WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — December’s total new-vehicle sales increased 10.8% vs. a year ago to 1.5 million units, according to Autodata Corp., capping off a year in which sales increased 5.9% from a year ago to 16.5 million units. December’s seasonally adjusted annual rate did fall from November’s 17.2 million-unit rate — the highest rate of the year — to 16.92 million, but December’s SAAR was still the second highest rate of the year. The following is a breakdown of sales performance by manufacturer.
BMW: The BMW Group reported a 9.5% sales increase in December over the same month a year ago, with sales totaling 48,141 vehicles sold. The company sold 375,782 vehicles for all of 2014, a 5.3 % increase and a new U.S. sales record.
The best-performing vehicles for BMW in December were the 3 and 4 series, with sales of those models increasing 16.3% to 19,464 units. Reflecting the current popularity of SUVs, sales of the OEM’s X5 increased 18% from a year ago to 47,031 units sold in December.
Mini sold 10,000 fewer units, a 15.6% decrease, in 2014 than it did in 2013, with sales totaling 56,112 units. However, the brand did score its best December on record, selling 6,615 units for the month.
Chrysler: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported a 20% year-over-year increase in December, with sales totaling 193,261 units. FCA says this was the group’s best December since 2004, with the monthly performance capping of a year in which the OEM increased sales 16.1% from a year ago to 2.1 million units sold.
All three Ram Truck brand and three Jeep brand vehicles set records in December. Chrysler’s car sales hit record strides as well, with the Chrysler 200, Dodge Dart, Challenger, and Journey posting best-ever unit sales in December.
Ram Truck sales were up 32% in December and finished the year with a 28% increase vs. 2013. Officials said this was the best full-year sales performance since 2005. Jeep brand sales in December were up 19% from a year ago, while Chrysler brand sales increased 53% and Fiat Brand sales were up 1% for the month.
Ford: Ford posted its best December sales performance since 2005, with sales increasing 1% from a year ago to 220,671 vehicles sold. For the year, sales totaled 2,5 million, which was flat compared to 2013. Company officials noted that sales didn’t show an increase because of the new F-150 changeover and a planned 15% reduction in daily rental sales.
The F-150 was the fastest turning vehicle in showrooms this year, however, with trucks averaging just five days on dealer lots in December. Ford sold 74,355 trucks in December and 753,851 for the year.
The Ford Fusion and Escape both had record sales years, with both models posting combined sales of more than 306,000 units for all of 2014. The Escape also posted it best December in company history, with sales totaling 25,603 vehicles.
Lincoln sales were up 21% compared with last December and were up 16% for the year, with 94,474 vehicles sold. Navigator sales alone increased by 90% in December, with 1,792 trucks sold.
General Motors: GM delivered 274,483 vehicles in December, a 19% increase from a year ago and the OEM’s best December in seven years. Total vehicle sales for the year were up 5.3% over 2013, with 2.8 million cars and trucks sold for all of 2014.
Five GM vehicles, the Chevrolet Corvette and Spark, The Buick Enclave and Encore, and the GMC Sierra all posted record annual sales in 2014.
GM’s average transaction price saw 27 consecutive months of year-over-year increases and stood at a record $36,300, according to J.D. Power estimates. The ATP increased $1,000 per unit over November and $3,000 per unit over a year ago in December.
Honda: Honda had its second best year yet in 2014 with 1,540,872 vehicles sold, a 1% increase vs. 2013 sales. The American Honda division also reached a new high, selling 1.4 million cars and trucks for the year.
In December, light-truck sales increased 6.2% from a year ago to 67,479 units, bringing the yearly sales total to 702,351. Acura also posted strong sales in December, reporting a 13.1% gain from a year ago on sales of 17,809 vehicles. The performance delivered the division third best year since 2007.
The Civic once again surpassed the 300,000-unit sales mark in 2014, while the CR-V sold 335,019 units for the year. The Fit also realized its best December sales, with 6,450 vehicles sold in December — a 39.7% increase from a year ago.
