Let's Not Pretend: Calling It A Golf Doesn't Mean Americans Are Going To Buy Wagons

Here are a few key facts from last week's GCBC post on Jalopnik's Kinja platform.

• U.S. sales of the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen declined 27% between 2011 and 2014.

• As the Golf SportWagen takes over from the Jetta SportWagen – which was already a Golf wagon – April sales of the duo slid 28%, year-over-year. True, the Golf SportWagon isn't yet plentiful on dealer lots, but the figure includes a fair number of Jetta SportWagens.

• Moreover, the Volkswagen Tiguan, an afterthought in the small SUV segment, easily outsold Volkswagen's wagons in April.

• It wasn't just Volkswagen. Volvo, with three wagon nameplates, sold 1139 wagons in April 2015. But Volvo also sold 1819 XC60 crossovers. BMW sold nearly 9000 crossovers but likely no more than 500 3-Series wagons.

• Yet perhaps you'll be surprised that, in supposedly hatchback-hating America, the Audi A7, a hatch, outsells the Mercedes-Benz CLS, its most direct rival.

Chevrolet SS Sales Are Finally Rising, Albeit Barely

General Motors sold more Chevrolet SS sedans in April 2015 than they did in April 2014.

Albeit only 16 more, to be precise. 5.7% more.

Yet not in any of the previous five months in which the SS could produce a year-over-year increase did it manage to do so. (October 2014 sales jumped 11,400% from one reported sale in October 2013 to 115.)

---

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD

---

Moreover, the SS’s April 2015 sales total was the second-highest level ever for the Aussie-built sedan.

Are we finally seeing an SS recovery, or is this just a blip on the Dodge Charger SRT’s radar?

After SS volume tumbled to just 313 units in the fourth-quarter of 2014, a 25% year-over-year drop and a 64% decline compared with the SS’s strongest quarter from early 2014, sales have now increased in four consecutive periods on a month-to-month basis.

From just 93 sales in December 2014, monthly SS volume has climbed to 115, 215, 264, and 299 units in the following four months. Year-over-year, first-quarter sales in 2015 slid 31%. But the signs of momentum, however slight and inconsequential, are still present.

---

Historical Monthly & Yearly Chevrolet SS Sales Figures
U.S. Large Car Sales Figures - April 2015 YTD

---

If General Motors was able to sustain this level of volume, Chevrolet would be selling 3600 SSs in America each year. But after the SS was selling at its best level so far – during the first-half of 2014 – GM proved unable to sustain interest. Inventory ballooned, and with little marketing support and outrageous Hellcats from Dodge stealing thunder, SS sales in the second-half of 2014 were less than half what they were in the first-half.

Keep in mind, based on first-half figures, Chevrolet was on pace to sell more than 3000 SSs in America last year, not a lot, but a lot more than the 2479 they ended up selling.

If a lack of manual availability was blamed for part of the decline last year, did the arrival of a manual transmission provide this April 2015 boost? It seems doubtful. Even if we account for the notion that the manual-trans SS sedans may move faster or are simply being handed directly into owners’ hands, the fact that Cars.com shows only 1% of current inventory being made up by DIY shifters is downright telling.

As for the SS’s position in the sales rundown, in April it was still outsold by uncommon vehicles like the Smart Fortwo, BMW i3, Audi A8, Volvo V60 Cross Country, Porsche Boxster, and the Mini Cooper Convertible. Inside Chevrolet showrooms, the SS accounts for 0.35% of the new cars sold so far this year, 0.13% of the new vehicles sold by Chevrolet, and 0.09% of the new GM vehicles sold.

Rarity isn’t a death knell. You don’t expect to see Mercedes-AMG GT coupes scattered about your local Wal-Mart parking lot or Jaguar F-Types lined up outside elementary schools in the suburbs. But oddly, GM hasn’t really used the SS as a marketing tool to elevate the image of the Chevrolet brand. And why would they? They have the Chevrolet Corvette to fill that role.

They sold nearly 3500 of those in April alone.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.

Volkswagen USA Hardly Sells Any SUVs, But Were April 2015's Results A Foreshadowing?

In a market that's gone gaga for SUVs and crossovers over the last couple of years, Volkswagen USA's inability to even moderate their Tiguan and Touareg volume has stood out like a sore thumb.

Consider the first-quarter of 2015, a period in which sales of the smaller Tiguan dropped 8% and larger Touareg slid 9%. During the same three-month span, overall U.S. sales of SUVs and crossovers increased 12%, year-over-year. 

