2019 Subcompact Sales Summary

There's been a long discussion about how small car sales are waning and how larger vehicle sales are gaining in popularity in the U.S. Heck, many thought 2019 would not be a strong car sales year for all cars. Well, the U.S. sales were down, but there were still 17 million vehicles sold (that five years with more than 17 million car sold, FYI). Pretty dang good. How'd the smaller cars do? Let's look.

Seven Month Sales Report: 2019

We're more than halfway through the sales season in 2019, and I thought to myself, I wonder how small car sales are doing this year? So I looked into it. The answer is rather surprising.

2017 Subcompact Sales Summary

Here's 2017's subcompact/small car sales info. There were a lot of big drops in sales vs. 2016, likely due to low fuel prices as well as a strong economy. And while both of those things are good for the U.S., they're not good for small car sales.

February 2017 Subcompact Sales

I know it's late in March, but better late than never to report the February 2017 subcompact sales, right?

It was BIG month for Mitsubishi, which posted a 145.2% increase over this time last year and a 95.7% increase overall vs. '16. And frankly, just about everyone else's numbers look fairly meek in comparison. However, there were a lot of positive jumps this year.

That being said, there were quite a few models down for February. The biggest loser being—yet again—the unloved Fiat 500L, which was down a staggering 81%, and 76% for the year. And yes, you're reading that right: Fiat moved just 82 models last month. Also scraping the bottom was the MINI Countryman, and the Chevrolet Sonic.

I think that's enough commentary this for this month. The tale is in the table, so have a look for yourself.

Make/Model	% Feb. 16 vs. Feb. 17	Units Feb. 17	% 2016 vs 2017	YTD
Mitsubishi Mirage	145.2	2835	95.7	4146
Mazda MX-5 Miata	46.0	1108	54.4	2037
Chevrolet Trax	37.2	6606	38.6	11863
MINI Cooper /S Clubman	31.0	499	65.2	658
Honda HR-V	28.6	6354	32.1	12043
BMW i3	28.2	318	62.8	430
Chevrolet Spark	21.5	2139	33.0	3834
Toyota Yaris iA	21.5	2801	14.6	4752
Toyota Yaris Liftback	16.4	1057	63.9	2387
Buick Encore	11.2	6528	9.2	11786
Jeep Renegade	11.0	7915	30.0	17280
Ford Fiesta	6.0	3981	19.7	7556
Honda Fit	3.2	3764	1.5	6842
Fiat 500	1.0	1131	12.0	2349
Smart Fortwo	-17.5	348	-18.1	672
Hyundai Veloster	-17.9	1724	0.9	1462
Nissan Versa	-19.4	9869	-7.5	18739
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr	-28.4	680	-38.4	1336
Mazda CX-3	-28.7	1279	-22.3	2463
Nissan Juke	-30.4	1297	-22.9	2601
Hyundai Accent	-31.5	3352	4.7	10414
Kia Soul	-35.0	7702	-26.3	15494
Toyota Prius c	-39.4	1372	-37.5	2515
Kia Rio	-42.5	840	-36.8	1826
Fiat 500X	-45.0	640	-44.0	1240
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr	-47.7	481	-55.7	954
Chevrolet Sonic	-49.5	2140	-46.5	4235
MINI Countyman	-67.6	188	20.7	1310
Fiat 500L	-81.0	72	-76.0	178
Chevrolet Bolt		952	na	2114
MINI Cooper /S Convertible		680	na	950
Fiat Spider		302	na	542

January 2017 Subcompact Car Sales

The first month's sales of subcompact cars is done and gone, and we have the results here.

Surprisingly, the sales were pretty good overall. The Toyota Yaris is at the top of the year vs. year heap selling quite a few more than last year. It is joined by the MINI Countryman, MINI Cooper Clubman, and BMW i3 for triple-digit increases. Granted, the total amount sold of the four is just less than the Ford Fiesta's overall sales. That being said, impressive improvement over January, 2016.

At the bottom of the list, unsurprisingly, is the Fiat 500L, down 70% from January 2016. And yes, Fiat moved just 106 units—about three units per day nationwide. Not so good. Joining the 500L at the bottom are the four- and two-door MINI Coopers, which are not off to a good start for the year. Together, the bottom three sold just over the total amount of Fiat 500 models moved in January. Interesting.

The biggest seller of January was the Jeep Renegade, which simply crushed it selling 9,365 units—even more than the perennially hot-selling Nissan Versa or Kia Soul. Well done, FCA. Well done.

In other news, we've dropped the Honda CR-Z from the list, since it's not being sold as a 2017. We have added the Chevrolet bolt which moved a healthy 1,162 electrified units.

