolla, with sales improving 11.8% from a year ago to 28,262 units sold. The Highlander posted its best November ever with a 67% sales increase from a year ago, while RAV4 sales improved 2.7% from a year ago to a November record of 28,116 units.
Volkswagen/Audi: Volkswagen of America posted sales of 29,672, a 24.2% improvement over the same time last year. Two of the main drivers were the brand’s Tiguan compact SUV and Passat. Sales for the Tiguan increased 15.6% from a year ago to 4,516, while sales of the Passat grew by 133.5% from a year ago to 6,441 units sold.
Year to date, Volkswagen sold 285,719 vehicles through November, a 10.29% decline from the year-ago period.
Audi of America posted November sales of 17,118 units sold, a 2.5% improvement over the same time last year. Year to date, sales are also up 2.9% over the same time last year on sales of 187,018 units.
SUVs were strong performers for the brand in November, according to the company. Total SUV sales increased 22% over the same time last year and 17% year to date. The best-performing vehicle for the month was the Q5 crossover, with sales totaling 4,187 units.
Porsche: Porsche Cars North America Inc. posted sales of 5,513 units sold, a 23.9% increase over the same time last year and a new record for November. Year to date through November, the automaker has sold 50,265 vehicles, a 5.1% increase from the prior-year period.
