November 2015 U.S. LV Sales Thread: U.S. Automakers on Near-Record Pace

WardsAuto tracks light-vehicle (LV) deliveries throughout sales reporting day. Monthly year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR).  November had just 23 selling days this year compared with 25 in 2014, meaning DSR % change will be higher than %volume change in year-over-year comparisons this month.

Related Table 

U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table

NOTE: Daimler is expected to report on Dec. 2, 2015. All totals reflect WardsAuto's estimates for Daimler's November deliveries. WardsAuto will repost with actual Daimler results on Dec. 2 when that data is released. 

Overview: U.S. automakers sold 1.32 million light vehicles in November, over 23 selling days compared with 25 for the same-month year-ago. The result equated to an 18.12 million-unit SAAR, marking the first time on record that three consecutive months registered a light-vehicle SAAR of 18 million or higher.

November's results boost the 2015 US LV YTD tally to 15.76 million units, up 5.5% over year-ago. While still a longshot, automakers could set a single-year selling record by posting 1.59 million sales in December (slightly higher than the December 2004 tally of 1.54 million units, which at the time equated to a 17.6 million SAAR.

GM grabbed a 17.4% share of the market, followed by Toyota with 14.4%. Ford, stymied somewhat by lower inventories on popular trucks, finished in the No.3 spot with a 13.9% share. FCA took 13.2% of all sales. Honda (8.8%) and Nissan (8.1%) followed. 

Jaguar Land Rover, sold 7,604 LVs, raising its DSR for the month 68.8%, to lead the industry. Only Volkswagen under-performed year-ago, with daily sales dipping over 18%.

UPDATE 3:05 PM ET: BMW Group reported 36,447 November deliveries of its BMW and Mini-brand light vehicles - a 10% DSR gain over year-ago that pushes the automaker's YTD total to 364,903, up 4.9% over like-year-ago. 

WardsAuto is estimating Daimler - which includes BMW competitor Mercedes-Benz, with a similar year-over-year gain of 10%, which would push the company to just 347,000 units for the year, so far - a 5.5% gain over same-period 2014.

Mazda daily sales were up 16.3% in November, on 22,732 deliveries, lifting the company's year-to-date sales 3.2% over year-ago to 289,890.

UPDATE 1:15 PM ET: Hyundai delivered 60,007 deliveries in November, a remarkable 21.5% uptick in DSR, bring YTD sales within a hair of 700,000 units, up 5.6% over year-ago. Kia jumped 10.12% over like-2014 in November, and was up 6.9% YTD on 571,577 units.

UPDATE 12:20 PM ET: Toyota came in slightly ahead of forecast, delivering 189,517 LVs, lifting its DSR 12.4% over like-year-ago, well above the 4.7% year-to-date growth on 2.26 million vehicles. 

UPDATE 11:30: Ford sold 180,687 light vehicles in November, up 7.8% on daily basis versus same-month year-ago. Inventory issues likely held Ford deliveries somewhat in check as demand for SUVs and other light trucks is on an accelerated upswing. The finale tally was roughly 5% below WardsAuto projections, but brought Ford's YTD sales to 2.3 million, 5.1% over year-ago.

General Motors' sales came in directly in line with forecast, at 229,296, a 10.4% improvement in GM's daily sales rate (DSR), bringing GM's year-to-date sales to 2.8 million, 4.9% over year-ago.

FCA also reported deliveries at forecast levels, selling 174,700 LVs in the month, up 12.1% from year-ago. November pushed FCA year-to-date sales over 2 million units, a 6.8% improvement over the first 11 months of 2014.

Volkswagen brand may be feeling the heat from its ongoing emissions scandal. VW sales were down 18.2% on a daily basis from year-ago on 23,882 units. YTD VW sales are down 4.3%. On the other hand, sister company Audi saw its monthly DSR rise 9.1%, contributing to an 11.7% year-to-date uptick.