Sporty Car Sales In America - September 2015 YTD

With its best September since 2007, Ford Mustang volume tripled on a year-over-year basis to 9456 U.S. sales in September 2015, only 342 fewer sales than its two main rivals managed in a combined fashion.

In the lead-up to the launch of the current sixth-generation model, Mustang sales in America in September 2014 slid below 3500 units for the first time in 43 months. That low point enabled a terrific year-over-year comparison one year later. 

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U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - September 2015 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - September 2015 YTD

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But dismissing the year-over-year percentage leap on that basis alone ignores the fact that the sixth-generation Mustang has once again become a high-performance car with genuinely mainstream appeal. 

The Mustang is America's 19th-best-selling car through the first three quarters of 2015.

As Volkswagen faces sharp criticism, plenty of potential lawsuits, and soaring recall costs, the GTI and R models continue to bolster the overall Golf lineup. In September, 44% of the Golfs sold in America – and 79% of the Golf hatchbacks – were of either the GTI or Golf R variety. 

Click Chart To Expand

Imagine if the overwhelming majority of Ford Focuses sold were STs, or if most Honda Civic buyers opted for the Si, or if the Subaru WRX and STI outsold the Subaru Impreza.

In that latter case, the WRX/STI surge certainly makes that more of a possibility – albeit still an unlikely possibility – than in the other instances. Total WRX/STI sales jumped 159% in the United States to more than 3000 units, the third consecutive month in which the sporty Subaru sedans have topped the 3K barrier. 

As for Subaru's traditional sports car, the BRZ, sales slid 41% to only 301 units in September 2015, the lowest U.S. sales total for the BRZ since its launch month of May 2012. For its twin, the Scion FR-S, sales in September 2015 slipped to the second-lowest full month total in the nameplate's history.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly U.S. auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank sports cars, coupes, and GTs any which way you like. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.

Click Column Headers To Sort • September 2016 • October 2015 • August 2015 • September 2014

American Muscle	September 2015	September 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Chevrolet Camaro	5246	5111	2.6%	61,544	69,878	-11.9%
Dodge Challenger	4552	3619	25.8%	51,949	38,376	35.4%
Ford Mustang	9456	3158	199%	96,225	59,831	60.8%
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Total	19,254	11,888	62.0%	209,718	168,085	24.8%

Euro Sports Cars	September 2015	September 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Alfa Romeo 4C	54	---	---	497	---	---
Audi TT	187	42	345%	520	1098	-52.6%
BMW Z4	96	170	-43.5%	1409	1617	-12.9%
Jaguar F-Type	354	329	7.6%	3367	2945	14.3%
Mercedes-Benz SLK	339	489	-30.7%	3137	3495	-12.7%
Porsche Boxster	297	275	8.0%	2379	3024	-21.3%
Porsche Cayman	315	245	28.6%	2730	2568	6.3%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	1642	1550	5.9%	14,039	14,847	-5.4%

Misc. Sporty Cars	September 2015	September 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Audi A5	945	1204	-21.5%	9812	13,165	-25.5%
BMW 2-Series (& 1-Series) *^	1078	740	45.7%	8472	5303	59.8%
Chevrolet Corvette	2572	2467	4.3%	26,398	25,950	1.7%
Honda CR-Z	310	248	25.0%	2205	2945	-25.1%
Infiniti Q60	258	454	-43.2%	3180	5758	-44.8%
Lexus RC	1159	---	---	10,458	---	---
Mazda MX-5 Miata	940	414	127%	6068	3855	57.4%
Nissan 370Z	573	497	15.3%	5882	5938	-0.9%
Scion FR-S	778	920	-15.4%	8544	11,182	-23.6%
Subaru BRZ	301	506	-40.5%	4133	6245	-33.8%
Subaru Impreza WRX/STi *	3033	1170	1595	25,151	17,884	40.6%
Volkswagen Eos	356	216	64.8%	2156	2819	-23.5%
Volkswagen GTI *	1825	1600	14.1%	16,817	12,124	38.7%
Volkswagen Golf R *	462	---	---	2701	15	17,907%
Volvo C70	---	5	-100%	7	774	-99.1%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	14,590	10,441	39.7%	131,984	113,957	15.8%

Premium Sporty Cars	September 2015	September 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
Audi R8	14	55	-74.5%	453	580	-21.9%
BMW i8	182	58	214%	1342	67	1903%
Cadillac ELR	36	111	-67.6%	740	885	-16.4%
Dodge Viper	49	108	-54.6%	503	546	-7.9%
Jaguar XK	18	99	-81.8%	282	1192	-76.3%
Lexus LFA	1	---	---	8	15	-46.7%
Mercedes-AMG GT	109	---	---	892	---	---
Mercedes-Benz CL-Class	---	7	-100%	54	178	-69.7%
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class	259	584	-55.7%	3132	3758	-16.7%
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	---	8	-100%	27	212	-87.3%
Nissan GT-R	38	159	-76.1%	929	1018	-8.7%
Porsche 911	768	726	5.8%	7557	7758	-2.6%
Porsche 918 Spyder	4	13	-69.2%	201	32	528%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	1478	1928	-23.3%	16,120	16,241	-0.7%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
* indicates a vehicle which is also shown in another GCBC segment breakdown
^ BMW USA, not GoodCarBadCar, has chosen to combine sales figures of the 1-Series and 2-Series.
Clearly GoodCarBadCar is not suggesting that the cars in the tables above are all direct competitors. Establishing categories among cars as unique as even the Audi TT and Porsche Boxster has never pleased a single reader, so cars have been lumped together so you can simply see how buyers looking for sports cars, roadsters, hot hatches, convertibles, GTs, and wanna-be sports cars spend their money. Greater categorization of cars would only lead to problems that automakers create by not isolating model-specific sales figures: we don't know how many M3s BMW has sold or how many Civics are Si models, for example. The numbers we do have are listed above. The BMW 6-Series has been removed from the premium list because we don't use this space as a showcase for sedans (unless automakers release data for high-end sporting models like the Lexus ISF, as Toyota Canada does) and the 6-Series lineup now relies heavily on a sedan variant. GoodCarBadCar is always open to hearing about the ways you would break down segments, so feel free to get in touch. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts. Sales data for brands such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Rolls-Royce etc. are unfortunately not broken down by model. ANDC estimates say sales for Aston Martin and Lotus in the first nine months of 2015 were 765 and 113, respectively. The Wall Street Journal reports 1709 year-to-date Ferrari sales, 801 Lamborghini sales, and 636 Rolls-Royce sales. Tesla, unfortunately, doesn't release model-specific monthly U.S. sales data, but Automotive News now issues estimates for the brand, and those estimates say Tesla sold 1700 cars in September; 15,300 YTD. HybridCars.com estimates 2400 August Model S sales; 17,700 YTD.

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