U.S. Auto Sales By Brand – December 2011

Auto sales figures, both December’s and 2011’s as a whole, for manufacturers attempting to sell cars in the United States are listed in the table below.

Ford ended December as America’s best-selling automaker with 16% gains. Chevrolet trailed by a little less than 40,000 sales. Toyota’s year-over-year improvement stands in stark contrast to the 19.3% drop at Honda, a drop which was accompanied by a 15.2% drop at Honda’s premium Acura division. Only Porsche and Saab fell harder.

The Chrysler Group found Christmas joy in Dodge/Ram’s 20% bump, Jeep’s 41% increase, and Chrysler’s 83% climb. Fiat sold 2325 500s in December, a 44% improvement from November’s tally.

It seems likely that numerous NBA wives were buying their boys Bentleys for Christmas presents. 17% of all Bentleys bought in America in 2011 were acquired in December. The twelfth month, like all the other months, represents just 8% of the calendar. Only 6% of all Porsches acquired in 2011 were picked up in December. With a new 911 coming and poor supply of Porsche’s two entry-level sports cars, December was not a fine time for Porsche acquisitions.

Interesting though this table may be, at this time of year it’s all about the final standings. The 2011 wrap-up can be viewed here.

Updated 01.05.2012 @ 1:44 PM AST – all automakers reporting

Rank	Automaker	December 2011	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Ford	201,044	+ 15.7%	2,057,210	+ 17.4%
#2	Chevrolet	161,158	+ 8.9%	1,775,812	+ 13.4%
#3	Toyota	148,617	+ 1.8%	1,396,838	– 6.2%
#4	Honda	92,101	– 19.3%	1,023,986	– 6.6%
#5	Nissan	89,937	+ 10.7%	944,073	+ 17.3%
#6	Dodge/Ram	68,143	+ 20.3%	708,650	+ 18.8%
#7	Hyundai	50,765	+ 13.3%	645,691	+ 20.0%
#8	Jeep	43,577	+ 41.0%	419,349	+ 44.0%
#9	Kia	43,390	+ 42.5%	485,492	+ 36.3%
#10	GMC	41,960	– 0.5%	397,986	+ 18.8%
#11	Subaru	33,701	+ 26.2%	266,989	+ 1.2%
#12	Volkswagen	32,502	+ 36.2%	324,402	+ 26.3%
#13	Mercedes-Benz	27,296	+ 27.1	261,808	+ 16.4%
#14	BMW	26,834	+ 15.3%	247,907	+ 12.6%
#15	Lexus	25,255	– 8.0%	198,552	– 13.4%
#16	Chrysler	23,974	+ 82.6%	221,346	+ 12.1%
#17	Mazda	22,353	+ 4.1%	250,426	+ 9.1%
#18	Cadillac	16,259	– 2.7%	152,389	+ 3.7%
#19	Buick	14,974	– 12.4%	177,633	+ 14.3%
#20	Acura	13,129	– 15.2%	123,299	– 7.7%
#21	Audi	12,655	+ 20.0%	117,561	+ 15.7%
#22	Infiniti	10,990	– 12.1%	98,461	– 4.8%
#23	Lincoln	8403	+ 4.3%	85,643	– 0.2%
#24	Mini	5711	+ 32.2%	57,511	+ 26.0%
#25	Volvo	5342	+ 12.3%	67,240	+ 24.6%
#26	Mitsubishi	5032	+ 3.2%	79,020	+ 41.9%
#27	Land Rover	4743	+ 28.4%	38,099	+ 19.6%
#28	Scion	4159	+ 5.1%	49,271	+ 7.9%
#29	Suzuki	2565	– 3.1%	26,618	+ 10.9%
#30	Fiat	2325	—–	19,769	—–
#31	Porsche	1834	– 28.6%	29,023	+ 14.6%
#32	Jaguar	1137	– 3.6%	12,276	– 8.0%
#33	smart	710	+ 24.6%	5208	– 12.1%
#34	Bentley	317	+ 60.9%	1877	+ 31.3%
#35	Saab	270	– 74.9%	5610	+ 16.0%
#36	Maserati	238	+ 32.2%	2321	+ 22.4%

Source: Automakers, Automotive News Data Center & @CountingCars
Red font indicates declining year-over-year sales, bold indicates a so-called premium brand