Make/Model	%2016 vs 2017	YTD
Toyota Yaris Liftback	142.7	1330
MINI Countyman	122.6	1122
MINI Cooper /S Clubman	112.3	588
BMW i3	109.9	382
Mazda MX-5 Miata	65.9	929
Hyundai Accent	53.0	4159
Jeep Renegade	52.0	9365
Chevolet Spark	51.2	1695
Chevrolet Trax	40.3	5257
Ford Fiesta	39.6	3575
Honda HR-V	36.2	5689
Mitsubishi Mirage	36.1	1311
Fiat 500	24.0	1218
Hyundai Veloster	20.2	2699
Nissan Versa	10.8	8870
Buick Encore	6.9	5258
Toyota Yaris iA	6.0	1951
Honda Fit	-0.5	3078
Nissan Juke	-13.6	1304
Mazda CX-3	-14.0	1184
Kia Soul	-15.2	7792
Smart Fortwo	-18.8	324
Kia Rio	-31.0	986
Toyota Prius c	-35.2	1143
Fiat 500X	-42.0	600
Chevrolet Sonic	-43.0	2095
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr	-46.1	656
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr	-61.6	473
Fiat 500L	-70.0	106
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	na	270
Fiat Spider	na	240
Chevrolet Bolt	na	1162

How Subcompact Sales Stacked Up in 2016

Kia Soul Turbo

If there was a theme for the 2016 auto sales year, it might be that fuel prices were down and truck sales were up. (Fact: Ford sold nearly 65% more trucks than it did cars this year.) Generally, that's not great news for small car sales. However, it really wasn't all that bad; the little guys soldiered on with some highs and some lows. And while there might not have been a ton of new small car excitement, the earth kept rotating around the sun, dogs still chased cats, and small cars continued to sell.

Sales: What's the Future of Small Cars in the U.S.?

2017 Nissan Versa Note

No matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree on one thing: thank God for alcohol we're glad it's over. But from a car enthusiast perspective, specifically small cars, I wonder how the change in presidency will affect things?

July 2016 Subcompact Car Sales

Well, it's better late than never, right? After receiving an email asking where the subcompact sales data was, I realized that people actually do look at this data and anticipate it. I apologize for my tardiness ... here goes!

July's sales data is pretty mixed. About half the field did well, half the field didn't. The biggest winner was MINI's Convertible up a healthy 97.1%, although with only 536 units sold, any blips will shoot the percentage way up. Hyundai had a sizable 64.8% gain with its Accent, BMW's electric i3 charged things up 58.1%, and Jeeps super-hot Renegade also was up to the tune of 57%.

MINI might be at the top of the list, but it's also at the bottom with its 2DR hardtop, down 67.2%—a big drop. It should be noted overall sales of the 2D are down more than 44%. Also skimming the bottom were both the Toyota Prius c and the Toyota Yaris, with the c down 60.1% and the Yaris down 43.4%. The bigger news here is that the Yaris, which has remained largely unchanged for many years, currently has the biggest year-to-date sales drop of 47.6%.

2017 Fiat Spider

Of the newer models, the Scion iA is selling pretty darn well moving more than 19,400 units year to date, Mazda's pint-sized CX-3 Crossover continues to plunk along, and MINI's Clubman, which is more enormous than ever, has moved 5,487 cars. We also added the Fiat Spider to the list, which has now sold 481 units, one more unit than last month. It will be interesting to see how the Fiat sells against the Mazda MX-5 Miata, since the Fiat Spider is, of course, based on the Mazda architecture, but with that angry-sounding Fiat 1.4-turbo.

Make/Model	% July. '16 vs '15	Units July '16	% YTD June '16 Vs. '15	Units YTD
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	97.1	536	19.6	2366
Hyundai Accent	64.8	7046	15.2	46376
BMW i3	58.1	1479	-19.1	4359
Jeep Renegade	57.0	10057	211.0	61907
Chevrolet Trax	54.9	9466	24.8	38601
Kia Rio	49.6	3331	9.4	18669
Chevrolet Spark	28.7	4229	-0.8	22520
Honda Fit	25.4	5432	-17.9	32817
Honda HR-V	25.1	7394	118.6	43837
Nissan Versa	19.2	11856	9.6	84317
MINI Countryman	18.2	1422	-18.8	70702
Smart Fortwo	11.8	493	-24.1	3086
Buick Encore	1.4	6923	16	43344
Fiat 500X	1.0	950	514	7481
Honda CR-Z	0.7	272	-5.4	1477
Hundai Veloster	-2.5	2008	12.6	14931
Chevrolet Sonic	-5.1	4844	-21.3	33136
Kia Soul	-5.9	13157	2.1	83685
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 DR	-10.8	924	-22.1	7243
Mitsubishi Mirage	-17.6	1280	-4	14453
Mazda MX-5 Miata	-22.0	881	65.6	6265
Ford Fiesta	-25.5	4092	-27.7	29631
Fiat 500L	-28.0	227	-58	2527
Nissan Juke	-33.2	1568	-16.9	14124
Fiat 500	-43.0	1097	-44	8857
Toyota Yaris	-43.4	794	-47.6	7378
Toyota Prius c	-60.1	1402	-42.2	12975
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 DR	-67.2	813	-44.6	7053
Scion iA		3007		19434
Mazda CX-3		1499		11001
MINI Clubman		1076		5487
Fiat Spider		480		481

June 2016 Subcompact Car Sales

We are officially into the summer car buying season. The weather is getting warmer and so are some of the subcompact car sales.

The biggest year over year change goes the Kia Rio, which is somewhat surprising. The Korean-made subcompact sold 116.4% more Rios this year than last. Mazda continues to be at the top of the charts with its Miata, which shows no signs of slowing down. Speaking of hot sellers, Jeep's Renegade was up a very healthy 99% vs. this time last year. And hey everyone, look—the Chevy Spark has returned to the top five, with sales up more than 70% vs. June of 2015.

The biggest loser goes to Toyota's Yaris, which sold a measly 1,300 models for a 53.7% drop over last year. Also skimming the bottom is its cousin, the Prius c down 52.7%. Joining the pity party is Hyundai's Accent, down 52%.