---

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD
U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD

---

Those results partially explain why the increases reported by the Tiguan and Touareg in April 2015 were so unusual. U.S. sales of the Tiguan grew 20% from 1998 in April 2014 to 2402 in April 2015. The Touareg's 4% increase translated to a scant 22 extra units, but that's still better than the decreases reported in each of the previous four months.

Indeed, decreased Touareg volume has historically been the order of the day. Annually, U.S. Touareg sales declined in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 before rising much more slowly than it declined in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Touareg volume in 2014 was down 34% compared with 2012; down 15% compared with 2013.

Tiguan sales peaked in 2012 at 31,731 but decreased modestly in 2013 and more sharply in 2014. 137,351 have been sold since its arrival in 2008. 

---

Historical Monthly & Yearly Volkswagen Tiguan Sales Figures
Historical Monthly & Yearly Volkswagen Touareg Sales Figures

---

A Mexican-built second-generation Tiguan with an available third row and a Crossblue Concept-inspired Highlander/Pilot/Explorer rival will dramatically alter the Volkswagen landscape. In the moment, even in a good month like April 2015, utility vehicles account for just 10% of Volkswagen brand sales in America. Compare that with other German brands like BMW (33%), volume brands like Toyota (26%), and other similarly-sized brands like Mazda (43%), and you see that Volkswagen simply isn't competing in the growth market. 

Do April results show potential? No, these growth figures were likely nothing more than the exception to the rule. But they bring to mind Volkswagen's product plans, and the possibility that Volkswagen's next batch of SUVs nad crossovers will eventually arrive to alter the brand's U.S. portfolio. Hopefully, for VW's sake, not just in time to see the crossover craze wane.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.

SLS AMG Be Gone: Mercedes-Benz's AMG GT Experiment Pays Off In April 2015

Mercedes-Benz keeps moving their high-end sports cars down market just as the company keeps making their high-end sports cars more attractive. The SLR McLaren was absurd in more ways than one, and it took a couple of vehicular lifetimes for Mercedes-Benz to rid themselves of all the copies they built.

The SLS AMG, on the other hand, was a bold yet tasteful manoeuvre into a more reasonable supercar sector, where prices are closer to $200K than $400K, and if by reasonable we mean the domain of Ferraris with eight, rather than twelve, cylinders.

---

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD

---

The new AMG GT, on the other hand, has an advertised base price of $129,900, just ten grand more than the new S-Class Coupe and some $21,000 below the price of a Porsche 911 Turbo. Two different AMG variants of Mercedes-Benz’s own SL-Class have significantly more costly points of entry.

Not surprisingly, then, Mercedes-Benz sold more copies of the AMG GT in its first month on sale in the United States than the SLS AMG ever managed at any point in its tenure.

Mercedes-Benz USA reported the company’s first 205 AMG GT sales in April 2015, a figure only vaguely approached by the SLS AMG in, you guessed it, the SLS’s first month on sale. Initial demand for this kind of car is a significant factor to consider, and the fact that Mercedes-Benz sold more than 200 AMG GTs in April doesn’t mean that, like the Porsche 911 with its immense staying power, the AMG GT can continue to attract a couple hundred well-off new owners per month. The SLS AMG, for instance, even in its second-best month of March 2012, was down 27% compared with its first month of availability, May 2010.

Since that month five years ago, Mercedes-Benz USA has sold 2724 SLS AMGs, far more than the number of overpriced SLR McLarens (713) sold between 2004 and 2010.

As for other high-end sporting cars, Audi sold 69 R8s in April, a 14% year-over-year drop. BMW i8 volume, which peaked in its second full month of October 2014 at 204 units, stood at 138 units in April 2015. Dodge sold 56 Vipers, a 42% decline compared with April 2014. Nissan GT-R sales rose 32% to 162 units.

Mercedes-Benz’s own SL-Class was down 24% to 434. Figures for the S-Class Coupe are rolled into the overall S-Class’s total, sedan included, of 2021 April sales. Its CL-Class predecessor averaged 57 monthly sales in the U.S. between 2010 and 2014, but CL volume has declined every year since 2008.

---

Mercedes Learns From Mistakes: AMG GT Is A $129,900 Surefire Success

---

Porsche’s wide-ranging 911 lineup was down 7% to 897 units in the best-ever month for the Porsche brand in America.

With the AMG GT and the aforementioned i8, Mercedes-Benz and BMW certainly have the vehicles with which the fight can be taken to the Porsche 911 in a new, exciting format. Challenging the iconic Porsche on volume terms, however, outside the venue of a car magazine comparison test, is a different can of worms. With an exhaustive array of body styles and engines and extremes and its legendary status, the 911 is king, no matter how far Mercedes-Benz moves its supercar downmarket.

