Five Highlights from August 2015 U.S. Auto Sales

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Automakers sold 1.57 million cars in August bringing the total to 11.6 million so far this year. While August sales were flat versus last year, the industry is up four percent year to date and is on track to reach a hefty 17.7 million by the year’s end. This month, using data from WardsAuto, we’ve taken a look at five vehicle segments, some of which are growing rapidly while others that remain stuck in neutral.

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Small Crossovers Are Exploding in Popularity
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Compact crossovers are this segment’s shale rock, minus the whole drilling and injecting chemicals underground thing. It’s a highly lucrative and mostly untapped market, since automakers had long assumed Americans wouldn’t buy downsized versions of this popular body style. In August, 84,793 baby ‘utes left showrooms—a 64-percent increase over last year. That’s compared to 13 percent growth for crossovers overall. The Subaru XV Crosstrek, a jacked-up version of the Impreza hatchback, led with 8799 sold last month. But, taken together, three Jeep models own this space. After just months on sale, the new Renegade did 8156, or eight times what its Fiat 500X platform-mate achieved. Renegade fever is even spilling over to the older small Jeeps: The Compass shot up 58 percent and the Patriot rose 21 percent. Another newcomer, the Honda HR-V, cleared 4000 sales per month, but still trails the Chevy Trax (at almost 6000), the Buick Encore (6286), Hyundai Tucson (6609), and Kia Sportage (5749). Even at a higher price point, demand is still strong; witness the BMW X1 (2317) and the Mercedes-Benz GLA (2169). Where this segment settles out, nobody knows.

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Meanwhile, Among the Real Wagons…

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Honest-to-God, sedan-based station wagons are still breathing—barely. There are only seven wagons on offer, all of which combined only sold roughly 15,000 cars last month. The Subaru Outback comprised the vast majority of that total, at 11,113. VW was next up, with its new Golf Sportwagen at 2478 (plus 110 leftover Jetta Sportwagens). Mercedes-Benz and BMW don’t break out wagon sales, but if we use a conservative three-percent take rate based on past data, roughly 120 people chose an E350 wagon and 400 picked up a 3-series Sports Wagon. The Audi Allroad, with 202 sold, was down 66 percent while the Volvo XC70 faired better at 445 (although down 19 percent). The new V60 Cross Country has helped that model’s sales increase by 31 percent to 562. But with the Cadillac CTS and Acura TSX out of the picture, can this segment truly last in America? We’ve certainly done our part to promote the wagon lifestyle.

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Midsize Pickups Are Picking Up

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In August, the four midsize pickups (plus a handful of discontinued Honda Ridgelines) totaled 29,416 sales—that’s strong growth, up 31 percent in August and 49 percent year-to-date. (Which suggests that Ford should pull the trigger on the new Ranger.) More than half of those sales went to the Toyota Tacoma, which still dominates the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon (9537 combined) despite its gray hairs. The redesigned Tacoma, an upcoming new Nissan Frontier, a new Ridgeline, and—should it appear—a new Ranger could easily double or even triple this segment’s performance in the next year or two.

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Minivans Hold a Dim Candle

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Minivans were down 14 percent last month, with 44,487 sales split among six models. Despite Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s insistence on axing the Dodge Grand Caravan, 9209 families took one home compared to 7403 for the Chrysler Town & Country (although both sunk several thousand units). The new Kia Sedona, to no surprise, took the biggest leap, up more than 200 percent at 2545 sales. We almost forgot Nissan made the funny-looking Quest—just of those 658 slipped out. Perhaps most telling is what Honda, which topped the segment with 13,423 sales and a moderate seven-percent growth, thinks about why more people choose a Pilot over an Odyssey. “They probably should have bought an Odyssey,” product planner James Jenkins said at a recent launch. “But we know they don’t want a minivan.”

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• Five Highlights from July 2015 U.S. Car Sales

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• Mazda CX-3 vs. Fiat 500X, Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Chevrolet Trax, Kia Soul

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• 2015 Honda Odyssey Elite vs. 2015 Kia Sedona SXL, 2015 Toyota Sienna Limited

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Large Commercial Vans Continue Growth Spurt

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In May, Ford posted its highest commercial van sales in 37 years. That momentum has carried into August with the Blue Oval accounting for more than half of this segment’s 27,176 sales (including 3823 Econoline chassis and cutaway models that aren’t technically sold as vans). The Euro-trendy Ford Transits are handily outselling the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana by 63 percent. As a whole, all the big vans achieved a 10-percent increase for August. Mirroring the Nissan Quest’s bottom-of-the-barrel results among minivans, the Nissan NV was the least popular full-size commercial van both in August and year to date.

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