Daily Auto News The Best Selling Cars Of 2009
Daily Auto News
This was a year the auto industry would like to forget — with two major automakers declaring bankruptcy, controversial government bailouts, historic brands disappearing forever and thousands of dealerships closing — but there were still success stories in 2009. The top 10 best-selling cars of the year include some of the traditional sales champions, but also a few surprises, and even an encouraging note for a domestic automaker.
Most automakers will release their official 2009 tallies this week, but the big ones have previewed their results, releasing sales figures for their highest-volume models, The early list of best-sellers includes a pair of pickups, four domestic models, and, unsurprisingly, bad news for GM.
Americans still bought more trucks than anything else. ABC News reports, “Gas prices weren’t the dominating factor they were in 2008, when sales of small cars boomed, leaving dealers with lots full of unsold pickup trucks and SUVs. The government’s Cash for Clunkers program created a short burst of sales over the summer for more fuel-efficient vehicles, but afterward, the market returned to normal.”
Despite an increased emphasis on smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and new technologies, ABC notes: “Hybrid sales…peaked at 3.6% of total industry sales in July, but fell again in fall, averaging 2.9% through November. Sales of compact cars, which were 16.1% of the market at the beginning of 2009, hit 22.9% in August, and declined to 14.4% in November.”
The overall sales champ remained the Ford F-150, America’s best-selling vehicle for 28 consecutive years. Ford can celebrate achievements in other segments of the market as well. Its Escape small SUV made the list, and its Fusion midsize car cracked the top ten for the first time. General Motors, however, placed only one vehicle on the list – the Chevy Silverado came in third. Global sales king Toyota had two vehicles on the list, the Camry midsize sedan and Corolla small car (though Toyota counts sales of its Matrix wagon when it reports Corolla figures). Honda placed three on the list.
Forbes reports, “U.S. car and light truck sales are expected to total approximately 10.4 million units, the lowest since 1970. For most of the last decade, the industry sold around 16 million new vehicles per year.” General Motors, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Suzuki paid the heaviest price, all losing market share in the U.S. Toyota’s position in the market stayed the same, but that ends a decade-long trend of growth.
Others, however, were well-positioned to take advantage of the down market. Ford, Subaru, Hyundai and Volkswagen all gained market share in 2009.
The Best-Selling Cars of 2009:
1. Ford F-150
2. Toyota Camry
3. Chevrolet Silverado
4. Toyota Corolla/Matrix
5. Honda Accord
6. Nissan Altima
7. Ford Escape
8. Honda CR-V
9. Ford Fusion
10. Honda Civic
If you’re in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals.
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