Car registrations 2010: The best seller of the year: Germany/UK/US

[Bartek S.]

BMW US

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 4, 2011… The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported December sales of 27,600 vehicles, an increase of 16.9 percent from the 23,617 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. For 2010, the BMW Group in the U.S. reported total sales of 265,757 vehicles, up 9.9 percent compared to the 241,727 vehicles sold in 2009.

“As we’ve seen throughout the last six months of 2010, consumers in December clearly felt more confident about the future and showed it in their purchases.” said Jim O’Donnell, President and CEO of BMW of North America, LLC. “We really like the momentum we’re getting as a result of this and along with our continual aggressive new model launches from BMW and MINI in 2011 we have real optimism we will continue growing our business with profitable sales in the new year.”

BMW Brand Sales
Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 15.7 percent in December for a total of 23,280 compared to 20,128 vehicles sold in December, 2009. For the year, BMW brand sales were up 12.0 percent to 220,113 vehicles compared to 196,502 vehicles sold in 2009.

In December, best performing vehicles included the 5 Series, up 28.9 percent to 5,045 units; the 3 Series, up 12.3 percent to 10,067 units; the X5, up 12.1 percent to 3,939 units and the X6 up 52.8 percent to 859 units. Overall, the BMW SAV segment (X3, X5, X6) continued to show significant growth with sales up 26.9 percent for the year to 48,108 units compared to 37,925 in 2009.


BMW Pre-Owned Vehicles
In December, sales of BMW used vehicles (including certified pre-owned and pre-owned) decreased 2.0 percent to 15,714 vehicles from the 16,031 vehicles sold in December 2009. For 2010, total BMW used vehicle sales were up 4.3 percent to 168,762 from the 161,794 units sold in 2009.

MINI Brand Sales
MINI USA reported sales of 4,320 automobiles in December, an increase of 23.8 percent from the 3,489 in December 2009, making it the most successful December ever for MINI in the USA. For the year 2010, MINI reported sales of 45,644, an increase of 0.9 percent from the 45,225 sold in 2009.


Table: Sales BMW of North America, LLC, December 2010

Dec. 2010 Dec. 2009 % YTD 2010 YTD 2009 %

BMW brand 23,280 20,128 15.7 220,113 196,502 12.0

BMW passenger cars 17,663 15,534 13.5 172,005 158,577 8.5
BMW light trucks (SAVs) 5,647 4,594 22.9 48,108 37,925 26.9

MINI brand 4,320 3,489 23.8 45,644 45,225 0.9

TOTAL Group 27,600 23,617 16.9 265,757 241,727 9.9

 

[Merc1]

By Bill Visnic

In one of the luxury market's closest finishes in years, fewer than 10,000 sales was the difference between the industry's top luxury player in 2010 - still Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus - and the second- and third-place finishers, German standard-bearers Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

That suggests the luxury sales crown is up for grabs in 2011.

Despite highly-touted gains for its SRX midsize crossover, General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac premium-vehicle unit finished a distant fourth, ringing up 146,925 sales, although the total represented a meaty 34.7-percent gain from Cadillac's total of just 109,092 sales in all of 2009.

And although the Volkswagen Group's Audi of America Inc. swelled to its first-ever 6-figure U.S. sales year in 2010, selling 101,629 vehicles, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s Infiniti luxury division quietly managed to stay ahead of the increasingly assertive Audi by selling 103,411 vehicles in the U.S. last year.

Lexus Stays On Top

For Lexus, its 229,329 deliveries in 2010 was enough to retain its position as the U.S. market's best-selling luxury brand - an honor that once was coveted and often used in advertising and other promotions but in the recession years has become less of a bragging point.

Lexus' total represented a 7-percent gain over 2009, a year in which the luxury market was hammered by recessionary fears and the broad auto industry's coinciding downturn. The brand's gainers were led by the HS hybrid, up 10.2 percent, although the fuel-efficient model's volume of 10,663 hardly was breathtaking. The lineup was led, as usual, by the ES entry-level sedan, which moved 48,652 units in 2010, a 1-percent gain.

But Lexus' GS midsizer was off by 4.4 percent for the year, the IS sport sedan/convertible line was down by 9.8 percent and the SC roadster was nearly invisible with just 328 sales for the year, a 54.1-percent slide.

For both Mercedes and BMW, 2010 mostly was a year of business-as-usual, as both German brands continue to expand their lineups into various niches but make the bulk of their sales in the mainstream sedan and crossover segments.

Mercedes-Benz USA's total sales of 225,007 in 2010 was a healthy climb of 18 percent, although some of the boost came from inclusion of the Sprinter commercial van; sales only for Mercedes passenger-vehicle models improved by 13.6 percent compared with 2009.

