Small Car Sales In America – March 2016 YTD

While the class-leading Honda Civic posted a substantial 22% year-over-year U.S. sales increase, March 2016 sales of compact cars tumbled 11%. The daily selling rate – March 2016 had two additional selling days compared with March 2015 – plunged 18%, a loss of 1500 sales per day in the category.

The new, tenth-generation Civic is, as expected, riding high. March presented a close race. The Toyota Corolla’s 8% decline was necessary in order for Honda to claim a narrow 299-unit victory. 

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

But it’s not difficult to see the Civic’s impact on rival top sellers. As Honda added 20,581 first-quarter sales in 2016, Toyota lost 6468 Corolla sales, Ford lost 2779 Focus sales, Mazda lost 5171 3 sales, and Volkswagen lost 3340 Jetta sales. 

The declines reported by the Chevrolet Cruze and Hyundai Elantra relate as much to the transition period for those two models – both are entering new generations – as they do to the overarching decline in interest in the category. 

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With the second-generation Cruze launch taking longer than expected and a complete loss of fleet sales in March, Cruze volume plunged 58%. 

Subtract the Cruze and Elantra from the overall compact equation and compact car volume grew by 0.5% in March.

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 • March 2017 • April 2016 • February 2016 • March 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 – March 2017
Small Car Sales In America – April 2016
Small Car Sales In America – February 2016
Small Car Sales In America – March 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – March 2016
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – March 2016
Midsize Car Sales In America – March 2016