The big year-to-date seller is, unsurprisingly, the Nissan Versa; the big loser thus far is Honda's out-going CR-Z, which isn't long for our market (or any other market for that matter). It should be noted that the Kia Soul continues to give the Nissan a run for its money in terms of overall sales.

Make/Model	% June '16 vs. '15	Units June '16	% YTD June '16 vs. '15	Units YTD
Kia Rio	116.4	5238	3.6	15368
Mazda MX-5 Miata	102.0	889	102.5	5384
Jeep Renegade	99.0	9688	262.0	52237
Chevrolet Spark	70.1	6559	-5.8	18291
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	61.6	635	7.2	1830
Nissan Versa	44.1	14683	8.2	72461
Honda CR-Z	10.8	235	-3.0	1205
BMW i3	10.3	608	-35.4	2880
Buick Encore	10.2	6091	19.2	36421
Honda Fit	3.7	5034	-5.7	27385
Kia Soul	3.3	12229	3.7	70528
Nissan Juke	-1.7	2524	-14.3	12556
Chevrolet Trax	-2.9	5796	17.4	29135
Chevrolet Sonic	-3.9	7583	-23.5	28292
Mitsubishi Mirage	-7.7	1541	-2.4	13173
Hyundai Veloster	-17.7	1700	15.4	12923
Honda HR-V	-18.6	6567	157.7	36443
MINI Countryman	-30.0	1429	-24.1	6280
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr.	-40.4	850	-39.0	6240
Smart Fortwo	-47.4	407	-28.4	2593
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr.	-47.9	983	-23.5	6319
Fiat 500L	-48.0	274	-62.0	2338
Ford Fiesta	-49.0	4064	-18.7	25539
Fiat 500	-51.0	1113	-48.0	7932
Hyundai Accent	-52.0	6139	9.3	39330
Toyota Prius c	-52.7	1355	-38.8	11573
Toyota Yaris	-53.7	1300	-48.1	6584
Scion iA		2939		16427
Mazda CX-3		1512		9502
Fiat 500X		1156		7464
MINI Cooper S/Clubman		1007		4411

May 2016 Subcompact Sales

Is it that time again already? Indeed it is, and three models had big-old gains. The Jeep Renegade, as we predicted, is killin' it. Nearly 11,000 models sold in May; 42,549 models sold this year! That makes it the third best-selling model on this list. The  Mazda MX-5 Miata continues to sell the heck out of is little sports car, which was up 122.7%. MINI also did well last month moving 103.1% of what it sold last year, despite selling the fewest vehicles of any other subcompact model this year. After that, however, things peter out. However, the redesigned Chevrolet Spark, which we still haven't driven, is up 29.2%, along with several other vehicles in the double digits. Of note: Mitsubishi's Mirage was down 39.1%. Will this be a trend for the struggling automaker's surprise sales champion?

Jeeps subcompact crossover, the Renegade, is selling like hot cakes, which apparently sell pretty well. 

On the not-so-good side of the sales equation, the biggest loser was, unsurprisingly, the unpopular Fiat 500L, down 73% with just 334 models sold. Only Honda's not-so-sporty (or fuel efficient) CR-Z hybrid sold fewer units. The aging Chevrolet Sonic and Smart's Fortwo, Toyota's Yaris, and a few other subcompacts were down more than 40% this month. Not so good.

As of today, fuel prices are $0.40 less expensive than they were a year ago, but up $0.10 from a month ago, so it's trending upwards. We'll see if the lower fuel prices continue to have an effect on subcompact sales.

Make/Model	%May '16 vs. '15	Units May '16	% YTD May '16 vs. '15	Units YTD
Jeep Renegade	146.0	10868	334.0	42549
Mazda MX-5 Miata	122.7	1000	103.0	4495
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	103.1	646	-9.1	1195
Chevrolet Spark	29.2	3495	-24.6	11732
Honda HR-V	25.5	7392	371.9	29876
Hyundai Accent	22.7	5432	23.0	36191
Buick Encore	20.8	6522	21.2	30330
Nissan Versa	19.7	12114	1.8	57778
Kia Soul	-1.3	13706	3.8	58299
Honda CR-Z	-4.9	234	-27.8	22351
Honda Fit	-10.0	5706	-27.8	22351
Chevrolet Trax	-10.6	5102	23.9	23339
Hyundai Veloster	-12.6	1965	22.8	11223
Nissan Juke	-13.5	2271	-17.0	10032
BMW i3	-15.0	696	-41.8	2272
MINI Countryman	-30.1	1236	-22.2	4851
Ford Fiesta	-34.8	6150	-22.0	21475
Kia Rio	-38.0	2241	-18.4	10130
Mitsubishi Mirage	-38.3	2098	-1.7	11632
Fiat 500	-41.0	1553	-48.0	6819
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr.	-42.5	908	-16.3	5336
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr.	-44.1	968	-38.8	5390
Toyota Prius c	-45.0	1909	-36.3	10218
Toyota Yaris	-48.5	1236	-46.5	5284
Smart Fortwo	-49.8	420	-23.3	2186
Chevrolet Sonic	-67.1	2980	-28.8	20709
Fiat 500L	-73.0	334	-63.0	2064
Scion iA		3056		13488
Mazda CX-3		1570		7990
Fiat 500X		1250		6308
MINI Cooper S/Clubman		825		3404

April 2016 Subcompact Car Sales: A Rebound?

