Nissan / Infiniti US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

Nissan sales for the YTD are up 3% which is not bad in the current climate. Infiniti was down 13%. So how did sales by model go? Data source is Nissan and photos Nissan and Infiniti.

Nissan: The Rogue is the main model with 31% of all sales and despite it being down 4%, it didn't stop the brand from increasing. The Sentra (picture above) was up 55% so that was a huge help. The Versa was up 62% and the Ariya 80%.

Some of the smaller selling models were the ones that went down the most. The Murano is soon to be replaced with a new generation model. The Armada dropped its base model which seems to have affected volume. The Titan pick up truck is being dropped altogether.

Infiniti: The QX50 compact crossover (picture above) was up but the rest were down to varying degrees. A new QX80 large SUV is being replaced so that would explain the 23% drop there. The Q60 coupe is discontinued, hence why sales are ending. 

Malaysia Top 10 Sales (make & model) : 2024 (Jan-Jun)

With import duty, local manufacturers dominate the scene. Local brand Perudua (Daihatsu based cars) has a commanding lead over compatriot Proton. They are followed with other Japanese makes with a couple of Chinese and German ones. 

Perodua has five of the top six models with Proton one at fourth. A couple of Honda and Toyota models fill out the list. Perodua has a good product range suited to the local market. That has earned them the popularity they enjoy. 

Data source: Data Gov. Picture source: Perodua.

Mauritius Vehicle Sales : 2024 (Jan-Jun)

The source of the data missed a month for passenger cars so I asked nicely if they could fix that but their reply was a stony silence. 

I did have access to total vehicle data so here it is, with trucks included. I could have tried to weed them out but in a market so small, it adds some volume.

Registrations were up 29% in June and 20% YTD so going really well. Toyota and Nissan used to scrap over the top spot but Suzuki is now well ensconced in that prime position. Value models from Suzuki India have become very popular. 

Data source: NLTA.

Liechtenstein Passenger Car Sales : 2024 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations were down 12% in June and also down 5% YTD. It's a country with some affluence looking at how brands sell here. VW has been top for decades apart from 2020 when BMW made a cameo appearance at the top spot. For now, Mercedes-Benz has taken over as the most popular marque. 

With numbers so small, change can happen quite suddenly so at the end of the year, we will see if and what has changed. The source also does model data annually. 

Data source: Liechtensteinische Landesverwaltung.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Passenger Car Sales : 2024 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations were the same YTD but down a minor 3% in June. Škoda leads the way as it does in several countries in Europe. VW will be happy with that but less so with a 21% loss in market share. 

Models to do well were the Škoda Octavia (459), Škoda Fabia (259), Toyota Yaris Cross (208), Hyundai Tucson (204), Škoda Scala (192), VW Golf (187) and Dacia Duster (185).

Picture source: Škoda Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Subaru / Porsche US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

If you are wondering what these two brand have in common, well they are the last two in the series and I wanted to add value with a two for one offer. Who doesn't like a bargain? Anyway, how did they get on?

Subaru: Sales were up 6% YTD so a sound result so far. The Forester is the main model with 29% of the total and it increased 51% too. The Outback and Crosstrek are consistently popular but things fall away a bit after that. 

Subaru relies on a handful of markets for most of its volume and does well in them, the US being the most important one of them.  

Porsche: Sales were down 4.4%. The top selling model, the Macan was down 16% which was the difference between sales being up or not. The Cayenne and 911 were OK but the rest down. Nothing spectacular, in fact all rather even.

Data & picture source: Subaru, Porsche.

Honda / Acura US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

Both Honda and Acura have a good reputation in the USA. Honda in particular sells very strongly. Acura has its work cut out against several bigger selling premium marques, including fellow countryman Lexus.

Honda: The brand is up 12% YTD, with the CR-V up 20%and the Civic 38%. The Accord is down 19% and the HR-V up 41%. 

The CR-V is clearly the best selling car but for many years before it was the Accord, until 2014. In 2015, the Civic took over for just one year and then the CR-V has been top since. Those three are still on top but the HR-V looks destined to change that. 

Acura: A North American brand which doesn't even feature in Japan. It has occasionally been used elsewhere but without much success but it works well in the US.  

That said, sales are currently down 13%YTD but 64,000 units isn't to be sniffed at. It's currently based around three main models, the RDX crossover the only one up at the present (+28%).

