November saw record-breaking results and numbers could continue to go up
November is historically a quiet time for new-car sales, but 1.32 million vehicles found new homes last month, making it the best November since 2011. Indeed, 2015 new-car sales just kept on truckin’, with automakers now thinking the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for the year is on pace for 17 million-plus; they also predict that number could stay steady or grow in the next two years. Toyota vice president Bob Carter is bullish, for example – he thinks there could be another 22 to 24 months at this level.
As usual, the raw numbers only tell part of the story; there always a few strange figures shedding light on who’s buying what.
Here are five surprising facts from November’s new car sales:
2016 Buick Encore
The best-selling Buick in America continues to be a Korean crossover – and by quite a margin. In November, Buick moved 5,133 Encores, its compact crossover built in Bupyeong, South Korea. Crossover mania continues with sales up 17 percent this year. We wouldn’t be surprised if they pass both compact and midsize cars combined next year.
Toyota Avalon
Speaking of cars, good as the newest full-size sedans are, they continue to wither on the vine. The Toyota Avalon was down 10.6 percent, the Chevy Impala 15.3 percent, Buick LaCrosse down 16.3 … you get the picture. Any bright spots? The Dodge Charger is up 0.4 percent on the year. Other hot sedans include the Chrysler 200 (up a whopping 67.4 percent), Dodge Dart (up 4.8 percent), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (up 18.3 percent) and BMW 3-Series (up 5.5 percent).
2016 Ford F-150 Limited
We’re still in love with the pickup truck: sales are up 9.5 percent. The usual suspects — Ram, Ford F-Series and GM full size pickups — continue to lead. In total, automakers have moved almost 2.3 million full-size pickups in 2015. Think of it this way: Every month Ford sells more F-Series pickups than cars – every model it builds — combined. Just in November, Ford sold 65,192 F-Series, compared to 45,986 of all of its cars. Midsize pickups are no slouch either, with sales up 17 percent.
The party continues in December. Can SAAR crack a whopping 18 million? Watch this space.