Last month I was quick to declare a subcompact sales slump. It's pretty incredible how things can simply bounce back. Twelve of the 27 models for sale more than a year have posted positive sales gains this month vs. the same month in 2015. The biggest monthly gainer was, again. the Mazda MX-5 Miata, up 182.8%. The Jeep Renegade also was up over 130%, and BMW's electric i3 was also up 100%. Impressively, Hyundai moved a lot of Accents in April—nearly 13,000 to be exact—for a year-to-date total of over 30,000 units.

The big loser this month was again the MINI Paceman. All I can assume is the model is already on the chopping block, so perhaps its 89% loss isn't truly representative, since it's a dead man walking. The Fiat 500L is most certainly still for sale, although with a 63% decline in sales, you'd hardly know it. The Toyota Prius c was down 54.2%, and the Nissan Versa was down, somewhat surprisingly, 50%. That being said, it still has the most units sold thus far of any subcompact-like vehicle yet with 45,664 units sold.

And in my favorite small car battle of the year, the tiny Mitsubishi Mirage continues to outsell the lilliputian Chevrolet Spark by nearly 16%, Overall Mirage sales are up 12.7% for the year. Talk about surprising.

New feature: Click on the car name for stories related to that model.

Make/Model	% Apr. '16 vs. '15	Units Apr. '16	% YTD Apr. '16 vs. '15	Units YTD
Mazda MX-5 Miata	182.8	1086	98.0	3495
Jeep Renegade	131.0	9730	514.0	31681
BMW i3	100.0	814	-48.9	1576
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	79.7	541	-44.9	549
Hyundai Veloster	69.2	2792	34.4	9258
Hyundai Accent	57.6	12933	23.0	30759
Mitsubishi Mirage	37.2	3302	12.7	9534
Chevrolet Trax	30.7	4510	38.8	18237
Buick Encore	17.9	6589	21.3	23808
Honda CR-Z	12.8	253	-12.6	736
Kia Soul	0.9	11517	5.5	44593
MINI Countryman	0.4	1249	-19.1	3615
Smart Fortwo	-2.9	466	-12.3	1766
Kia Rio	-10.0	2523	-10.4	7889
Chevrolet Spark	-17.7	3082	-35.9	8237
Nissan Juke	-22.3	1890	-17.9	7761
Honda Fit	-24.3	5132	-32.4	16645
Ford Fiesta	-25.4	4462	-15.3	15325
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr	-35.1	976	-7.7	4428
Toyota Yaris	-36.6	1365	-45.9	4048
Fiat 500	-40.0	1488	-50.0	5266
Chevrolet Sonic	-41.4	5102	-11.4	17729
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr	-46.9	1136	-37.5	4422
Nissan Versa	-50.0	9165	-2.1	45664
Toyota Prius c	-54.2	1676	-33.7	8309
Fiat 500L	-63.0	463	-60.0	1730
MINI Paceman	-89.0	9	-88.5	39
Honda HR-V		6989		22484
Scion iA		3023		10432
Mazda CX-3		1504		6420
Fiat 500X		1094		5058
MINI Cooper /S Clubman		884		2579

Sales numbers are for U.S. market only.

February 2016 Subcompact Car Sales: Slow Sales Continue

Fuel prices remain low and therefore the sales of larger vehicles are up, and subcompact car sales continue to fall. There wasn't a single vehicle with more than a 48.5% increase in sales vs. February 2014 on the entire chart.

The big winner was Mazda's Miata (up 48.5%). The Chevrolet Sonic moved 46.2% more cars than this time last year, and Hyundai's Veloster models were up 35.1%. No other companies posted bigger year-over-year gains.

The big loser is BMW's i3 EV which was down a whopping 77.2%, followed by both the Fiat 500L (-62.0%) and the 500 (-54.0%).

The Jeep Renegade continues to make strides in the subcompact CUV market, as does the Honda HR-V. By the way: The Jeep sells more than four times the amount of Renegades as Fiat sells 500Xs, despite them being on the same platform.

Unless fuel prices rise sharply, I would expect small car numbers to continue to be soft.

Make/Model	% YTD Jan. '16 vs '15	Units Feb. '16	% YTD Feb. '15 vs. '16	Units YTD
Mazda MX-5 Miata	48.5	759	55.4	1319
Chevrolet Sonic	46.2	4241	23.3	7919
Hyundai Veloster	35.1	2101	44.3	4124
Chevrolet Trax	26.0	4814	51.2	8560
Buick Encore	19.3	5873	28.7	10793
Kia Soul	18.8	11842	16.2	21033
Nissan Versa	2.9	12249	-9.8	20255
Ford Fiesta	1.2	3754	-11.8	6314
Hyundai Accent	0.6	4897	6.9	9947
Smart Fortwo	-7.9	422	-13.6	821
Nissan Juke	-14.7	1863	-19.4	3373
Toyota Prius c	-16.2	2263	-21.2	4026
MINI Cooper /S 4DR Hardtop	-17.1	920	20.6	2152
Kia Rio	-24.8	1461	-17.8	2891
Honda CR-Z	-26.9	128	-10.2	320
MINI Cooper /S 2 DR Hardtop	-27.6	948	-22.8	2164
Toyota Yaris	-33.4	908	-48.1	1456
Chevrolet Spark	-34.1	1761	-50.7	2882
Honda Fit	-35.5	3647	-38.7	6742
Mitsubishi Mirage	-37.9	1156	-40.6	2119
MINI Countryman	-38.1	581	-35.5	1085
Fiat 500	-54.0	1081	-52.0	2288
Fiat 500L	-62.0	365	-60.0	734
BMW i3	-77.2	248	-75.6	430
Jeep Renegade	-	6757		13119
Honda HR-V		4940		9117
Scion iA	-	2305		4145
Mazda CX-3		1793		3168
Fiat 500X	-	1547		2565
MINI Cooper /S Clubman		381		568

