Small Car Sales In America - December 2015 And 2015 Year End

Honda Civic sales in the United States jumped 20% in the final one-third of 2015 as Honda cleared out remaining ninth-gen Civics and launched its all-new, highly regarded tenth-gen, 2016 Honda Civic.

Nevertheless, even with a strong finish, the Civic still trailed the class-leading Toyota Corolla 28,000 sales by year's end. 2015 was the second consecutive year in which the Toyota Corolla, America's second-best-selling car overall in 2015, led the compact car category.

---

Download All GCBC U.S. 2015 Sales Data For $2.99

---

U.S. car volume dropped 2% in 2015, but the compact class was strengthened by the two class leaders, among others, and total volume increased 2% despite sharp losses from the Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, and Volkswagen Jetta. Total Volkswagen Golf volume nearly doubled compared with 2014, total Subaru Impreza sales were up by a fifth, and double-digit percentage increases were posted by the Kia Forte and Nissan Sentra.

Subcompact car sales, on the other hand, fell 9% as more consumers recognized that compact cars are sufficiently affordable, often equally (if not more) fuel efficient, more refined, and more spacious. Aside from the discontinued Mazda 2, the sharpest losses were recorded by the Chevrolet Sonic and Kia Rio. 

---

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - 2015 Year End
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - 2015 Year End

---

Click Chart To Expand

Small car buyers are moving in meaningful numbers to less conventional small cars. With ever so slightly elevated ride height, a handful of SUV styling cues, and available AWD, subcompact crossovers like the Chevrolet Trax, Honda HR-V, and Mazda CX-3 are conventional small cars in most every other way.

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 small cars of all kinds 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 • January 2016 • November 2015 • December 2014

Compact	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	%  Change
Acura ILX *	1960	1730	13.3%	18,531	17,854	3.8%
Buick Verano	2545	3017	-15.6%	31,886	43,743	-27.1%
Chevrolet Cruze	16,849	17,800	-5.3%	226,602	273,060	-17.0%
Dodge Dart	6731	6881	-2.2%	87,392	83,858	4.2%
Ford Focus	11,005	14,883	-26.1%	202,478	219,634	-7.8%
Honda Civic	32,796	25,337	29.4%	335,384	325,981	2.9%
Hyundai Elantra	14,242	18,860	-24.5%	241,706	222,023	8.9%
Kia Forte	5411	5306	2.0%	78,919	69,336	13.8%
Mazda 3	9838	9719	1.2%	107,885	104,985	2.8%
Mitsubishi Lancer	1324	1547	-14.4%	17,691	16,495	7.3%
Nissan Sentra	19,760	15,393	28.4%	203,509	183,268	11.0%
Scion iM	1245	---	---	5097	---	---
Subaru Impreza	9148	8624	6.1%	100,519	83,488	20.4%
Toyota Corolla	32,445	30,125	7.7%	363,332	339,498	7.0%
Volkswagen Golf	5715	4405	29.7%	65,308	33,675	93.9%
Volkswagen Jetta	14,073	15,578	-9.7%	131,109	160,873	-18.5%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	185,087	179,205	3.3%	2,217,348	2,177,771	1.8%

Subcompact	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Chevrolet Sonic	7293	5456	33.7%	64,775	93,518	-30.7%
Ford Fiesta	3550	3724	-4.7%	64,458	63,192	2.0%
Honda Fit	4197	6450	-34.9%	52,724	59,340	-11.1%
Hyundai Accent	2718	8566	-68.3%	61,486	63,309	-2.9%
Kia Rio	997	1924	-48.2%	23,742	35,933	-33.9%
Mazda 2	1	159	-99.4%	297	13,615	-97.8%
Nissan Versa	11,058	9129	21.1%	144,528	139,781	3.4%
Scion iA	1808	---	---	7605	---	---
Toyota Prius C	2846	2839	0.2%	38,469	40,570	-5.2%
Toyota Yaris	377	1605	-76.5%	16,779	13,274	26.4%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	34,845	39,852	-12.6%	474,863	522,532	-9.1%

City Car	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Chevrolet Spark	1384	3007	-54.0%	32,853	39,159	-16.1%
Mitsubishi Mirage	1261	1135	11.2%	21,515	16,708	28.8%
Scion iQ	2	87	-97.7%	482	2040	-76.4%
Smart Fortwo	669	973	-31.2%	7484	10,453	-28.4%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	3316	5202	-36.3%	62,334	68,360	-8.8%

Warm Hatches	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Fiat 500 *	1501	2302	-34.8%	25,084	33,708	-25.6%
Hyundai Veloster *	2246	1685	33.3%	24,245	27,598	-12.1%
Mini Cooper *	2823	4545	-37.9%	40,120	31,385	27.8%
Scion tC *	976	1128	-13.5%	16,459	17,947	-8.3%
Volkswagen Beetle *	1311	2270	-42.2%	22,667	29,182	-22.3%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	8857	11,930	-25.8%	128,575	139,820	-8.0%

Tall Hatchbacks & Crossovers	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Buick Encore *	6498	3102	109%	67,549	48,892	38.2%
Chevrolet Trax *	5323	739	620%	63,030	739	8429%
Fiat 500L	308	1482	-79.2%	7863	12,413	-36.7%
Fiat 500X *	1996	---	---	9463	---	---
Honda HR-V *	4737	---	---	41,969	---	---
Kia Soul	12,159	9906	22.7%	147,133	145,316	1.3%
Mazda CX-3 *	1663	---	---	6406	---	---
Mini Countryman *	2148	1941	10.7%	16,686	22,645	-26.3%
Mini Paceman *	38	129	-70.5%	1708	2082	-18.0%
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport *	3356	2755	21.8%	36,966	31,054	19.0%
Nissan Cube	13	186	-93.0%	943	3785	-75.1%
Nissan Juke *	1958	2155	-9.1%	27,121	38,184	-29.0%
Scion xB	886	1480	-40.1%	15,223	16,583	-8.2%
Scion xD	8	288	-97.2%	794	7377	-89.2%
Subaru XV Crosstrek *	8090	5482	47.6%	88,927	70,956	25.3%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	49,181	29,645	65.9%	531,781	400,026	32.9%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
* vehicle also displayed in another GCBC segment breakdown
GCBC isn't here to break down segments, an impossible task for any group, but to display sales data for the sake of comparison. The more ways sales data can be displayed, the better. This explains why you'll see the Encore and XV Crosstrek are listed with small SUVs, too, and the Acura ILX shown with mainstream cars is also displayed with luxury cars... because readers have wanted it both ways. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts.

RECOMMENDED READING
Small Car Sales In America - January 2016
Small Car Sales In America - November 2015 YTD
Small Car Sales In America - December 2014 & Year End
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - December 2015
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - December 2015 & Year End
Midsize Car Sales In America - December 2015 & Year End