Alfa Romeo Global Sales (Model) : 2017-18

The then FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne predicted that Alfa Romeo sales would reach 400,000 by 2018, approximately 150,000 in North America. It was hard to see how such a surge in sales could be achieved. A couple of automotive analysts came up with 220,000 and 250,000. Premium car buyers are more conservative and less likely to brand hop than mainstream buyers so the predictions looked optimistic.

That is how it transpired. The two sedans have done nothing like expected, not helped by customers turning away from that body style anyway. The new Stelvio SUV is doing OK, but again short of expectation based on the above mentioned predictions. 119,000 sales and a 9% increase in 2018 were what actually occurred.

		Model	2,018	%	+/-	2,017	%
		Stelvio	46,087	38.7%	112%	21,739	20.0%
		Giulia	34,304	28.8%	-9%	38,544	35.4%
		Giulietta	27,997	23.5%	-20%	34,996	32.1%
		MiTo	9,839	8.3%	-19%	12,147	11.2%
		4C	963	0.8%	-36%	1,505	1.4%
		Total	119,190		9%	108,931

Alfa's situation isn't helped by a lack of a true global presence. Over a third of the total sales comes from Italy and that is an over dependence on one market. 69% of sales are in Europe and if you add North America, that comes to 90%. China has been a very important market for most premium marques, but Alfa Romeo only sold about 5,500 units there in 2018. 

Summary: It's tough carving out a place in the premium segment. Brand cachet is so important and establishing that takes patience. Taking sales away from other marques is a long haul undertaking. Alfa Romeo has increased its sales, but money needs to be spent widening the range, especially SUVs. Has FCA got the money and patience to do that? 

I'd like to see FCA get involved with another manufacturer regarding AR. The Jaguar marque is one I see strong similarities and sharing models would be a way to expand the range without huge investment. It would have to be done in a way that both brand retain their uniqueness but other car makers do it. The cost savings alone make it a no-brainer. 

Data source: Fiat Group's World.

Global Premium Sales (Brand) : 2017-18

The premium market has been outstripping mainstream car sales for some time. However, the signs are there that this may be coming to an end. Global sales went from +6% in 2017 to +2% in 2018. We will see if that is a lasting trend. I get a feeling that it is.

The BMW Group is the biggest premium entity with close to 2.5 million sales. Mercedes Benz was closing the gap but that didn't happen in 2018, with both registering +1% growth. Audi managed to drop just 3% but it could be more of the same in 2019.

Lexus held on th 4th place, with Volvo passing JLR with new models. JLR pulled back on sales in China and that hurt volumes. As for the rest, Tesla did exceptionally well but is a company still in its automotive infancy. It still has to prove it can go the distance, and I'm not talking range anxiety.

I haven't got Acura data but it seems to be about the same as 2017.

17	18	Make	2018	%	+/-	2017	%	+/-
1	1	BMW Group	2,486,557	24.5%	1%	2,460,164	24.8%	4%
		BMW	2,125,026	20.9%	2%	2,088,283	21.0%	4%
		MINI	361,531	3.6%	-3%	371,881	3.7%	3%
2	2	Mercedes	2,310,185	22.8%	1%	2,289,344	23.1%	10%
3	3	Audi	1,812,500	17.9%	-3%	1,878,100	18.9%	0%
4	4	Lexus	698,330	6.9%	4%	668,515	6.7%	-1%
6	5	Volvo	642,253	6.3%	12%	571,577	5.8%	7%
5	6	JLR	592,708	5.8%	-5%	621,109	6.3%	6%
		Land Rover	411,875	4.1%	-7%	442,508	4.5%	2%
		Jaguar	180,833	1.8%	1%	178,601	1.8%	20%
7	7	Cadillac	382,148	3.8%	7%	356,467	3.6%	15%
9	8	Porsche	256,255	2.5%	4%	246,375	2.5%	4%
13	9	Tesla	245,240	2.4%	142%	101,312	1.0%	33%
8	10	Infiniti	234,854	2.3%	-5%	246,492	2.5%	7%
10	11	Acura	195,000	1.9%	0%	195,000	2.0%	1%
11	12	Lincoln	176,300	1.7%	-6%	188,383	1.9%	13%
12	13	Alfa Romeo	119,190	1.2%	9%	108,931	1.1%	53%
		Total	10,151,520		2%	9,931,838		6%

GM North America Production (Model) : 2017-18

GM is following the local USA brand trend of abandoning car production. Light trucks are the future and they can't get back to the future quick enough.

USA: Cars still account for 24% of the total, bu that's down from 30% the year previous. Cars have drpped 28% and 22% the past two years so on the out for certain. Meanwhile, light trucks were up 1% for the comparative period. That put both years in a minus 7% situation.