January 2016 Subcompact Car Sales: Cheap Gas + Big Snows = Low Sales

The combination of an east coast blizzard and plummeting gas prices meant lower overall sales for small cars. The biggest yearly gain was the Chevrolet Trax; its were sales up more than 103%. The new MINI Cooper 4DR Hardtop sold well—up over 82%. Mazda continues to sell the heck out of its new Miata, up 82.5%. If you look at sales volumes the Kia Soul sold the most units followed by the Nissan Versa, and then surprisingly, the Jeep Renegade.

The biggest year-over-year loser would be the BMW i3, which was down 72.8%. Chevy's Spark and Toyota Yaris were also down more than 60%. The reason for both models' declines may be due to supply issues.

Assuming gas doesn't spike up like crazy again, it will be interesting to see how 2016 plays out. I have a feeling we'll see continued slow small car sales, with the exception of the subcompact crossovers.


                                                           

Make/Model	% YTD Jan. '16 vs '15	Units YTD
Chevrolet Trax	103.7	3746
MINI Cooper /S 4 Dr Hardtop	82.5	1232
Mazda MX-5 Miata	79.5	560
Hyundai Veloster	55.4	2023
Buick Encore	42.0	4920
Hyundai Accent	13.8	5050
Kia Soul	12.9	9191
Chevrolet Sonic	4.5	3678
Honda CR-Z	-2.0	192
Kia Rio	-9.0	1430
MINI Cooper /S 2 DR Hardtop	-18.6	1216
Smart Fortwo	-18.9	399
Nissan Versa	-24.1	8006
Nissan Juke	-24.5	1510
Ford Fiesta	-25.9	2560
Toyota Prius c	-31.8	1205
MINI Countryman	-32.3	504
Mitsubishi Mirage	-43.5	963
Honda Fit	-46.7	3095
Fiat 500	-49.0	1207
Fiat 500L	-58.0	369
Toyota Yaris	-62.0	548
Chevrolet Spark	-64.6	1121
BMW i3	-72.8	182
Fiat 500X	-	1018
MINI Cooper /S Clubman	-	277
Mazda CX-3	-	1375
Scion Ia	-	1840
Jeep Renegade	-	6362
Honda HR-V	-	4177

December 2015 Subcompact Car Sales and Reflections on the 2015 Small Car Market

By Andy Lilienthal

With falling gas prices throughout 2015, small car sales didn't post up the big numbers they have in the past. That being said, there were winners and losers.

Starting with December itself, the biggest increase in sales vs. Dec. 2014 was the Buick Encore which sold more than double the amount of cars it did last year at this time. Mazda's hot-selling Miata continues to post positive year over year gains, and BMW's electrified i3 sold a healthy 40.4% more cars than Dec. '14.

In the loser category for December, the generally unpopular Fiat 500L was down 79%, followed by the Toyota Yaris, and MINI Paceman. I can't speak for the 500L or the Paceman, but I know the Yaris was in very short supply in the latter months of '15.

2015 SUBCOMPACT CAR SALES AS A WHOLE
So which small model sold the most units total this year? That honor goes to the Kia Soul, which moved a whopping 147,113 units, outselling the Nissan Versa by just 2,585 units. A distant third goes to the Buick Encore, which moved 67,549 units.

The slowest sellers? Well the slothiest goes to the MINI Paceman which managed to move just 1,708 units all year. The Honda CR-Z and MINI Cooper /S Convertible round out the bottom three.

Another interesting foot note is that Mitsubishi proved it can also sell a small car, as the rebounding Japanese brand sold a healthy 21,515 units, making it the company's second best selling vehicle after the Outlander Sport. Taking a page out of the Chevy Spark playbook, the miniature Mirage offers four doors, great fuel economy, and popular tech bits. It is still rather Spartan. It's also very inexpensive. The Spark, by the way, was down 16.2% for the year.

However, where some of the cars slowed down in sales, the subcompact crossover segment more than made up for it.

2015: THE YEAR OF THE SUBCOMPACT CROSSOVER
Next time people say U.S. buyers don't like small cars, point them to this blog post. American's love small cars—as long as they're labeled as crossovers and have available AWD.

Case in point? The aforementioned Buick Encore's 67,549 units sold this year. And guess what? Its twin, the Chevy Trax, moved another 63,030 units. As predicted, Jeep's Renegade is killing it thus far and has sold 60,946 models in nine months. Honda's HR-V has sold nearly 42,000 units, too.

If you add in sales of all the subcompact crossovers sold this year (500X, Countryman, CX-3, Encore, HR-V, Juke, Renegade, and Trax), it amounts to more than 293,000 units sold. And if you include the fairly small Subaru Crosstrek, which sold 89,000 on its own, you get more than 382,000 small crossovers sold in 2015. Yes, the subcompact crossover market was smokin' hot in 2015, and I'll be this trend soldiers on into 2016, too.

