December And Annual Car Sales Are Posted -- January 5, 2016

Updates

January 8, 2016: Ford reports sales of 1.1 million vehicles in China, 2015, setting all-time record.

December 6, 2016: Ford EV sales are posted. EV buyers are "paying up" for luxury.
 

Original Post

 

Ford headline, from press release: New products make Ford America’s best-selling brand for sixth straight year; F-Series No. 1 vehicle for 34th year.

Data points, from same press release:

• 2015 U.S. sales for Ford Motor Company total 2,613,162 – up 5 percent, the company’s best annual sales performance since 2006; 
• Ford is America’s best-selling vehicle brand for sixth straight year 
• Ford Motor Company posts best U.S. December monthly sales results since 2005, selling 239,242 vehicles, up 8 percent 
• F-Series sales total 85,211 trucks in December, surpassing 85,000 sales for the first time in a decade; F-Series now America’s best-selling pickup for 39 straight years and the best-selling vehicle for 34 straight years with 780,354 trucks sold
• Ford vans set annual sales record Ford brand 
• SUVs up 13 percent, for best December since 2003
• Escape, Edge and Explorer contribute to gains Fusion posts record December results, with total sales of 25,576 cars 
• Lincoln has its best December since 2006, with annual volume their highest levels since 2008; sales of all-new Lincoln MKX up 77 percent 

To maintain that 39-year, and 34-year, record, I bet Ford would almost give their pick-ups away. One can probably get a pretty good deal on an F-Series pickup by waiting to the end of the month, the end of the quarter, or the end of the year.

Ford reports their EV sales on Wednesday, a day later.

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The Rest

Detroit Free Press reports:

• Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford are reporting their best U.S. sales year in at least nine years.
• General Motors sold 3.1 million vehicles last year; total sales were up 5%.
• Today, automakers that sell cars in the U.S. are expected to report total industry sales of more than 17.5 million for 2015. If that happens, it will be the most cars and trucks ever sold in U.S. history in a single year, besting the previous record high of 17.35 million new car and truck sales in 2000.
• The industry is also arguably healthier than it was in 2000 -- the last time automakers were selling this many vehicles. In 2015, the average new car transaction price for a new car was $33,188. That's up 20% since 2005, when the average price of a new was $27,655.
• Sales of mid-size SUVs rose an estimated 12% for the year, or double the overall market, to about 1.7 million units. Sales of all non-premium SUV's and crossovers grew 30% from 4.2 million units in 2013 to 5.45 million in 2015. Top sellers in those segments include the range from compact crossovers such as the Ford Escape and Toyota Rav4 to the Honda Pilot and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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EVs

The EV sales spreadsheet is starting to be filled in for December. Tesla leads the list for supplying "sales" (or should we say, "delivery") data.  Tesla Model X surges, from 5 the previous month, to 199 in December.

Cadillac EV sales more than double. Chevy Volts are up slightly.

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