http://www.autoevolution.com/pdf/ne...014-auto-sales-in-the-united-states-90703.pdf
Automakers report 'blockbuster' December sales
Automakers report 'blockbuster' December sales
FORD MOTOR:
Ford brand's sales of all car models were off, save for the new-design Mustang, which was up 66.1% to 9,511.
That puts it well ahead of rival Chevrolet Camaro's 6,628. Outselling Camaro is a big issue within Ford, which invented the segment now called pony cars when it launched the Mustang back in April 1964. Camaro outsold the aging Mustang the past few years.
Though Ford's F-series sales slipped 0.3% in December because of the changeover to the new model, Ford's Transit big van, replacing the E-series, or Econoline, gave its trucks a boost, as did even better sales by the small Transit Connect, business van. Overall Ford's truck sales in December were up 4%, but down 0.7% for the full-year.
SUVs fell 3.5% in December as higher numbers posted by Escape small SUV and Explorer larger SUV couldn't' erase big drops by Edge and Flex.
At the Lincoln luxury brand, sales of car models fell 8.6%, but SUVs jumped 49.9% as buyers approved of the new-to-the-line MKC, a compact loosely based on the Ford Escape, and bought nearly twice as many big, truck-based Navigators as they did a year ago.
Overall, Lincoln sales were up 21.4% in December and 15.6% for all of 2014.
GENERAL MOTORS:
Chevrolet, GM's biggest brand, rode high on powerhouse sales of the full-size Silverado pickup, being pushed hard in ads and at dealerships to avoid losing sales to rival Ford's aluminum-body 2015 F-150 just introduced. Silverado sales in December were up 35.8%.
Chevy sales overall rose 20.5% in December. Its big trucks and SUVs sold well as fuel prices fell, but it's fuel-sippers such as Sonic (up 23%) and Spark (up 75.6%) also were strong, as was the full-size Impala (up 23.1%).
"Chevrolet was strong in every segment of the market, from pickups and SUVs to cars and crossovers," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of sales operations. "Everything you need to have a great month was in place: Consumers felt good about the direction of the economy, interest rates and fuel prices were low, and our dealers did a great job introducing" a range of new and redesigned models.
The Chevy Colorado, GM's foray back into the mid-size truck market that Detroit makers abandoned three years ago, was worth 4,037 sales, and has attracted 8,003 buyers during the months it was on sale in 2014.
The only serious player in the mid-size pickup market is Toyota's Tacoma, and it sells about 13,000 a month. Toyota will unveil a redesigned Tacoma at the Detroit auto show next week, which could give Colorado, and its GMC sibling, Canyon, more headaches.
GM's Buick brand reported sales gains for all its models. The big ones -- Enclave crossover SUV and LaCrosse sedan -- were the best-sellers and had the biggest sales gains, up 53.4% and 61.2% respectively.
The GMC brand, which sells only trucks, was up across the board, most models rising at least 30% from a year earlier. That included 1,533 Canyon mid-size pickups, new to the lineup.
GM's Cadillac GM's luxury marque, continued to tumble despite new models. Its sales were down 11.1% in December as plunges by new-design ATS, CTS and XTS sedans were too big to be balanced by hefty jumps by its big Escalade truck-style SUV models.
Even the brand's stalwart SRX, a mid-size, two-row crossover SUV, was a dog, down 19.3%. It remains the best-selling Cadillac, though.
New Cadillac boss Johan de Nysschen, in charge the past six months, is charged with fixing that problem -- or making a lot more money for the brand on fewer sales.
CHRYSLER
Chrysler Group said its December new-vehicle sales were best in a decade, and full-year sales were best since 2006.
The automaker said 11 of its vehicles set sales records for December.
It was the 57th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increase for Chrysler, which took the name FCA US late last year. Chrysler was combined with Italy's Fiat into FCA -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
"Our best December sales in a decade pushed our full-year sales over the 2-million unit threshold for our best annual sales since 2006," said Reid Bigland, the automaker's head of U.S. sales
The car company reported new-vehicle sales of 193,261 in December, up 20% from the same month a year earlier. For all of 2014, the maker said it sold 2,090,639 cars and trucks, up 16.1%.
The Jeep brand continued to be the company's biggest seller, powered by its new Cherokee, as buyers shifted away from cars, to trucks and SUVs, when fuel prices first stabilized then began to drop.
The addition of the Jeep Renegade this year, in the heart of a zooming market for small, city-size SUVs should help keep the brand's sales boiling.
The Chrysler brand, which the company wants to quit flogging as a premium nameplate and instead offer as a mainstream nameplate against Ford and Chevrolet, was up 52.6% as the new 200, derived from the company's Dodge Dart, nearly tripled sales for the month.
Ram truck brand jumped 35%, benefiting from new ProMaster commercial vans and a big push on the Ram pickup to avoid losing sales to Ford's just launched, aluminum-body 2015 F-150 Pickup.
Chrysler
