U.S.A.: Car Market at best since 2007. Ford voted as Brand of the Year

Mercato americano: il 2013 il migliore degli ultimi 7 anni. Ford eletta miglior Brand dell’Anno Ford davanti a Subaru e Cadillac. I modelli migliori? Dodge Ram, Ford F-Series e Subaru Forester.  Complessivamente nel 2013 sono state vendute oltre 15 milioni di vetture, di cui solo a dicembre 1.358.734, l’equivalente di un + 0,2% rispetto allo stesso mese del 2012.

 U.S. car market sales disappointed hit by weather conditions and pull ahead in Black Friday rebates. The year was the best in last sixth. Ford was voted the Brand of the Year, ahead of Subaru and Cadillac. Dodge Ram, Ford F-Series and Subaru Forrester the Best Models.

The auto industry topped 15 million vehicles in a year for the first time since 2007, and even a disappointing December couldn't tarnish the improvement. December U.S. light passenger vehicles sales were 1.358.734, up 0.2% from last year. Full Year sales were 115.582.000, up 7.6%.

Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at sales tracker Edmunds, said a couple of factors hit December sales, including bad weather and a strong November that may have moved up some deals that traditionally happen in the last month of the year. But she is not concerned that the weak December sales are a sign of any problems ahead for 2014. Focus2move is predicting full-year sales will top 16.4 million this year.

Today, all the U.S. automakers are profitable, even though U.S. sales are still nearly 2 million vehicles below the record levels of more than a decade ago. Last month, the Treasury Department sold its last shares of GM after their price climbed more than 40% during the year. On Wednesday, Fiat agreed to buy the remaining shares of Chrysler from a union-controlled trust fund.

The 2013 sales volume has been much healthier for the industry than the larger volumes of the last decade. There have been more sales to consumers and fewer to rental car companies and other fleet buyers that pay less for cars and quickly dump them in the used car market, pushing down new car prices. As a result, consumers spent a record dollar amount on cars in 2013.

Sales in 2013 have been helped by a number of other factors as well:

Pent-up demand from buyers who had delayed purchases in recent years and were stuck driving older cars. Strong gains in the stock market, which lifted not only household wealth but also consumer confidence. Falling unemployment, which means that more Americans can afford to purchase a car. Greater access to credit, as lenders offered attractive rates on both car loans and leases. A rebound in the housing market, which allowed homeowners to refinance and free up money for a car payment. A jump in home building led to a particularly strong year for pickup truck sales.

The auto industry's recovery has been an important driver for the economy as a whole. The industry added about 75.000 jobs in 2013, from auto plants to parts manufacturers and dealerships. More hiring is expected this year. Ford has already said it expects to add 5.000 jobs in 2014, its biggest increase in 50 years.

Sharing a general opinion on Brands & Models performance, based not only on volume but on results compared with potential, focus2move team quoted the Best of the Year 2013, as Brand and Model. This was the result:

Brand of Year was Ford, because they were able to improve 0.5 points of share in a market usually very stable. Second was voted Subaru, ranked 11th with 2.7% of share, gaining share for the third year in a row. Third was Cadillac, ranked 20th with 1.2% of share, the fast growing luxury brand in the market.

Model of Year was Dodge Ram ranked 3rd, with 2.3% of share, up 0.3 points. Second was Ford F-Series, in spite being the market leader since ever, was able to gain share again. Third was Subaru Forrester, ranked 36th with 0.8 of share, up 0.3 points, the best percentage increase of the year.

Looking at the Top Brands performance:

Ford sold 208.608 vehicles with a share of 15.3%, up 0.6 points from November. Full Year sales have been 2.403.542 with a share of 15.4%, up 0.5 points from 2012. F Series was the best-selling model with over 763.000 retails and a share of 4.9%, up 0.3 points from 2012. Escape ended the year in 10th place while the new Fusion was 11th. Focus ranked 16th and Explorer 21st.

Chevrolet was back in second although losing 0.4 points of share from November with 153.493 sales. Full Year Chevrolet was second with 1.947.125 sales and 12.5% of share, down 0.3 points from 2012 and 0.9 points from 2011. Silverado ended the year again in second place with 480.000 retails and a share stable at 3.1%. Behind, Cruze was 12th, Equinox 14th, Malibu 19th and Impala 26th.

Toyota was third selling 151.763 vehicles with 11.2% of share, down 0.7 points from November. Full Year Toyota was third with 1.892.764 sales and 12.1% of share, down 0.1 points from 2012 and up 1.6 points from 2011. Toyota best-selling model was the Camry which ended the year in third place in spite of losing 0.2 points of share from last year. Corolla was 9th and RAV4 17th.

Honda in fourth sold 119.504 vehicles with 8.8% of share, up 0.6 points from November. Full Year sales were 1.359.876 with a share of 8.7%, flat from last year. Full Year 2013, three models were in Top ten, Accord, Civic and CR-V respectively 4th, 6th and 8th.

Nissan in fifth sold 96.526 units with the share at 7.1%, down 0.4 points from the previous month. Full Year 2013 Nissan sold 1.131.965 vehicles with a share of 7.3%, up 0.2 points from 2012. The best-selling model was the Altima in 7th while Rogue was 24th and Sentra 29th.

Hyundai in 6th sold 63.005 vehicles with a share of 4.6%, up 0.1 points from the previous month. 2013 sales were 720.783 with a share of 4.6%, down 0.2 points from 2012 and 0.1 from 2011. Top model was the Elantra ranked 13th, Sonata was 18th and Santa Fe 54th.

Jeep kept the 7th place gained in November with 53.275 sales and a share of 3.9%, up 0.2 points from the previous month. Full Year Jeep was 9th with 490.454 units and 3.1% of share, down 0.2 points from last year. Grand Cherokee was the best-selling model in 22nd and Wrangler was 28th.

Dodge was 8th, up 1 spot, with 47.689 sales and 3.5% of share, up 0.2 points. Full Year 2013 Dodge was 7th with 596.343 sales and 3.8% of share, up 0.2 points from 2012 and 0.1 points from 2011. The best-selling model in 2013 was the Grand Caravan ranked 35th.