Small Car Sales, Midsize Car Sales, Large Car Sales In America – May 2012

U.S. Small Car Sales Chart
Click Chart For A Larger View

Car & Driver insists Honda is in deep trouble, and writer Dave Mable makes some good points. Honda’s current lineup leaves much to be desired. But the Civic is still the Civic, and Civics are wildly popular in America. It’s not just an up-83%-in-May-2012-after-a-bad-May-2011 kind of thing. U.S. Civic sales are up 23% this year compared with the first five months of 2011 when, in fact, Civic sales had risen 2.8%.

Honda small car success is not guaranteed. The Fit, a car many in the industry believe to be better than the Civic at actually being a Honda, is down 33% this year. May 2012 Fit sales slid 35%. Combined, Honda sold 37,369 Civics and Fits. Ford sold 30,849 Foci and Fiestas. Toyota sold 35,368 Corollas, Matrices, and Yari. Korea’s two deeply connected manufacturers, Hyundai and Kia, found 46,990 buyers for the Accent, Elantra, Forte, Rio, and Soul. Toyota, it should be said, also sold 3771 non-FR-S Scions and 3693 Prius C hatchbacks, taking Toyota May 2012 U.S. small car total up to 42,832.

U.S. Midsize Car Sales Chart

Honda’s aging midsizer wasn’t the class leader in May, but the Toyota Camry was the only midsize car to sell more often in May. Accord sales jumped 75%; Camry sales more than doubled from May of last year when supply was terribly restricted. The Chrysler 200, Dodge Avenger, Honda Crosstour, Kia Optima, and Mazda 6 reported huge year-over-year increases, as well. None compared to the Volkswagen Passat’s 1,017,700% jump. Volkswagen sold one Passat in May 2011.

After ending 2011 6563 sales behind the Dodge Charger, May was the first time in 2012 that the Ford Taurus outsold either the Charger or Chrysler 300. Indeed, the Taurus outsold both cars last month as a result of its 24% jump. The Taurus even sold well in large car-averse Canada, where sales jumped 339% in May.

U.S. Large Car Sales Chart

According to Automotive News, passenger car sales increased 24% in May compared with the same period a year earlier. Cars carried more than their fair share of the load, accounting for 52% of the overall market.

Historical monthly and yearly sales figures for these cars and every other automobile on sale in North America can be accessed through the first dropdown menu at GoodCarBadCar’s Sales Stats home or at the top right of this page. The three accompanying charts, which you can click in order to gain a larger view, rank these small, midsize, and large cars by volume, rather than alphabetically as the tables do after the jump.

Small Car	May 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Buick Verano	3609	—–	11,578	—–
Chevrolet Sonic/Aveo	7210	+ 58.9%	35,508	+ 104%
Chevrolet Cruze	19,613	– 13.6%	94,901	– 3.2%
Dodge Caliber	1341	– 66.5%	7987	– 54.6%
Fiat 500	4003	+ 128%	16,702	+ 432%
Ford Fiesta	6080	– 14.6%	26,737	– 26.9%
Ford Focus	24,769	+ 11.1%	110,237	+ 43.8%
Honda Civic	33,490	+ 82.6%	135,082	+ 22.7%
Honda Fit	3879	– 34.5%	19,706	– 33.2%
Hyundai Accent	6166	+ 303%	30,810	+ 51.0%
Hyundai Elantra	18,877	– 5.6%	80,114	– 3.8%
Kia Forte	7782	– 4.3%	33,339	– 4.3%
Kia Rio	4019	+ 59.5%	18,728	+ 87.7%
Kia Soul	10,146	– 9.1%	53,436	+ 22.4%
Mazda 2	901	– 21.1%	9213	+ 44.9%
Mazda 3	8474	– 3.6%	50,692	+ 18.1%
Mini Cooper	4377	+ 7.0%	18,623	+ 4.2%
Mitsubishi i MiEV	85	—–	300	—–
Mitsubishi Lancer	1405	– 34.7%	6966	– 17.9%
Nissan Cube	724	– 51.8%	3374	– 66.9%
Nissan Sentra	7600	– 1.3%	46,773	– 18.0%
Nissan Versa	8643	+ 80.3%	52,173	+ 25.6%
Scion iQ	897	—–	4382	—–
Scion xB	1855	+ 57.5%	8337	+ 7.5%
Scion xD	1019	+ 19.3%	4485	– 2.1%
smart fortwo	703	+ 42.9%	3731	+ 67.6%
Subaru Impreza	8311	+ 218%	40,383	+ 120%
Suzuki SX4	1101	– 1.0%	5296	+ 7.0%
Toyota Corolla/Matrix	31,847	+ 87.5%	125,079	+ 6.1%
Toyota Yaris	3521	+ 108%	17,964	+ 74.6%
Volkswagen Beetle	3002	+ 74,950%	9740	+ 837%
Volkswagen Golf	3878	+ 11.1%	16,790	+ 16.1%
Volkswagen Jetta	15,175	– 9.0%	69,599	– 6.8%