Hyundai: Hyundai Motor America reported record December sales, which increased 2% from a year ago to 64,507 units. For the year, Hyundai sold 725,718 vehicles, which the company says is the fifth consecutive year of record U.S. sales.
The Santa Fe and Tuscon followed the upward trend of SUV sales with increases of 21.5% and 13%, respectively, in December. The Sonata and Genesis cars also posted significant sales increases for the month (24% and 17%, respectively).
Mazda: The OEM realized its best December sales performance ever, with sales increases 8% from a year ago to 24,808 units sold. The company also posted its highest annual sales total in 20 years with 305,801 vehicles sold.
Mazda also posted its best annual sales performance since 1994 in terms of retail-only sales, with sales totally 278,880 vehicles sold. The feat was achieved despite the company’s decreasing reliance on fleet sales. December was also the best month yet for the CX-5, with sales increasing 14.9% from a year ago to 7,721 units sold.
Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz USA scored its best December sales performance yet, delivering 34,009 vehicles for the month. Annual sales also broke records, with 366,589 vehicles sold.
The redesigned C-Class was the company’s top seller, with 75,065 units sold in 2014. Following behind was the E-Class with 66,400 units sold. The best-selling SUV was the M-Class, with sales increasing 13.1% from a year ago to 46,726 vehicles sold.
Sprinter sales increased 18% for the year to 25,745 units sold, while smart Car sales increased 12.8% to 10,453 units.
Mitsubishi: December was the OEM’s 10th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases, with sales totaling 6,545 units. The company also realized a 24.8% annual sales increase in 2014, with sales totaling 77,643 units.
The Outlander Sport was the top-selling model with 2,755 units sold in December and 31,054 units sold for the year. The Mirage led all car models for the year, with sales totaling 16,708 units for the year.
Nissan: Nissan set a December sales record with 117,318 units sold, a 6.9% increase from a year ago. For the year, the OEM recorded an all-time record, with Nissan and Infinite sales totaling 1.4 million units, an 11.1% increase vs. 2013 sales.
Altima sales increased 30.3% in December vs. one year ago to 32,331 units sold, a December record, according to company officials. Sales of the Nissan LEAF totaled 3,102 units in December, which was also a record for the all-electric vehicle.
Toyota: Toyota sold 215,057 vehicles in December, an increase of 12.7% from December 2013 on a volume basis. Total annual sales were 2.4 million units, an increase of 6.2% over last year.
Lexus reported an all-time monthly sales record in December, with sales increasing 14.7% from a year ago to 39,879 units sold. Lexus sales increased 13.7% for the year to 311,389 units sold. It was the first time since 2007 that Lexus topped 300,000 vehicles in a single year.
Leading the way for Toyota was the Camry, with sales in December increasing 5.5% from a year ago to 31,618 vehicles sold. Additionally, Corolla sales rose about the 30,000-unit mark and realized a 33.5% sales increase from a year ago.
Volkswagen: Volkswagen’s December sales increased 4.5% from a year ago to 53,837 vehicles sold. On an annual basis, sales fell 2.9% vs. 2013 to 552,720 vehicles sold.
Sales for Volkswagen division fell 10% from 2013 totals to 366.970 units sold. For December, sales fell 0.1% to 34,058 units sold.
Audi Sales were up for the year, increasing 15.2% over 2013 to 182,011 units sold. For December, Audi sales increased 13.1% from a year ago to 19,238 vehicles sold.
Porsche Cars North America set an all-time U.S. sales record for the year, with sales increasing 11.1% from its record-setting 2013 performance to 47,007 units sold. December sales totaled 2,275 vehicles sold, a slight increase over last December.
Porsche introduced the Macan this year, which achieved sales of 7,241 units for all of 2014. Sales of the Cayenne SUV totaled 16,205 units for the year, which was down from 2013. And despite sales falling in December vs. a year ago, the Cayenne was the OEM’s best-selling model for the month with 934 units sold.
Additionally, Porsche sold 10,442 911s for the year, a slight increase over last year.