At BMW of North America LLC, total 2010 U.S. sales of 220,113 represented a 12 percent gain, while sales at the company's Mini small-car brand improved by 0.9 percent to 45,644 cars.

Audi Coming Strong - Relatively

Volkswagen's Audi unit has been appreciably gaining on its German, Japanese and American competition in the past two years, and while Audi for the first time surpassed the 100,000-sales mark in the U.S. for the first time in 2010 - particularly notable considering the market's generally difficult climate - its 22.9-percent gain was exceeded by Cadillac and Nissan's Infiniti, where sales improved by 27.5 percent.

Cadillac, which made claim to be the year's fastest-growing luxury brand, forged a 17.6-percent gain for the CTS entry sedan (and new coupe), but thanks to a ponderous 152.5-percent rocketing for the SRX nameplate, the new crossover become Cadillac's best-selling model for the year with 51,094 sales compared with the CTS' 46,656.The Escalade and pickup-like Escalade EXT declined in 2010, although the long-length Escalade ESV improved by 31.7 percent to 8,674 sales.

The fullsize, front-drive DTS and the midsize STS sedan are due to be replaced in 2012 by a single new model, and both cars have faded to blips on the sales chart. In 2010, the DTS sold a total of just 18,640 units, while full-year sales for the STS amounted to a paltry 4,473.

And Cadillac's only remaining domestic-car rival, Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln premium-vehicle division, sold 85,828 vehicles in 2010, a 3.6-percent gain compared with 2009.

With such a scant number of vehicles separating the luxury market's top three players, factors such as relatively minor corrections in the market, the cadence of new-model launches and even the trajectory of gasoline prices could reposition any - or all.

Bill Visnic is senior editor for Edmunds AutoObserver.com


Lux-taposition: 2010 Premium-Brand Finish Means 2011 Up for Grabs - Auto Observer


M

 

[Merc1]

Automobile Magazine - FEATURES: 2010 Auto Sales

Lexus +7%

Winners
GX +164%, redesign paying off here, as with 4Runner twin
HS +60%, full-year figures look good, but recent numbers do not: down 41% in December, for instance

Losers
SC430 -54%
IS -10%
GS -4%
ES +1%
RX +3%


Acura +21%

Winners
MDX +51%
RDX +47%

Losers
RL +0%
TL +1%
ZDX, selling at a rate of fewer than 300 per month



Infiniti +27%

Winners
QX56 +85%, all-new, and dealers complain it's hard to get
M +72%
G +23%

Loser
FX -5%


VOLKSWAGEN GROUP +21%

Volkswagen handily outpaced the industry in 2011, with a total just shy of 360,000 units (including a best-ever 101,000 from Audi). Still, that performance was only a down payment on the bonanza its German masters expect going forward. The company still has a long way to go to reach a million units a year.

Volkswagen +20%

Winners
Golf/Rabbit +89%
GTI +73%
Tiguan +51%

Losers
Eos -7%
Touareg +7%, but redesign had an effect with strong December

Audi +23%

Winners
Q5 +71%, mid-size crossover has become Audi's #2 volume product
A3 +69%, and just over half were TDIs
A5 +67%, with the addition of the Cabrio
A6 +28%, impressive considering a new one is imminent

Losers
TT -21%
A4 -7%
A8 +4%, but sales in December doubled the prior year's

Bentley +5%



BMW GROUP +10%

The BMW Group was just barely about to stay ahead of surging Subaru.

BMW +12%

Winners
X5 +32%, engine-room upgrade paying off here
7-series +32%
1-series +17%

Losers
5-series -2%
X6, sales are up by a third, but volume is still on a fraction of the X5's; outsells Acura ZDX two to one, though, winning the Battle of the Misshapen Sport-Utes

Mini +1%

Rolls-Royce -4%



DAIMLER A.G. +13%

Mercedes is looking pretty good, but Smart is a disaster.

Mercedes-Benz +18%

Winners
E-class +41%, M-B's top seller
GL +33%
S-class +22%

Losers
SL -41%
SLK -23%
GLK -5%

Smart -59%


JAGUAR LAND ROVER +18%

The new XJ starts with a bang, but the XF is slipping; meanwhile, the SUVs are holding their own.

Jaguar +12%

Winner
XJ +268%

Losers
XF -18%
XK -6%

Land Rover +21%

Winners
LR4 +123%, the LR4 accounted for the large majority of Land Rover's 2010 increase Range Rover +20%

Loser LR2 -18%



PORSCHE +29%

The Boxster was up a bit, but it is the addition of the Panamera (along with some added Cayenne sales) that accounted for Porsche's sales increase.