This article also appears on The Truth About Cars.

Small And Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - April 2015 YTD

Audi Canada set a record for sales of the brand's best-selling model, the Q5, in April 2015, helping to power the small luxury SUV/crossover category to a 58% year-over-year sales increase.

---

Canada Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD
Canada SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD

---

Despite losses from last April's category leader, the Acura RDX, the Range Rover Evoque, Infiniti QX50, and the discontinued Land Rover LR2, Canadian sales of small luxury SUVs increased by 1704 units last month. 

Click Chart To Expand

Like the Q5, the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLK, and Volvo XC60 all posted significant year-over-year improvements in April. The BMW X4, Lexus NX, Lincoln MKC, and Porsche Macan added another 1282 sales that couldn't have existed in April 2014 - they weren't yet on sale. 

The Macan's record-setting April, together with a best-ever month for the Cayenne, pushed Porsche to record high Canadian sales, too.

A smaller trio of upmarket compact utility vehicles jumped 900% thanks to the arrival of the Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA - they weren't available in April 2014 - and a tripling of BMW X1 volume.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly Canadian auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank luxury SUVs and crossovers any which way you like. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.

Click Column Headers To Sort • April 2016 • May 2015 • March 2015 • April 2014

Compact Luxury SUV	April 2015	April 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Audi Q3	325	---	---	1001	---	---
BMW X1	266	89	199%	823	1144	-28.1%
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class	299	---	---	904	---	---
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	890	89	900%	2728	1144	138%

Small Luxury SUV	April 2015	April 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Acura RDX	841	901	-6.7%	2102	2206	-4.7%
Audi Q5	904	685	32.0%	2274	2349	-3.2%
BMW X3	686	474	44.7%	1637	1415	15.7%
BMW X4	190	---	---	428	---	---
Infiniti QX50	173	200	-13.5%	646	677	-4.6%
Land Rover LR2	9	30	-70.0%	51	191	-73.3%
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	76	112	-32.1%	769	538	42.9%
Lexus NX	549	---	---	1628	---	---
Lincoln MKC	278	---	---	823	---	---
Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class	512	406	26.1%	1577	1649	-4.4%
Porsche Macan	265	---	---	516	---	---
Volvo XC60	153	124	23.4%	496	456	8.8%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	4636	2932	58.1%	12,947	9481	36.6%

Midsize Luxury SUV	April 2015	April 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Acura MDX	580	547	6.0%	1578	1776	-11.1%
Acura ZDX	---	---	---	---	5	-100%
Audi Q7	205	225	-8.9%	480	653	-26.5%
BMW X5	475	681	-30.2%	1537	2278	-32.5%
BMW X6	110	15	633%	370	149	148%
Cadillac SRX	744	499	49.1%	1438	1342	7.2%
Infiniti QX60	311	278	11.9%	1135	1227	-7.5%
Infiniti QX70	58	34	70.6%	167	148	12.8%
Land Rover LR4	59	21	181%	181	147	23.1%
Land Rover Range Rover Sport	207	214	-3.3%	805	967	-16.8%
Lexus GX460	64	46	39.1%	243	194	25.3%
Lexus RX	601	711	-15.5%	1996	2324	-14.1%
Lincoln MKT	29	15	93.3%	76	94	-19.1%
Lincoln MKX	131	229	-42.8%	556	850	-34.6%
Mercedes-Benz M-Class	507	487	4.1%	1816	1794	1.2%
Porsche Cayenne	237	222	6.8%	595	675	-11.9%
Volkswagen Touareg *	202	212	-4.7%	719	641	12.2%
Volvo XC70 *	58	40	45.0%	144	174	-17.2%
Volvo XC90	---	19	-100%	---	99	-100%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	4578	4495	1.8%	13,836	15,537	-10.9%

Source: Automakers & Global Automakers Of Canada
* indicates a vehicle which is also shown in another GCBC segment breakdown
GCBC isn't here to break down segments, an impossible task for any group, but to display sales data for the sake of comparison. The more ways sales data can be displayed, the better. This explains you'll see the XC70 listed with luxury cars as well as with SUVs and crossovers and the Touareg with luxury SUVs and mainstream SUVs... because readers have wanted it both ways. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts.

RECOMMENDED READING
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - April 2016 YTD
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - May 2015 YTD
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - March 2015 YTD
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - April 2014 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - April 2015
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - April 2015 YTD
Large Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - April 2015 YTD

Small SUV Sales In Canada - April 2015 YTD

Canadian sales of SUVs and crossovers grew by more than 14% in April 2015, and the 18 vehicles you see in the first list below accounted for 58% of the 64,000 utility vehicles sold in Canada last month.

