Small Car Sales In America – May 2016 YTD

U.S. sales of compact cars fell 10% in May 2016, a decline not solely attributable to an abbreviated sales month. The auto sales calendar in May 2016 didn’t begin until May 3, so there were two fewer “selling days” in May 2016 than there were in May 2015. But that only accounts for 7.7% of the May decline.

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model – May 2016 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model – May 2016 YTD

Yet while sales of virtually every compact car declined in May, the Kia Forte jumped 15% and America’s second-best-selling car, the Honda Civic, posted a 3% increase. As a result, the new Civic’s share of the compact car market grew from 15.3% in May 2015 to 17.6% in May 2016. Year-to-date, through five months, the Civic’s share of the compact category jumped from 13.6% to 17.7%.

Worthy of note: in May, the daily selling rate of the Mazda 3, Nissan Sentra, Subaru Impreza, and Toyota Corolla all increased.
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Among subcompact cars, the Nissan Versa’s 20% increase and the Hyundai Accent’s 23% improvement caused the duo to earn 43% of all subcompact sales. Their rivals, new Scion iA excluded, all posted year-over-year declines in May 2016. Chevrolet Sonic sales tumbled 67%. 

It was also common in May to see sales of niche market small cars – Fiat 500, Mini Cooper, Smart Fortwo, Volkswagen Beetle, and others – take hard hits as the U.S. market veers away from cars in general. Overall U.S. auto sales declined 6% in May, which equaled a daily sales rate increase. But overall U.S. passenger car volume tumbled 16%.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly U.S. auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC’s Sales Stats page. These tables are sortable, so you can rank small cars of all kinds 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 • June 2016 • April 2016 • May 2015

Source: Automakers & ANDC
* 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 SUVs, too, and the Acura ILX shown with mainstream cars is also displayed with luxury cars… 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 Car Sales In America – June 2016
Small Car Sales In America – April 2016
Small Car Sales In America – May 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – May 2016
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – May 2016
Midsize Car Sales In America – May 2016