Still a positive September but it was close. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Oct. 3, 2017 2018 AWD Subaru XV Crosstrek 2.0i Premium with CVT ($1,000) and EyeSight Driver Assist Technology ($1,395) starts at $25,905 including the $915 D&H charge. Owners receive a compact CUV with a 27/33 mpg city/highway rating. 2018 Subaru XV Crosstrek The 2018 XV Crosstrek when equipped with the optional EyeSight Driver Assist and LED Steering Responsive Headlights just received the 2017 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The 2018 XV Crosstrek achieved the highest possible rating of “Good” within the front small overlap, front moderate overlap, side impact, roof crush, and rear impact crash testing by the IIHS. The EyeSight received a “Superior” rating in the Institute’s front crash prevention testing. Subaru September 2017 Sales Overview Subaru sold a record 55,120 vehicles in September, up 0.4 percent over the 54,918 sold in September of 2016. While it was the 43rd consecutive month of 40,000+ vehicle and 70th consecutive monthly sales increase, on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis, 26 selling days in Sept. of 2017 vs 25 in Sept. of 2016, sales were down 3.5 percent. This is surely making the Subaru sales team a bit nervous about U.S. October sales results. YTD sales of 478,848 were up 7.2 percent over the 446,887 sold through the same period of 2016. On a DSR basis, one more selling day in 2017 compared to 2016, YTD sales were also up 6.7 percent. The brands Crosstrek and Impreza models were on fire achieving their best respective September sales result in the AWD automakers history. XV Crosstrek September sales of 12,491 was up 51.2 percent over the 8,261 sold in September of 2016. YTD sales of 76,814 were up 11.6 percent over the 68,810 sold during the same period of 2016. September 2017 Top 10 Items of Note: RAM Pickups moved back ahead of the RAV4 and the Rogue is picking off where it left off a few months before with a strong September showing. The Corolla which fell out of the Top 10 last month moved back into the 8th spot in September while the Equinox fell from the Top 10 last month. U.S. Automobile Sept. 2017 vs. Sept. 2016 Market Share results September 2017 Market Share items of note: GM and Toyota gained 0.9 and 1.1 percent respectively which appears to have come from FCA which fell a steep 2.0 percent. Hyundai was down 1.1 percent due to the previously discussed fleet sales reductions. The outlier although by an almost insignificant amount at negative .2 percent was Subaru. All vs. August of 2016. September 2017 B and C-Segment Top 10 Sales and Rankings B and C-Segment sales items of note: The B-segment sales champ Nissan Versa continues to be unchallenged. Just as the all-new 2018 Hyundai Accent is being readied for public purchase, incentive to move the outgoing model appears to have kicked into high gear a that model went from 6th, to 5th, to 2nd over the last three months. Within the C-segment, the Civic continues to dominate. Elantra is off significantly for reasons mentioned previously while the VW Jetta is making a comeback moving up a spot in each of the last three months. The biggest news is that for the first time in forever, the Mazda3 was knocked off the C-Segment Top 10! It was replaced by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Wow! September 2017 D and Utility Segment Top 10 Sales and Rankings D-segment sales items of note: The all-new 8th gen Toyota Camry continues to sit on top of the D-segment sales charts. The all-new 2018 Accord will reach showrooms soon which should show if the Accord has what it takes. The aging Altima continues to experience significant sales declines. Besides the intense competition from both the new Camry and Accord, I suspect Nissan like the rest of the majors are pulling back on fleet sales to pull up residuals. Hyundai's refreshed Sonata fell behind the Kia Optima. I was not expecting that despite the Optima being a great looking midsize that does not garner the respect it deserves. Utility sales items of note: The Toyota RAV4 like the Camry owns this segment while Rogue achieved enough momentum to push the CR-V back into 3rd. September 2017 Pickup Segment Top 10 Sales and Rankings Pickup sales items of note: The F-series achieved > 80,000 vehicles sold for the second time this year. GM’s overall truck sales (Silverado, Sierra, Colorado, and Canyon) outsold Ford by 5,233 vehicles. Although Titan sales continue to hold onto the 9th spot, the September and YTD volumes compared to 2016 are up significantly. September 2017 Electrified Segments Top 10 Sales and Rankings Electrified sales items