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

2015 marked the end of a five-year run in which the best-selling muscle car in America was the Chevrolet Camaro. 

Back on top? The Ford Mustang, sales of which jumped 48%, year-over-year, to 122,349 units. New for MY2015, the fifth-gen Camaro's final full year, the Mustang was a mighty mainstream force in America in 2015. Only 18 cars sold more frequently.

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

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Though 2015 was undeniably not a hugely successful year for Tata's Jaguar division in America, the F-Type's overwhelming success does point to the possibility that Jaguar could nail it with the next two or even three launches: new XF, all-new XE, and their first-ever SUV, the F-Pace. Granted, the Porsche Boxster and Cayman combined to outsell the F-Type, sales figures for which take hardtop and convertible into account. (And it is only fair to view the Porsche pair that way.) 

But the F-type continued to expand its appeal, growing from 2250 sales in 2013's final eight months to 4112 in 2014 to 4629 in calendar year 2015. Mercedes-Benz's more affordable SLK was 447 sales behind.


True high-end sports car success, however, must be measured by two icons: the Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette. As Porsche ended 2015 transitioning to a range of all turbocharged models, 911 sales actually dropped slightly in 2015, ending the year down 5% to 9898 units. 

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

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But this figure still absolutely crushes all European competition, more than doubling the F-Type's total; easily outperforming the Audi R8, BMW i8, Mercedes-AMG GT, and Mercedes-Benz SL combined; and outlasting Japan's Nissan GT-R by a nine-to-one count.

And then there's the Corvette. Sales of the Bowling Green, Kentucky, car dipped 4% in 2015, a year after its supremely successful C7 launch. But with 33,329 U.S. sales in 2015, only eight vehicles with base prices above $45,000 sold more often than the Corvette last year.

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 • January 2016 • November 2015 • December 2014

American Muscle	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Chevrolet Camaro	5366	6628	-19.0%	77,502	86,297	-10.2%
Dodge Challenger	4744	4938	-3.9%	66,365	51,611	28.6%
Ford Mustang	8742	9511	-8.1%	122,349	82,635	48.1%
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Total	18,852	21,077	-10.6%	266,216	220,543	20.7%

Euro Sports Cars	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Alfa Romeo 4C	57	68	-14.9%	663	91	629%
Audi TT	238	12	1883%	1167	1158	0.8%
BMW Z4	253	168	50.6%	1829	2151	-15.0%
Jaguar F-Type	430	448	-4.0%	4629	4112	12.6%
Mercedes-Benz SLK	290	384	-24.5%	4182	4737	-11.7%
Porsche Boxster	214	144	48.6%	3102	3875	-19.9%
Porsche Cayman	200	198	1.0%	3561	3417	4.2%
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Total	1682	1422	18.3%	19,133	19,541	-2.1%

/Misc. Sporty Cars	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Audi A5	1000	1292	-22.6%	12,934	16,620	-22.2%
BMW 2-Series (& 1-Series) *^	2143	724	196%	13,020	7345	77.3%
Chevrolet Corvette	2453	3552	-30.9%	33,329	34,839	-4.3%
Honda CR-Z	316	224	41.1%	3073	3562	-13.7%
Infiniti Q60	290	658	-55.9%	3949	7740	-49.0%
Lexus RC	1711	1042	64.2%	14,784	1922	669%
Mazda MX-5 Miata	706	378	86.8%	8591	4745	81.1%
Nissan 370Z	481	446	7.8%	7391	7199	2.7%
Scion FR-S	588	834	-29.5%	10,507	14,062	-25.3%
Subaru BRZ	413	416	-0.7%	5296	7504	-29.4%
Subaru Impreza WRX/STi *	3089	2816	9.7%	33,734	25,492	32.3%
Volkswagen Eos	242	204	18.6%	2993	3411	-12.3%
Volkswagen GTI *	2369	1789	32.4%	23,669	17,362	36.3%
Volkswagen Golf R *	649	---	---	4141	15	27,507%
Volvo C70	---	1	-100%	7	779	-99.1%
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Total	16,450	14,376	14.4%	177,418	152,597	16.3%

Premium Sporty Cars	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Audi R8	15	64	-76.6%	495	735	-32.7%
BMW i8	656	158	315%	2265	555	308%
Cadillac ELR	135	118	14.4%	1024	1310	-21.8%
Dodge Viper	63	89	-29.2%	676	760	-11.1%
Jaguar XK	1	88	-98.9%	293	1452	-79.8%
Lexus LFA	1	1	0.0%	9	17	-47.1%
Mercedes-AMG GT	162	---	---	1277	---	---
Mercedes-Benz CL-Class	---	14	-100%	54	221	-75.6%
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class	380	539	-29.5%	4060	5030	-19.3%
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	---	6	-100%	29	232	-87.5%
Nissan GT-R	84	156	-46.2%	1105	1436	-23.1%
Porsche 911	654	776	-15.7%	9898	10,433	-5.1%
Porsche 918 Spyder	---	39	-100%	203	96	111%
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Total	2151	2048	5.0%	21,388	22,277	4.0%

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 used to) 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 and Lotus are unfortunately not broken down by model. ANDC estimates say sales for those brands in 2015 were 1020 and 80, respectively. Ferrari, according to the WSJ, sold 2124 cars in 2015. Lamborghini sales totalled 1009 units. Rolls-Royce sold 840 cars; Bentley 2686. 

RECOMMENDED READING
Sporty Car Sales In America - January 2016
Sporty Car Sales In America - November 2015 YTD
Sporty 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