Make/Model	% Dec. '15 vs. '14	Units Dec. '15	% YTD Dec. '15 vs. Dec. '14	Units YTD
Buick Encore	109.5	6498	38.2	67549
Mazda MX-5 Miata	86.8	706	81.1	8591
BMW i3	40.4	1422	81.0	11024
Chevrolet Sonic	33.7	7293	-30.7	64775
Huyndai Veloster	33.3	2246	-12.1	24245
Honda CR-Z	31.0	316	-13.7	3073
Kia Soul	22.7	12159	1.2	147113
Nisssan Versa	21.1	11058	3.4	144528
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 DR	12.0	1247	1026.8	15189
Mitsubishi Mirage	11.2	1262	28.8	21515
MINI Cooper Countryman	10.7	2148	-26.3	16686
Ford Fiesta	-4.7	3550	2.0	64458
Toyota Prius c	-6.4	2861	-5.4	38484
Nissan Juke	-9.1	1958	-29.0	27121
Smart ForTwo	-31.2	669	-28.4	7484
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	-32.9	147	-12.4	3098
Honda Fit	-34.9	4197	-11.1	52724
Fiat 500	-35.0	1510	-26.0	25084
Kia Rio	-48.2	997	-33.9	23742
Chevrolet Spark	-55.4	1340	-16.2	32809
Hyundai Accent	-68.3	2718	-2.9	61486
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 DR	-68.8	956	-8.0	19778
MINI Paceman	-70.5	38	-18.0	1708
Toyota Yaris	-76.5	377	26.4	16779
Fiat 500L	-79.0	308	-37.0	7863
Jeep Renegade	0	8975	0	60946
Chevrolet Trax	0	5323	0	63030
Honda HR-V	0	4737	0	41969
Fiat 500X	0	1996	0	9463
Scion iA	0	1808	0	7605
Mazda CX-3	0	1663	0	6406

November 2015 Subcompact Car Sales

By Andy Lilienthal

November wasn't a month with huge gains or losses overall, despite the artificially high number for the MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4DR. (We always see this giant spike one year after a model is introduced.) If you don't count the MINI as the biggest winner, the Mazda MX-5 Miata, which we recently reviewed, continues to make big year-over-year gains, as it was up more than 226%. The Hyundai Veloster had a nice bump, as did the company's Accent.

The biggest loser this month was the Fiat 500L, which seems to get no love. Fiat moved only 228 units last month, or about seven a day across the entire country. The slow-selling MINI Cooper convertible also didn't fair well, and the Kia Rio round out the bottom.

As for the models not yet a year old, the Jeep Renegade keeps selling like hotcakes and the Chevrolet Trax continues to sell well. Thew Scion iA sold 1,787 sedans. Onto the big board!

Make/Model	% Nov. 15 vs Nov. 14	Units Nov. 15	% YTD Nov. 15 vs Nov. 14	Units YTD
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4DR	463.8	1325	5832.8	13942
Mazda MX-5 Miata	226.8	732	80.6	7885
Hyundai Veloster	70.1	2204	-15.1	21999
Hyundai Accent	44.1	5041	7.4	58768
Honda CR-Z	36.4	236	-17.4	2757
Buick Encore	12.1	5133	33.3	61051
Kia Soul	9.8	10045	-0.3	134974
Nissan Versa	5.4	9783	2.2	133470
Ford Fiesta	-0.4	3422	2.4	60908
Toyota Prius c	-5.0	2601	-5.2	35623
Nissan Juke	-5.5	1897	-30.2	25163
BMW i3	-11.3	723	89.1	9602
MINI Countryman	-18.4	1260	-29.8	14538
Mitsubishi Mirage	-18.6	1085	30.1	20253
Smart Fortwo	-18.8	662	-28.1	6815
MINI Paceman	-21.8	330	-14.5	1670
Chevrolet Sonic	-24.7	3653	-34.7	57482
Chevrolet Spark	-43.1	1628	-13.0	31469
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2DR	-44.5	1460	2.1	18822
Toyota Yaris	-45.1	348	40.6	16402
Honda Fit	-48.9	3018	-8.2	48527
Fiat 500	-51.0	968	-25.0	23583
Kia Rio	-57.0	898	-33.1	22745
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	-71.2	62	-11.0	2951
Fiat 500L	-80.0	228	-31.0	7555
Jeep Renegade	-	7345	-	51971
Chevrolet Trax	-	6481	-	57707
Honda HR-V	-	3505	-	37232
Fiat 500X	-	1833	-	7467
Scion iA	-	1785	-	5797
Mazda CX-3	-	1323	-	4743

October 2015 Subcompact Car Sales

By Andy Lilienthal

Adios, October! The 10th month of the year was a good one to Mazda, which saw sales of its popular Miata skyrocket 276.7% compared to October 2014, with total sales up 72.7% thanks to its redesigned sports car. MINI's Cooper Convertible had a big bump in sales up 95.2%, although the 443 models sold don't exactly account to big numbers. Honda's CR-Z hybrid, which is neither that sporty or efficient, had a 54.1% bump in sales, but is still in the red in terms of overall sales for 2015.

The biggest loser of the month goes to MINI's oddball Paceman, which is down 87.4% moving just 23 units. More strangely, Honda's Fit is down a whopping 80.1%, moving just 1,363 units for some reason. What's up with that? Overall sales are down slightly at 2.1%. Fiat also did not have a great month with both its 500 and 500L models selling at a -58% and -54% drops vs. last year with overall sales in the red, too.

