Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America – May 2012

The Subaru BRZ Wasn’t Really One
Of America’s Worst-Selling Cars In May

Despite a loss of 177 Boxster and 105 Cayman sales, the Porsche brand posted a 1.2% year-over-year U.S. sales increase in May 2012. Of course, the overall new vehicle market improved 26% from May 2011. Of all the vehicles on the market last year which are still actively marketed, no car posted a worse year-over-year decrease than the Boxster. Apart from defunct cars like the Cadillac STS, Lincoln Town Car, Mercedes-Benz R-Class, only the Boxster and Honda CR-Z reported worse year-over-year declines than the Cayman. Give us the new entry-level Porsches already.

Nissan LEAF sales plunged to just 510 in May. Toyota sold 1086 copies of the Prius Plug-In. Chevrolet sold 1680 Volts. The good news for Nissan? LEAF sales were 38% better than in April.

It seems likely that the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ won’t be permanent members of this U.S. worst sellers list. May was the first month Scion and Subaru sold their rear-wheel drive sports car twins. Being on this list isn’t a failure on their part, not at this early stage. Suzuki sold 599 Kizashis, which is bad. Honda’s CR-Z is selling less often now than it did when CR-Zs were apparently already rather rare on dealer forecourts.

All 258 Vehicles Ranked – May 2012 YTD U.S. Sales By Model
Monthly and yearly sales figures for all these models can be accessed through the dropdown menu at GoodCarBadCar’s Sales Stats home. GCBC calculates the worst-selling vehicles in America in three different ways, all of which are visible in the tables below. For a positive spin on U.S. auto sales in May, check out the 30 best-selling vehicles in America.

Rank	Worst-Selling Car By Percentage Decline	% Change	May 2012	May 2011
#1	Porsche Boxster	– 88.5%	23	200
#2	Honda CR-Z	– 81.0%	296	1557
#3	Porsche Cayman	– 80.2%	26	131
#4	Honda Insight	– 64.3%	512	1435
#5	Volkswagen CC	– 59.6%	1607	3979
#6	BMW Z4	– 56.3%	284	650
#7	Nissan LEAF	– 55.3%	510	1142
#8	Nissan Cube	– 51.8%	724	1502
#9	Volvo S80	– 46.9%	365	687
#10	Jaguar XK	– 44.5%	106	191

Rank	Worst-Selling Car By Volume	May 2012	May 2011	% Change
#1	Mitsubishi i MiEV	85	—–	—–
#2	Scion FR-S	86	—–	—–
#3	Subaru Tribeca	165	184	– 10.3%
#4	Suzuki Equator	186	174	+ 6.9%
#5	Subaru BRZ	271	—–	—–
#6	Honda CR-Z	296	1557	– 81.0%
#7	Suzuki Grand Vitara	474	378	+ 25.4%
#8	Nissan LEAF	510	1142	– 55.3%
#9	Honda Insight	512	1435	– 64.3%
#10	Suzuki Kizashi	599	622	– 3.7%

Rank	Worst-Selling Car By Volume (All Vehicles)	May 2012	May 2011	% Change
#1	Lexus LFA	3	—–	—–
#2	Porsche Boxster	23	200	– 88.5%
#3	Porsche Cayman	26	131	– 80.2%
#4	Acura RL	50	58	– 13.8%
#5	Mercedes-Benz CL-Class	56	68	– 17.6%
#6	Mercedes-Benz G-Class	68	109	– 37.6%
#7	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	83	21	+ 295%
#8	Acura ZDX	84	128	– 34.4%
#9	Mitsubishi i MiEV	85	—–	—–
#10	Scion FR-S	86	—–	—–

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Vehicle must have been on sale in May, must not have been officially cancelled by its manufacturer, and must have been showcased on manufacturer’s website in May. GoodCarBadCar has decided the Chevrolet Caprice PPV (313 sales in May) is no longer eligible.