2019 U.S Small Car Sales Analysis
Report Updated: With all 2019 Sales Data on January 3rd, 2020
Top Level US Reports: By Manufacturer / By Brand / By Model / Best Sellers
Small car sales in the U.S. struggled in the month of December and in the entire year of 2019. This should come as no surprise. The segment has struggled for the last several years and will likely continue to do so as time moves on.
The segment saw about 30,000 fewer sales in the month of December than it did in the same month in 2018. When you look at the annual sales numbers, you’ll see that it was down a whopping 186,000 sales.
The car the led the pack for the year was the Honda Civic. Despite its leading numbers, the model saw sales decline both in the month of December and in 2019 as a whole. That car was followed by the Toyota Corolla, which saw sales drop for the month but saw sales rise less than a percent for the year. In third place, was the Nissan Sentra, which saw dramatic sales declines in both the month of December and for 2019.
There’s no reason to assume that small cars will be able to turn things around in 2020. We fully expect sales to continue to slip.
Note: FCA US LLC will end its practice of reporting U.S. and Canada sales on a monthly basis following June results. FCA US and FCA Canada will report monthly sales for May and June. The first quarterly report will occur on October 1, 2019, covering the months of July, August, and September.
US Best Selling Small Cars Last Month
This data table looks at last month’s total small car sales volumes in the United States by model. We compare U.S market small car model sales for last month with the same month last year. We also include the year to date sales numbers and compare with the same year to date numbers from last year. With both monthly and YTD sales numbers we have a growth rate column so you can better gauge an individual small car models sales success in the U.S market.
| Model | Month | Month LY | Change | YTD | YTD LY | YTD Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazda 3 | 3,175 | 5,277 | -39.83 | 50,741 | 64,638 | -21.50 |
| Fiat 500 | 230 | 418 | -44.98 | 3,267 | 5,370 | -39.16 |
| Fiat 500L | 55 | 39 | 41.03 | 772 | 1,413 | -45.36 |
| Hyundai Accent | 2,311 | 3,830 | -39.66 | 25,628 | 29,090 | -11.90 |
| Volkswagen Beetle | 712 | 917 | -22.36 | 17,215 | 14,411 | 19.46 |
| Honda Civic | 22,913 | 26,384 | -13.16 | 325,650 | 325,760 | -0.03 |
| Mini Cooper | 1,614 | 1,619 | -0.31 | 22,123 | 26,119 | -15.30 |
| Toyota Corolla | 23,742 | 25,439 | -6.67 | 304,850 | 303,732 | 0.37 |
| Chevrolet Cruze | 889 | 11,128 | -92.01 | 47,975 | 142,618 | -66.36 |
| Dodge Dart | 1 | 2 | -50.00 | 16 | 389 | -95.89 |
| Hyundai Elantra | 18,720 | 15,076 | 24.17 | 175,094 | 200,415 | -12.63 |
| Ford Fiesta | 2,409 | 4,309 | -44.09 | 60,148 | 51,730 | 16.27 |
| Honda Fit | 2,609 | 768 | 239.71 | 35,414 | 35,030 | 1.10 |
| Kia Forte | 7,709 | 7,709 | 0.00 | 95,683 | 101,890 | -6.09 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 2,664 | 2,425 | 9.86 | 37,393 | 42,271 | -11.54 |
| Subaru Impreza | 5,740 | 5,880 | -2.38 | 66,415 | 76,400 | -13.07 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 8,164 | 10,261 | -20.44 | 100,453 | 90,794 | 10.64 |
| Mitsubishi Mirage | 1,753 | 1,748 | 0.29 | 26,966 | 24,316 | 10.90 |
| Kia Rio | 1,692 | 1,608 | 5.22 | 24,509 | 22,975 | 6.68 |
| Nissan Sentra | 11,033 | 17,567 | -37.19 | 184,618 | 213,046 | -13.34 |
| Chevrolet Sonic | 1,100 | 934 | 17.77 | 13,970 | 20,613 | -32.23 |
| Kia Soul | 6,713 | 10,128 | -33.72 | 97,814 | 104,709 | -6.58 |
| Chevrolet Spark | 3,627 | 1,747 | 107.61 | 31,280 | 23,603 | 32.53 |
| Hyundai Veloster | 712 | 1,161 | -38.67 | 12,849 | 10,871 | 18.20 |
| Nissan Versa | 3,265 | 6,735 | -51.52 | 66,596 | 75,809 | -12.15 |
| Toyota Yaris | 932 | 1,252 | -25.56 | 21,916 | 27,209 | -19.45 |
| ∑ = 134,484 | ∑ = 164,361 | ∑ = 1,849,355 | ∑ = 2,035,221 |
US Quarterly Small Car Sales Numbers
This data table looks at quarterly sales performance for the small car segment in the United States. It includes all major small car models sold in the U.S market. We compare last quarter’s small car U.S sales at the model level with the same small car model sales quarter last year. We also include a growth rate too so you can see which small car models are growing and which ones are declining. The quarterly view of small car sales at the model level often gives you a better picture of what is happening than monthly because it takes out some of the month to month noise.
US Small Car Sales by Month (All Models)
This sales data table looks at monthly sales performance for the small car segment in the United States on a month to month basis for the entire year so far. It includes all major small car models sold in the U.S market and you can see that the monthly small car sales trends clearly. Seeing the individual small car model sales performance in this way gives you a good sense of the momentum (good or bad).