Of the newer cars, the Jeep Renegade continues to be a sales success, as is the Chevy Trax. Scion's iA sold a modest 1,977 units, and we also added Mazda's CX-3 to the chart.

For what it's worth, we've removed the MINI Roadster, Coupe, and Clubman, as those models are now obsolete.

Make/Model	% Oct. '15 vs Oct. '14	Units Oct. '15	% YTD Oct. '15 vs Oct. '14	Units YTD
Mazda MX-5 Miata	276.7	1085	72.7	7153
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	95.2	443	-6.9	2889
Honda CR-Z	54.1	316	-20.0	2521
Buick Encore	38.8	6633	35.7	55918
Hyundai Veloster	29.5	2140	-19.6	19795
Nissan Versa	24.9	13855	1.9	123687
Smart ForTwo	23.2	721	-29.0	6153
Kia Soul	14.6	12248	-1.1	124929
Hyundai Accent	5.4	5102	4.8	53727
Nissan Juke	2.0	1804	-31.6	23266
Toyota Prius c	1.9	3373	-5.4	33022
Ford Fiesta	-0.3	3618	2.6	57486
Mitsubishi Mirage	-12.9	1197	34.6	19168
BMW i3	-15.0	986	108.3	8879
Chevrolet Spark	-15.0	2002	-10.4	29841
Toyota Yaris	-25.4	519	45.5	16054
Chevrolet Sonic	-37.4	3294	-35.3	53829
Kia Rio	-38.0	1571	-31.6	21847
MINI Countryman	-40.1	1219	-30.7	13278
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr	-49.8	1378	9.9	17362
Fiat 500	-54.0	1286	-23.0	22615
Fiat 500L	-68.0	293	-25.0	7327
Honda Fit	-80.1	1363	-2.1	45509
MINI Paceman	-87.4	23	-20.3	1340
Jeep Renegade	-	7,795	-	44626
Chevrolet Trax	-	8172	-	51226
Honda HR-V	-	4502	-	33727
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr	-	1018	-	12617
Fiat 500X	-	2178	-	5634
Scion iA	-	1977	-	4012
Mazda CX-3	-	1382	-	3420

September 2015 Subcompact Car Sales

By Andy Lilienthal

September appears to have been a good month far car sales and that holds mostly true for the small cars, too.

Mazda's new Miata has the top month vs. month sales increase with a 127.1% change. Ford must've done something good in September (or something bad last September) as sales were up 67.2%. BMW also had a good month with a 67% increase.

In terms of slow sales, The MINI Coupe was at the bottom with a 91.1% decrease in sales vs. this time last month. The MINI Roadster was also down big time. It's likely dealers don't have many of either of these vehicles on the lots, since they'll be discontinued for 2016.

The biggest brow-raiser on this chart would be the Honda Fit, which was down more than 80% in September. What's up with that? Overall sales are still up 11.4% compared to last year, but something must've happened with supply to be down this low.

Also, welcome the Scion iA to the list. It sold 2,035 units last month.

Make/Model	% Sep. '15 vs Sep. '14	Units Sep. '15	% YTD Sep. '15 vs Sep. '14	Units YTD
Mazda MX-5 Miata	127.1	940	57.4	3855
Ford Fiesta	67.2	6996	2.8	53868
BMW i3	67.0	1710	154.3	7893
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr	50.7	1685	22.5	15984
Nissan Versa	49.5	18053	-0.4	109832
Buick Encore	46.2	5624	35.3	49285
Kia Soul	26.0	13614	-2.5	112683
Honda CR-Z	20.0	310	-25.1	2205
Chevrolet Spark	17.0	2371	-10.0	27839
Nissan Juke	16.2	2108	-33.5	21462
Toyota Prius c	5.5	3367	-6.1	29649
Mitsubishi Mirage	0.6	1348	39.7	17971
Smart ForTwo	0.3	750	-32.8	5432
Hyundai Accent	-0.6	3640	4.8	48625
Toyota Yaris	-2.0	586	50.3	15535
Hyundai Veloster	-23.7	2118	-23.1	17655
Fiat 500	-30.0	1926	-20.0	21329
Kia Rio	-33.9	1480	-31.0	20276
MINI Countryman	-38.2	1180	-29.6	12059
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	-42.8	238	-14.9	2446
Fiat 500L	-46.0	339	-21.0	7034
MINI Paceman	-47.7	102	-12.1	1317
Chevrolet Sonic	-54.6	3780	-35.2	50532
Honda Fit	-80.7	1279	11.4	44146
MINI Roadster	-90.2	20	-9.0	1094
MINI Coupe	-91.1	14	-44.6	452
Jeep Renegade	-	7924	-	36831
Chevrolet Trax	-	6140	-	43051
Honda HR-V	-	4608	-	29225
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr	-	1174	-	11599
Fiat 500X	-	1133	-	3456
Scion iA	-	2035	-	2035

August 2015 Subcompact Car Sales

By Andy Lilienthal


Welcome to September! That means, last month's subcompact sales are tallied up, and frankly, the results this month are totally weird.