Midsize Car	May 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Buick Regal	2550	– 40.0%	12,502	– 32.3%
Chevrolet Malibu	29,579	+ 15.5%	110,035	+ 11.1%
Chevrolet Volt	1680	+ 249%	7057	+ 223%
Chrysler 200	13,250	+ 85.3%	58,231	+ 111%
Dodge Avenger	10,682	+ 92.7%	43,458	+ 74.8%
Ford Fusion	26,857	+ 8.9%	112,416	+ 1.4%
Honda Accord	29,737	+ 74.7%	126,254	+ 13.3%
Honda Crosstour	2015	+ 72.7%	7137	– 17.5%
Honda Insight	512	– 64.3%	3547	– 65.0%
Hyundai Sonata	20,765	– 8.7%	96,481	+ 0.1%
Kia Optima	13,364	+ 79.8%	59,765	+ 103%
Mazda 6	2294	+ 40.0%	23,959	+ 76.1%
Mitsubishi Galant	1895	+ 31.3%	9092	– 5.3%
Nissan Altima	22,690	– 11.1%	135,289	+ 20.5%
Nissan LEAF	510	– 55.3%	2613	+ 20.6%
Subaru Legacy	4462	+ 23.3%	20,378	+ 14.4%
Subaru Outback	9192	+ 9.0%	44,800	+ 3.4%
Suzuki Kizashi	599	– 3.7%	2494	– 21.9%
Toyota Camry	39,571	+ 110%	181,796	+ 44.2%
Toyota Prius	21,477	+ 210%	107,504	+ 72.9%
Toyota Venza	3608	+ 12.5%	15,293	+ 5.0%
Volkswagen Passat	10,178	+ 1,017,700%	44,813	+ 20,456%
Volkswagen CC	1607	– 59.6%	6898	– 47.7%

Large Car	May 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Buick LaCrosse	5663	+ 18.6%	23,686	+ 1.4%
Buick Lucerne	34	– 98.5%	922	– 92.9%
Chevrolet Impala	15,879	– 5.0%	81,221	– 7.0%
Chrysler 300	6101	+ 140%	33,830	+ 203%
Dodge Charger	6735	– 14.0%	37,231	+ 21.6%
Ford Taurus	7783	+ 24.0%	29,893	+ 10.7%
Hyundai Azera	1053	+ 558%	2165	+ 148%
Nissan Maxima	4565	+ 6.3%	25,499	+ 16.0%
Toyota Avalon	1959	– 7.3%	14,883	+ 32.1%

Source: Manufacturers
Five of the Sonic/Aveos sold in May were Aveos; 53 year-to-date. Prius Sales: 13,053 Liftback plus 1086 Plug-In equal 14,139 Prius sales without the Prius V or Prius C, which sold 3645 and 3693 times, respectively, in May 2012.