Winners
Cayenne +8%, but look for an improvement in 2011, as sales have surged since the redesign (+57% in December)
Panamera, outsells all the sports cars, but not the Cayenne

Losers
Cayman -33%



2010 Auto Sales - Automobile Magazine



M
911 -16%

 

[MBFanToDeath]

Car registrations 2010: The best seller of the year: Germany/UK

Ger to Engl

In the registration statistics by vehicle segments, the year 2010, a narrow victory - considering the placings in a "medal count".

KBA-segment Minis

1. Place with 29 065 new registrations, Smart Fortwo. The share in this segment is 14.3 percent.

2. Place with 23 638 new registrations, Fiat Panda. The share in this segment is 11.6 percent.

3. Place with 19 648 new registrations, Renault Twingo. The share in this segment is 9.7 percent.

4. Place with 17 707 new registrations, Fiat 500 The share in this segment is 8.7 percent.

5. Place with 16 703 new registrations, Hyundai i10. The share in this segment is 8.2 percent.

KBA-segment small car

1. Place with 96 945 new registrations, VW Polo. The share in this segment is 17.6 percent.

2. Place with 65 304 new registrations, Opel Corsa. The share in this segment is 11.9 percent.

3. Place with 51 598 new registrations, Ford Fiesta. The share in this segment is 9.4 percent.

4. Place with 48 609 new registrations, Skoda Fabia. The share in this segment is 8.8 percent.

5. Place with 31 477 new registrations, Mini. The share in this segment is 5.7 percent.

KBA-segment compact class

1. Place with 251 078 new registrations, VW Golf. The share in this segment is 31.8 percent.

2. Place with 72 685 new registrations, Opel Astra. The share in this segment is 9.2 percent.

3. Place with 63 466 new registrations: Audi A3/S3. The share in this segment is 8.0 percent.

4. Place with 55 353 new registrations, BMW 1 Series. The share in this segment is 7.0 percent.

5. Place with 53 719 new registrations, Ford Focus. The share in this segment is 6.8 percent.

KBA-middle class segment

1. Place with 71 871 new registrations, Mercedes C-Class. The share in this segment was 17.2 percent.

2. Place with 67 643 new registrations, BMW 3 Series. The share in this segment was 16.2 percent.

3. Place with 66 496 new registrations, VW Passat. The share in this segment was 15.9 percent.

4. Place with 59 863 new registrations: Audi A4. The share in this segment is 14.3 percent.

5. Place with 28 208 new registrations, Opel Insignia. The share in this segment is 6.8 percent.

KBA-segment upper middle class

1. Place with 54 111 new registrations, Mercedes E-Class. The share in this segment is 38.4 percent.

2. Place with 46 014 new registrations, BMW 5 Series. The share in this segment is 32.7 percent.

3. Place with 30 079 new registrations: Audi A6. The share in this segment is at 21.4 percent.

4. Place with 5134 new registrations, Volvo V70. The share in this segment is 3.6 percent.

5. Place with 2003 new registrations, Jaguar XF. The share in this segment is 1.4 percent.

KBA-segment upper class

1. Place with 5177 new registrations, Mercedes S-Class. The share in this segment is 22.7 percent.

2. Place with 5074 new registrations, BMW 7 Series. The share in this segment is 22.2 percent.

3. Place with 4752 new registrations, Audi A8. The share in this segment is 20.8 percent.

4. Place with 2674 new registrations, Porsche Panamera. The share in this segment was 11.7 percent.

5. Place with 1282 new registrations, Mercedes CLS. The share in this segment is 5.6 percent.

KBA-sports car segment

1. Place with 13 298 new registrations, Mercedes E-Class Coupé. The share in this segment is 28.7 percent.

2. Place with 6176 new registrations, BMW Z4. The share in this segment is 13.3 percent.

3. Place with 5778 new registrations, Porsche 911 The share in this segment is 12.5 percent.

4. Place with 5385 new registrations, Audi TT. The share in this segment is 11.6 percent.

5. Place with 4342 new registrations, Mercedes SLK. The share in this segment is 9.4 percent.

KBA-segment mini-vans

1. Place with 37 526 new registrations, Mercedes B-Class. The share in this segment is 21.2 percent.

2. Place with 31 741 new registrations, Opel Meriva. The share in this segment is 17.9 percent.

3. Place with 24 148 new registrations, Nissan Qashqai. The share in this segment is 13.6 percent.

KBA-SUV segment

1. Place with 38 687 new registrations, VW Tiguan. The share in this segment to 13.1 percent.

2. Place with 26 634 new registrations, BMW X1. The share in this segment is 9.0 percent.

3. Place with 23 146 new registrations, Audi Q5. The share in this segment is 7.8 percent.

4. Place with 14 056 new registrations, Ford Kuga. The share in this segment is 4.8 percent.

5. Place with 13 817 new registrations, Skoda Yeti. The share in this segment is 4.7 percent.

Auto Motor und Sport

 

[LaArtist]

Is this europe or worldwide?