USA Production – GM
Model	2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
Chev Car	442,722	21.3%	-25%		589,931	26.3%	-16%
Malibu	148,726	7.2%	-33%		222,201	9.9%	7%
Cruze	134,107	6.5%	-14%		143,492	6.4%	-32%
Camaro	55,505	2.7%	-40%		92,409	4.1%	-7%
Bolt	31,256	1.5%	40%		22,398	1.0%	648%
Volt	24,913	1.2%	18%		21,123	0.9%	-53%
Corvette	21,137	1.0%	-8%		22,973	1.0%	-40%
Sonic	20,778	1.0%	-56%		47,187	2.1%	-7%
Impala	17,239	0.8%	-5%		18,148	0.8%	-59%
Cadillac Car	29,430	1.4%	-44%		52,164	2.3%	-36%
CTS	11,185	0.5%	-43%		19,559	0.9%	13%
CT6	9,837	0.5%	-14%		11,423	0.5%	-66%
ATS	8,408	0.4%	-60%		21,182	0.9%	-31%
Buick Car	12,412	0.6%	-65%		35,409	1.6%	-62%
LaCrosse	12,412				35,409
Opel Car	2,081	0.1%	-32%		3,049	0.1%	n/a
Ampera	2,081				3,049
Total Car	497,584	24.0%	-28%		680,553	30.3%	-22%
Chev Truck	906,386	43.7%	2%		891,122	39.7%	-3%
Sliverado	332,653	16.0%	-9%		364,683	16.3%	-4%
Traverse	165,820	8.0%	43%		116,265	5.2%	-13%
Colorado	138,658	6.7%	7%		129,343	5.8%	7%
Tahoe	129,415	6.2%	7%		121,142	5.4%	-3%
Suburban	71,118	3.4%	1%		70,518	3.1%	4%
Express	68,722	3.3%	-23%		89,171	4.0%	3%
GMC Truck	480,099	23.1%	0%		479,796	21.4%	3%
Sierra	153,945	7.4%	10%		140,540	6.3%	-3%
Yukon	106,766	5.1%	69%		63,100	2.8%	3%
Acadia	91,485	4.4%	-42%		158,611	7.1%	2%
Yukon XL	60,910	2.9%	33%		45,960	2.0%	3%
Canyon	38,436	1.9%	-9%		42,254	1.9%	25%
Savana	28,557	1.4%	-3%		29,331	1.3%	13%
Cadillac Truck	132,590	6.4%	-6%		141,805	6.3%	41%
XT5	66,232	3.2%	-27%		90,858	4.1%	71%
Escalade	46,757	2.3%	-8%		50,947	2.3%	8%
XT4	19,601	0.9%	n/a		-
Buick Truck	56,420	2.7%	13%		49,724	2.2%	-23%
Enclave	56,420				49,724		-23%
Holden Truck	2,375	0.1%	n/a		-
Acadia	2,375
Total Truck	1,577,870	76.0%	1%		1,562,447	69.7%	1%
Grand Total	2,075,454		-7%		2,243,000		-7%

Canada: As you can see, cars were actually up, thanks to the arrival of the Impala. However, considering the low numbers involved not that good. With light trucks going downward the total was in negative territory.

Canada Production – GM
Model	2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
Chev Car	40,757	12.2%	n/a		-		-100%
Impala	40,757
Cadillac Car	17,344	5.2%	-8%		18,845	5.4%	-26%
XTS	17,344				18,845
Buick Car	-		n/a		9,242	2.7%	-26%
Regal					9,242
Total Car	58,101	17.4%	107%		28,087	8.1%	-69%
Chev Truck	261,990	78.7%	6%		246,020	71.0%	-12%
Equinox	204,644	61.5%	-17%		246,020
Silverado	57,346		n/a		-
GMC Truck	12,879	3.9%	-82%		72,314	20.9%	-38%
Sierra	12,879		n/a		-
Terrain	-		n/a		72,314	20.9%	-38%
Total Truck	274,869	82.6%	-14%		318,334	91.9%	-19%
Grand Total	332,970		-4%		346,421		-28%

Mexico: Car volume all but dried up here, while trucks boomed.

Mexico Production – GM
Model	2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
Chev Car	30,519	3.7%	-74%		119,027	14.5%	-36%
Cruze	30,519		-17%		36,965	4.5%	-40%
Aveo	-		n/a		59,316	7.2%	-23%
Sonic	-		n/a		22,746	2.8%	-52%
Chev Truck	552,496	66.4%	9%		508,172	61.8%	28%
Silverado	242,974	29.2%	10%		270,575	32.9%	2%
Equinox	177,686	21.4%	78%		99,573	12.1%	n/a
Trax	130,786	15.7%	8%		121,509	14.8%	11%
City Express	1,050	0.1%	94%		16,515	2.0%	-18%
GMC Truck	248,823	29.9%	28%		195,074	23.7%	47%
Terrain	127,557	15.3%	133%		54,782	6.7%	n/a
Sierra	121,266	14.6%	-14%		140,292	17.1%	6%
Total Truck	801,319	96.3%	14%		703,246	85.5%	31%
Grand Total	831,838		1%		822,273		14%

Summary: Cars fell from a quarter of the total to less than a fifth in one year. Light trucks are doing OK but it wasn't enough to overcome an overall decrease, albeit a modest one.

N/A Production – GM
Brand	2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
GM Car	586,204	18.1%	-29%		827,667	24.3%	-28%
GM Truck	2,654,058	81.9%	3%		2,584,027	75.7%	4%
Grand Total	3,240,262		-5%		3,411,694		-6%

Please note that figures can vary slightly depending on the source.