December 2015 U.S. LV Sales Thread: SAAR Dips as Record Year Ends

(FINAL) A hefty drop in the monthly SAAR couldn't prevent U.S. automakers from setting a new light vehicle sales record.

John Sousanis, Director, Information Content

January 5, 2016

4 Min Read
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DECEMBER 2015 US LV SALES

Forecast vs Reported 

Units

WardsAuto Forecast LV Sales

 1.71 million

December Actual LV Sales

 1.63 million

WardsAuto Forecast LV SAAR   

    18 million

December Actual LV SAAR

   17.2 million


WardsAuto tracks light-vehicle (LV) deliveries throughout sales reporting day. Monthly year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR).  December had 28 selling days this year compared with 26 in 2014, meaning DSR % change will be lower than the straight volume %change for year-over-year comparisons this month.

Related Table 

U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table

Overview: An expected surge in December U.S. light-vehicle sales didn't materialize, causing the LV SAAR to drop below 18 million-units for the first time since August. However, U.S. automakers did sell enough LVs to ensure that 2015 was the industry's best year ever.  

Automakers sold a combined 1.63 million light vehicles in December, lifting calendar year sales to a historic 17.39 million units - breaking the prior record of 17.35 million set in 2000. 

Monthly sales were a disappointment, as the industry raised its collective daily sales rate just 1.3% compared with the final month of 2014, failing to turn the 28-selling-day month into a sales bonanza. But it speaks volumes for the kind of year 2015 was that December's 17.2 million-unit SAAR could be characterized as disappointing, with calendar year sales outpacing prior year by 5.8%.

See today's sales report thread below; and see related articles for additional details.

UPDATE 1:45 PM ET: BMW, like competitors Daimler and Audi, had a down month in December, with daily sales dipping 23.6% for the month. The automaker's full-year sales did outpace prior year, though, with a 2.2% gain on 404,537 deliveries in 2015.

Kia, on the other hand, had a good December, outselling same-month year-ago, on a daily basis, by 10.5%, with 54,241 deliveries for the month, pushing full-year 2015 sales to 625,816 - a 7.9% year-to-year gain.

And Volkswagen brand ended a tumultuous year with 30,956 December deliveries, a 15.6% drop in DSR that brought the German marque's 2015 sales to just under 350,000 units, down 4.8% from full-year 2014.

UPDATE: 1:15 PM ET: Audi and Daimler both had lower than expected sales in December, failing to outperform year-ago DSR. Audi delivered 20,399 LVs, down 1.5%, bringing the German luxury marque's full-year sales to 202,202 units - up an impressive 11.1% over a successful 2014.

Daimler sold just under 39,000 LVs for the month, down 5.6% on a daily basis from same-month year-ago. The automaker's deliveries were up 3.8% for the year, to just under 381,000 units.

Honda sales were directly in line with forecast at 150,893 - a 2.1% rise in DSR from year-ago. Honda's full-year sales rose 3% to 1.59 million.

Mazda and Mitsubishi, meanwhile, outperformed the industry as a whole, with 9.6% and 11.9% DSR gains. Mazda completed 2015 up 4.4% on 319,184 sales, while Mitsubish's 95,342 2015-deliveries represented a 22.8% jump over 2014's results.

UPDATE 11:00 AM ET: General Motors, like Ford and FCA, fell somewhat below expectations in December, delivering 290,230 LVs in the month - a 1.8% decline in DSR, that gave GM just under 3.1 million unit sales in 2015, a 5% gain over calendar year 2014. 

UPDATE 10:45 AM ET: Ford sold nearly 232,000 LVs in December, a near-match to year-ago December on a daily sales basis. The results pushed Ford's 2015 light-vehicle sales to 2.55 million units, a 5.4% gain on full-year 2014.

Based on FCA's reported total vehicle sales (including Med./Hvy. trucks) WardsAuto is estimating the company sold just over 216,000 light vehicles in December, a 4.9% DSR gain on year-ago. FCA's 2015 tally was nearly 2.3 million units, a 7.3% improvement over prior year.

Hyundai tweeted its December total of 63,508 - representing a disappointing 8.6% decline in daily sales versus year-ago. For the year, Hyundai sales were up 5% to 761,710.

Nissan's 139,300 LV deliveries were in line with WardsAuto's forecast, and up 10.3% on a daily basis. The strong finish pushed 2015 sales to 1.48 million units, 7.1% above 2014's final tally.

Toyota sold 238,350 LVs in December, a 2.3% DSR gain. For the year, the Japanese automaker sold just under 2.5 million vehicles, a 5.3% improvement over 2014. 

About the Author

John Sousanis

Director, Information Content, WardsAuto

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