Chicagoland Reflects National Market: Trucks Hot, Cars Not

OAK BROOK, IL – There is little doubt what’s hot and what’s not in Chicagoland, as just-released sales results for the first six months of this year find compact, midsize, fullsize and luxury SUVs and CUVs all posting sales increases.

The only other segment gainers were fullsize and compact pickup trucks.

In contrast, no car segment enjoyed any sales gain. Entry-level, subcompact, midsize, near-luxury and luxury cars, as well as sport coupes, all reported declines.

Car sales fell 7.6% for the first half of the year, while SUV/CUV and truck deliveries rose 6%.

The sales figures were compiled by IHS Automotive and reported by Auto Outlook Inc., an Exton, PA, market research firm, on behalf of the Chicago Automobile Trade Assn., the dealer trade group that sponsors the annual Chicago Auto Show.

According to the report, combined sales of domestic cars and trucks rose a modest 1.8% in the first six months of the year. At the same time, sales by Japanese, South Korean and European automakers fell 1.0%-1.8%.

Of first-half total sales, U.S. nameplates edged Japanese brands by less than 1,000 units: 75,598 to 74,828.

While domestics led the sales totals, only one domestic nameplate was listed among the top five leaders in terms of percentage increases this year vs. last, and that was Lincoln, with deliveries jumping 31.1% over year-ago.

The sales-gain leader was Jaguar, with a 61.8% spike over the prior-year. Rounding out the top five in terms of sales increases were Infiniti, Porsche, and Volvo.

There also was only one domestic among nameplates with the poorest sales results: Chrysler, which posted a 35.5% decline in the first half. It was followed by Acura, Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota, whose deliveries dropped between 10% and 19%.