of note: The September surprise standout is the Fusion Hybrid outselling both the Toyota Prius and the hot Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. The Prius has never been in the third spot in the hybrid segment. Ever! The Kia Niro continues to hold onto its 2,500+ vehicle sales per month while the Accord Hybrid is closing in. The largest percentage increase was the Highlander Hybrid while the all-new Camry Hybrid moved ahead of it taking the 6th spot. On the plug-in front, the Sonata PHEV inched into the Top 10 while the Audi e-tron fell off. U.S. Sept. 2017 Sales vs. Sept. 2016 Sales Ranks and Results for the top 18 Automobile Manufacturers GM U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 11.9% with 279,397 Vehicles Sold Toyota U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 14.9% with 226,632 Vehicles Sold Ford U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 8.7% with 222,248 Vehicles Sold FCA U.S. September 2017 Sales Down 9.7% with 174,266 Vehicles Sold Honda U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 6.8% with 142,722 Vehicles Sold Nissan U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 9.5% with 139,932 Vehicles Sold Hyundai U.S. September 2017 Sales Down 15.5% with 55,271 Vehicles Sold Subaru U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 0.4% with 55,120 Vehicles Sold Kia U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 6.6% with 52,468 Vehicles Sold Mercedes-Benz U.S. September 2017 Sales Down 2.2% with 32,337 Vehicles Sold VW U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 33.2% with 32,112 Vehicles Sold BMW U.S. September 2017 Sales Down 0.4% with 29,307 Vehicles Sold Mazda U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 3.4% with 25,738 Vehicles Sold Audi U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 9.6% with 19,308 Vehicles Sold Jaguar/Land Rover U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 16.9% with 9,703 Vehicles Sold Mitsubishi U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 17.2% with 8,430 Vehicles Sold Volvo U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 40.7% with 7,990 Vehicles Sold Porsche U.S. September 2017 Sales Up 12.9% with 5,059 Vehicles Sold Sept. U.S Auto Manufacturers Sales Items of Note: Subaru fell behind Hyundai despite a positive sales month. The AWD brand is closing in on the first monthly decline in years and I am hearing on the radio $5k off on some models in San Diego to help October sales going forward. Mercedes-Benz edged out VW which in turn moved ahead of BMW for 10th, 11th, and 12th spot respectively. 2017 vs 2016 U.S. Monthly Auto Industry Sales Totals January 2017 (+.01 million): 1.14 million vs 1.13 million sold in January of 2016 February 2017 (-.01 million): 1.32 million vs 1.33 million sold in February of 2016 March 2017 (-.05 million): 1.54 million vs 1.59 million sold in March of 2016 April 2017 (-.06 million): 1.44 million vs. 1.50 million sold in April of 2016 May 2017 (+.06 million): 1.52 million vs. 1.46 million sold in May of 2016 June 2017 (-.05 million): 1.46 million vs. 1.51 million sold in June of 2016 July 2017 (-.11 million): 1.41 million vs. 1.52 million sold in July of 2016 August 2017 (-.03 million): 1.48 million vs 1.51 million sold in August of 2016 September 2017 (+.09 million): 1.52 million vs 1.43 million sold in September of 2016 September 2017 U.S. Automotive industry sales of 1.52 million was up 6.3 percent vs. the 1.43 million sold in September of 2016. On a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis, September sales was up 2.2 percent given there were 26 selling days in September of 2017 vs. 25 in September of 2016. A pretty good showing and positive sign as the previous three months of declines has been broken. Vehicle replacements to cover Hurricane Harvey and Irma’s devastation should help sales going forward. September 2017 sales YTD of 12.84 million vehicles was down 1.6 percent from the 13.05 million sold through the same period of 2016. There were 230 selling days in 2017 and 229 selling days in 2016 leading to a 2.0 percent fall off on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis. September 2017 automotive industry seasonally annual adjusted rate (SAAR) exceeded 18 million on volume of 1.52 million vehicles. Annual SAAR continues to point towards 17 million vehicles, possibly making 2017 the third consecutive year in which the industry will reach that milestone.
My brother and his wife are considering one of these. Will have to report in with findings if he does
Mom , maybe you can take it for a test drive with them. I'm curious about Subaru's . never owned or even drove one.