Damn Diamler did well..

PS
That golf is a monster..

 

[dalab]

I' think is only Germany

 

[delatobi]

yes, the kba is only a german department.

but, wow! didn't think that daimler has so many first-placed cars!!!

 

[Wolfgang]

Autohaus.de

 

[LaArtist]

^Hah perfect



The hard work payed of..from the day they replaced the old board and sold chrysler..
Its been a long hard road..

 

[MBFanToDeath]

Dr. Z.

 

[Tarek]

Man i love that man.

Surprised to see C-Class beats the 3er.

 

[Zafiro]

Man i love that man.

Surprised to see C-Class beats the 3er.

No not really, both A4 (sold better than 3-series in the past as well) and C-class has strong sales in Germany. Oh well, a new 3-series is just around the corner so the sales will soon be restored


EDIT: I found this article from Autocar - best sellers in UK 2010

The top 10 selling cars in 2010
1st Ford Fiesta 103,013
2nd Vauxhall Astra 80,646
3rd Ford Focus 77,804
4th Vauxhall Corsa 77,398
5th VW Golf 58,116
6th VW Polo 45,517
7th Peugeot 207 42,185
8th BMW 3-series 42,020
9th Mini hatchback 41,883
10th Nissan Qashqai 39,048


plus this - Winners and losers: how each of the manufacturers fared
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/S...K-2010-car-sales-analysis-winners-and-losers/

 

[Tarek]

No not really, both A4 (sold better than 3-series in the past as well) and C-class has strong sales in Germany. Oh well, a new 3-series is just around the corner so the sales will soon be restored

Well yes really acc to numbers shown here..and we're talking about Germany not the UK.

Yeah when the F30 is out sales should be better.

 

[K-A]

I can't believe the E-Class finished the year as the volume leader.

That shows for an extremely strong first MY year. Hopefully the C-Class reclaims that though, as it should, being cheaper, and hopefully M-B stops with the ridiculous incentives with the E-Class. Taking off my consumer hat, and putting on my enthusiasts hat, their incentives on the E, or perhaps most of their line, was getting close to entry-brands desperate "0 DOWN, 0% FINANCING, BLOW-OUT SALE!!" cheesiness.

Some people on the M-B Boards said they had no intentions of buying an E-Class, and were either looking for a cheaper car, or weren't M-B shoppers to begin with, but got insanely cheap prices that they couldn't refuse, and just "accepted" the car. That doesn't bode well for M-B keeping up a prestigious reputation.

Apparently the MBUSA head said that they're gonna have to stop with the crazier incentives they were doing last year (get the supply/demand in order, I'd guess).

 

[Merc1]

Well you have to remember K/A that now the E's sales include the coupe and convertible, which is really like lumping the previous year's CLK sales into the E's. C-Class will probably take back the lead once the facelift and the price-leader C250 hit the ground.

Mercedes should post record (of close to it) profits for Q4 2010.


M

 

[K-A]

I keep forgetting about that. That's true.

In up until a month or two ago, I rarely saw any E-Coupe's around, now I'm seeing them pretty commonly, so although the Sedan obviously accounts for the vast majority of Sales, I'm sure the Coupe is contributing pretty well to E's overall Sales.

 

[Beemer B773ER]

Hmm.. that's going to make it increasingly difficult to compare E-class and 5er sedans sales.

Very interesting numbers there, though many of those high percentage increases were for new models of vehicles that aren't strong sellers to begin with. Main thing all these numbers highlight is the importance of having a proper SUV/4WD line-up!

 

[Bartek S.]

TOP 5 BESTSELLING NAMEPLATES OF 2010
1. Ford F-series, 528,349
2. Chevrolet Silverado, 370,135
3. Toyota Camry, 327,804
4. Honda Accord 311,381
5. Toyota Corolla/Matrix 266,082

 

[K-A]

I take it everyone in the South must drive an F-150, to help those numbers to get so damn high, lol.

 

[Merc1]

Thread title is misleading. All the U.S. info is just shipments/sales, not actual registrations.


M