The new electric ZDX (picture to the left) is an interesting one. Honda has a cousin in the form of the Prologue and it has relatives in Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac. That's quite a family! It's built at a GM factory in Tenessee. 

Obviously, there are cost savings in sharing costs (which I think the industry doesn't do enough of) but the brands all have their own level of trim and sophistication so it's the way forward for the industry. 

Data & photo source Honda.  

Slovakia Passenger Car Sales : 2024 (Jan-Jun)

The country that produces more cars per capita than any other. It had a 4% increase in registrations YTD with Škoda delivering one in five of them. Škoda is based in neighbouring Chechia but the local populous to the east clearly still relate to the brand.

Toyota and Hyundai lost ground to the leader although VW made up a little ground in passing Kia. Nissan, MG, Lexus, Subaru and Land Rover had notable gains. Peugeot, Opel and Audi not so.

Some of the best selling models were the Škoda Octavia with 2,611, Hyundai i30 (2,045), Škoda Fabia (1,918), Kia Sportage (1,270), Dacia Duster (1,269) and the Škoda Kamiq (1,212).

Data source: ZAP. 

Toyota / Lexus US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

Toyota and Lexus are very popular in the US and it's getting better in 2024. Combined they are close to 1.2 million in H1. So what's selling?

Toyota: Sales are up 16.5% or close to 150,000 units. That's substantial and shows just how well the brand is viewed in the US. It's the biggest selling nameplate.

The RAV4 is the most popular with nearly 25% of the total for the brand. It's also up 33% YTD. The Camry is in a segment that many other brands have abandoned and it's enjoying success with less competition in a shrinking area of the market. 

The Tacoma pick up is down 46% while its bigger brother the Tundra is up 31% but when combined sales are down. The Grand Highlander is a slightly larger Highlander and seems to have canabalised sales from its smaller sibling. 

Data & picture source: Toyota & Lexus. Photo above the Toyota Venza and below the Lexus TX.

Lexus: Sales are up here too, but only by 12%. That's 18,000 more than for the equivalent period in 2023. Of course, a new model expanding the range is always likely to do that. 

The most popular model, the RX is down 4% so far, but the new TX barge..I mean SUV...is already proving popular. Some of these modern vehicles are ridiculously oversized but people want them. The GX is down 31% but may have been affected by the arrival of the slightly smaller but not too dissimilar sized TX. Those ladies below look shifty.

Indonesia Vehicle Sales : 2024 (Jan-Jun)

Registrations were -12% in June and -14% YTD. Not all the brands are here but the bigger ones are. Some minor ones are not given by Gaikindo but have no real impact on the list. Import duty really only allows locally manufactured cars to sell in reasonable numbers. 

Toyota and Daihatsu command over half the sales between them. Indeed, Japanese brands are prominent here. Chinese makes are arriving and do well but for now don't go on to get into the top five where the numbers really add up.  

Data source: Gaikindo. 

Ford / Lincoln US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

Ford: Sales were up 3% YTD, just short of a million units finding new private homes or corporate parking lots. All of this done without virtually any sedan passenger cars. The Mustang would be the only one and that represents less than 3% of total sales. 

The F-Series pick up commands 35.4% of the total, down from 39.5% a year ago. The Maverick pick up (pic above) was up 81% so it more than compensated for the F-Series. The Ranger is a slightly larger size to the Maverick but dearer and not selling anywhere near as well. 

The Transit van was up 28% to 82,000 sales but the Transit Connect was down 15% to 7,400. The E-Series light truck was up slightly. 

Lincoln: One of the success stories of 2024, perhaps the success story. All the models increased (bar the big Navigator SUV) which gave the marque a 25% overall gain. They achieved 42, 33 and 45% growth for the top three models of the range repectively.  

The range is without a sedan but that is not a surprise these days. The Nautilus is pictured above. The sales increase by Lincoln certainly has the mercury rising. 

Volvo / Genesis US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

An unusual mix of premium marques here with a long established Swede and a new brand enjoying success at home in a super protected environment and using the volume benefits that brings to reach offshore. 

Premium buyers are conservative and brand conscious so not always easily wooed. Volvo has a solid customer base and has recently attracted new customers as it returns to the former success it once enjoyed. Genesis has to work to establish a reputation Are they going to crack the US? At least in the USA they are more inclined to look at something different. 