---

Canada Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD
Canada SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - April 2015 YTD

---

Collectively, because of declines from the Chevrolet Equinox, Dodge Journey, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Jeep Compass, and Subaru Forester, this group of vehicles didn't expand at the same rate as the overall SUV/CUV sector. Yet this is the segment which powers so much of the Canadian auto industry.

Click Chart To Expand

Ford's Escape, for example, is Canada's eighth-best-selling vehicle through the first four months of 2015 and will likely move up the leaderboard in May. Together, the Escape and its two best-selling rivals from Toyota and Honda accounted for 7% of the new vehicles sold in Canada in April. 

As family vehicles, these vehicles are now the normal choice. Canada's midsize car market  generated a piddling 13,000 sales in April, less than the Escape, RAV4, CR-V, and Rogue alone.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly Canadian auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank small SUVs and crossovers any which way you like. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.

Click Column Headers To Sort • April 2016 • May 2015 • March 2015 • April 2014

Small SUVs  & Crossovers	April 2015	April 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Chevrolet Equinox	2156	2507	-14.0%	5693	7199	-20.9%
Dodge Journey	2474	2611	-5.2%	7198	8123	-11.4%
Ford Escape	5020	4821	4.1%	13,378	13,958	-4.2%
GMC Terrain	1233	1180	4.5%	3100	3154	-1.7%
Honda CR-V	3883	3641	6.6%	11,631	10,405	11.8%
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport *	2801	2938	-4.7%	8255	9132	-9.6%
Hyundai Tucson	1774	1606	10.5%	5239	4256	23.1%
Jeep Cherokee	2720	1701	59.9%	7770	5785	34.3%
Jeep Compass	447	643	-30.5%	1044	1878	-44.4%
Jeep Patriot	720	546	31.9%	2674	1680	59.2%
Kia Sorento *	1878	1162	61.6%	5779	3845	50.3%
Kia Sportage	562	541	3.9%	1626	1833	-11.3%
Mazda CX-5	2232	1949	14.5%	6626	5761	15.0%
Mitsubishi Outlander	415	391	6.1%	1463	1725	-15.2%
Nissan Rogue	2918	2653	10.0%	9585	8745	9.6%
Subaru Forester	1132	1227	-7.7%	3463	3958	-12.5%
Toyota RAV4	4185	3119	34.2%	12,397	9806	26.4%
Volkswagen Tiguan	1033	940	9.9%	3463	3076	12.6%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	37,583	34,176	10.0%	110,384	104,319	5.8%

Smallest SUVs & Crossovers	April 2015	April 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Buick Encore *	437	481	-9.1%	1291	1745	-26.0%
Chevrolet Trax *	813	855	-4.9%	1797	2303	-22.0%
Jeep Renegade	180	---	---	181	---	---
Mini Countryman *	111	133	-16.5%	297	499	-40.5%
Mitsubishi RVR *	463	613	-24.5%	1522	1837	-17.1%
Nissan Juke *	458	477	-4.0%	1408	1288	9.3%
Subaru XV Crosstrek *	797	740	7.7%	2333	2089	11.7%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	3259	3299	-1.2%	8829	9761	-9.5%

Offroaders	April 2015	April 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Jeep Wrangler *	2378	2305	3.2%	6509	6342	2.6%
Nissan Xterra *	96	129	-25.6%	311	447	-30.4%
Toyota FJ Cruiser *	1	76	-98.7%	8	279	-97.1%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	2475	2510	-1.4%	6828	7068	-3.4%

Source: Automakers & Global Automakers Of Canada
* vehicle also displayed in another GCBC segment breakdown
GCBC isn't here to break down segments, an impossible task for any group, but to display sales data for the sake of comparison. The more ways sales data can be displayed, the better. This explains why you'll see the Encore and XV Crosstrek are listed with small cars, too, and the tweener-sized Sorento and Santa Fe are shown with midsize SUVs and small SUVs, and the pricey FJ Cruiser and Xterra with midsizers, as well, because readers have wanted it both ways. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts. GCBC has historically shown the Liberty with midsize SUVs but as the Cherokee - truly not midsize inside - replaces the Liberty, proper year-over-year comparison requires seeing the Liberty listed here with these smaller utility vehicles.

RECOMMENDED READING
Small SUV Sales In Canada - April 2016 YTD
Small SUV Sales In Canada - May 2015 YTD
Small SUV Sales In Canada - March 2015 YTD
Small SUV Sales In Canada - April 2014 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - April 2015
Midsize SUV Sales In Canada - April 2015 YTD
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - April 2015 YTD