Volvo: Sales were up 2% with the 60 Series up 146%. That counted the C40's downward slump by 86%. Wow. Apparently, hybrids are doing well for Volvo but electric less so. This rush into electric may be premature for Volvo and others too.

SUVs lead the way with for Volvo with the three at the top of the sales chart to the right of that persuasion. The usual USA's bigger is better philosophy is manifest as well. 61,000 sale is a good result I'd have thought.

Genesis: Arriving in the USA in 2016, sales were at first up and down but for the last two years there has been a strong increase. That has slowed in 2024 with no new models added. 

So far the total increase is 3% with the GV80 up 22% and the G80 down 23% (G is for sedan and GV SUV). 

Genesis is still a small player in the premium arena but it's early days. As already noted, conquest sales are a challenge in the premium segment. 

Data & pictures: Volvo & Genesis. V60 above & the GV70 below.

GM US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

GM has a four brand portfolio it uses to satisfy its US customers. How are they faring in these challenging times? Let's find out. 

Chevrolet: This is the volume brand for General Motors with about 842,000 sales for half the 2024 calendar year. That's down 1% on H1 2023 so a solid result. It contributed 65% of GM's US sales for the H1 period.

The big Silverado pick up gained 5% so that will be good for the bottom line. The Equinox (picture above / +2%) and Trax (+230%) complete the top three list. 

The electric Bolt EUV was a crossover version of the Bolt hatchback. They have both been discontinued with a new model planned but not as yet. The Camaro muscle car has also finished its run for the time being. An SUV version will come out soon but whether that would fit the muscle car tag remains to be seen.

GMC: The truck making brand; SUVs and pick ups to be precise. The Sierra, Canyon and Hummer make up the pick up side of the business while the Terrain, Yukon, Acadia and Hummer belong to the SUV range. Hummer seems to straddle the two categories with both pick up and SUV variants.

The marque makes up 22% of GM's sales for the year so far. Terrain sales were up 31% while the Acadia was down 56%. A third generation Acadia has recently been released.

Buick: A modest range of vehicles, all under the crossover / SUV classification. Considering that, I expected more sales than 90,000 or 7% of GM sales. That can be attributed to the fact that it is semi-premium, neatly nestled between Chevrolet and Cadillac. 

Total Buick sales were up 11%, the only brand within GM that grew in H1 of 2024. The Envista crossover (pictured below) was the reason for that. 

Cadillac: The smallest GM division with 74,000 sales YTD and just under 6% of the GM total. The range is quite broad, with seven models listed by the company. 

The Lyric electric crossover is the sole model that increased but overall the marque was down just 2%. 

Data & picture source: GM. 

Mercedes US Model Sales : 2023/24 (Q2)

If there is one thing German marques do well in and that's complexity. It is at least partly fueled by intense competition and entering every niche they can think of. 

Looking at the list to the right bears this out and not all models available are here. Merecedes-Benz can point to the success they enjoy as justification and I can't deny that. It's a complex world and I believe at some point that becomes inefficient. 

Moving on, the GLE and GLC are the best selling passenger vehicles. Vans are combined and collectively they up there with them. The A-Class is being phased out by the company and it looks all but finished in the US already.

Sales for the H1 period are down 5%, with a mixture of ups and downs with models. The GLC (picture above) is up 28% and the GLA down 32%. The CLE (picture below) has arrived in 2024. 

Data & pictures: Mercedes-Benz.

Vinfast Deliveries : H1 2023-24

Vinfast is a Vietnamese car company that started out in 2022. Some of its earlier forecasts proved optimistic as is usually the case with newbies. The car industry is complex and starting up is fraught with difficulties, including initial questions raised over assembly quality and software glitches. 

The chart to the right shows 2024 as being down 38% but that compares half of 2024 with a completed 2023. It's actually up 92% comparing H1 periods. 

The full 2024 target is 80,000 units, or an increase of 130% which on the face of it is a sizable jump on first half deliveries of 21,747. How can they reach that? The new VF3 (picture below) is about to be released and has a large domestic order bank to deal with so I assume that's where much of the increase will come from. 

A plant to be built in the US has been scaled back timewise to manage the planned growth in a more measured way. A case of not so fast Vinfast and this is the best policy as reputation is so important. 

Data and picture source: Vinfast.