At the top of the list is the Fiat 500L, which had an outlying sales increase of 824%. This is due to the stop-sale that happened at this time last year making its increase this month artificially enormous. Next up, a more realistic, yet still amazing number comes from Mazda and its much-loved MX-5 Miata, which had a 254.6% gain vs. this time last year, due mostly to the release of the latest Miata. And the last bizarro statistic: The MINI Roadster, up 162.6%. To be frank, this this month's top gainers are totally unrepresentative. More realistic are the MINI Coupe's sales, the Toyota Yaris' sales, and pretty much every car below it. The Kia Soul has sold nearly 100,000 units already this year, with the Nissan Versa about 7,200 units behind.

The biggest loser this month is the Chevrolet Sonic, which is down more than 63% compared to August, 2014; it's also down more than 30% for the year. The Nissan Juke, however, has the largest year-to-date sales decline. The Smart ForTwo is also down quite a bit, likely due to the next generation being on the horizon. This month's charts are extreme in both directions. You were either way up, or down significantly.

The Jeep Renegade continues to impress with 8,156 units moved this month. We've also added Honda's subcompact HR-V crossover to the list, which will likely be tearing up the charts here soon.

Make/Model	% Aug. '15 vs Aug. '14	Units Aug. '15	% YTD Aug. '15 vs Aug. '14	Units YTD
Fiat 500L	824.0	305	-19.0	6695
Mazda MX-5 Miata	254.6	1344	49.0	5128
MINI Roadster	162.6	323	7.7	1074
MINI Coupe	64.9	155	-36.5	438
Toyota Yaris	64.1	858	53.5	14949
Buick Encore	29.2	6286	34.0	43661
MINI Paceman	23.7	282	-6.8	1215
Kia Soul	13.5	17180	-5.4	99069
Ford Fiesta	5.4	5892	-2.8	46872
Nissan Versa	1.7	14875	-6.5	91779
Honda CR-Z	1.1	333	-29.7	1895
MINI Cooper /S 2 Dr	0.8	1596	19.8	14299
Nissan Juke	0.3	2360	-36.4	19654
Hyundai Accent	0.2	4733	5.2	15537
Chevrolet Spark	-4.3	2722	-11.9	25468
BMW i3	-22.7	792	197.0	6183
Toyota Prius c	-4.9	3571	-6.4	22438
Mitsubishi Mirage	-5.8	1569	44.2	16623
Hyundai Veloster	-23.6	2276	-23.0	15537
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	-36.2	229	-10.2	2208
Fiat 500	-38.0	2054	-19.0	19403
MINI Countryman	-42.0	1398	-28.5	10879
Kia Rio	-48.8	1734	-30.8	18796
Honda Fit	-50.2	2901	29.9	42867
Smart ForTwo	-53.7	617	36.1	4682
Chevrolet Sonic	-63.5	4677	-32.8	46755
Jeep Renegade	-	8156	-	28907
Chevrolet Trax	-	5985	-	36911
Honda HR-V	-	4567	-	24617
MINI Cooper /S 4 Dr	-	1128	-	10425
Fiat 500X	-	1029	-	1999

July 2015 Subcompact Car Sales

By Andy Lilienthal

As prices of gas continue to fall, so do sales of smaller vehicles. While most automakers are doing quite well, their small car inventory is likely being looked over for larger, thirstier vehicles, which is evidenced by July 2015's numbers tell the tale.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata—the track day darling, drop-top superstar, and all-around super-fun car—managed to sell a few more units this past month, giving it a whopping 183.2% gain over last year at this time; overall sales are up 22.9% because of it. Perhaps people are snatching up the current model before the all-new versions come out.

The if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it Toyota Yaris is up 104.5%, giving it eight straight months in a row of positive sales. I wonder why? For what it's worth, I see a lot of 2015 Yaris hatchbacks around Portland.

The ever-strong-selling Buick Encore subcompact CUV is the last of the list with impressive gains; and, for what it's worth, the Nissan Juke is up 0.9%. Every other car is down compared to this time last year. And in case you were wondering, the average price of gas at this time is $2.64/gal. Last year at this same time it was $3.50/gal. So there you have it.

The big loser this month is Fiat's functional yet unfortunately styled Fiat 500L. The always-slow-to-sell MINI Coupe is down 70%; the soon-to-be-redesigned Smart ForTwo is down 67.4%, likely because of those aforementioned low fuel prices, and because buyers are finally getting a clue how terrible the transmission is.

Of the vehicles that haven't yet been on sale for as much time as it takes the earth to go around the sun (that's one year for you math-challenged readers), the Jeep Renegade, which just rolled out, sold 6,320 units, outselling the Chevrolet Trax. The Fiat 500X is just now hitting dealerships, and didn't sell 1,000 this month. I expect that to change.

So what this month's sales lacked in volume, I made up for in snark and hyphenated adjectives here in this article. You're welcome.

Make/Model	% Jul. '15 vs Jul. '14	Units Jul. '15	% YTD Jul. '15 vs Jul. '14	Units YTD
Mazda MX-5 Miata	183.2	1130	22.9	3062
Toyota Yaris	104.5	1403	52.9	14091
Buick Encore	68.1	6826	64.8	37375
Nissan Juke	0.9	2347	-39.5	16994
Mitsubishi Mirage	-2.5	1553	52.7	15054
Toyota Prius c	-4.9	3571	-6.4	22438
Kia Soul	-5.0	13975	-8.6	81961
MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Dr	-5.8	2479	22.7	12706
Hyundai Veloster	-7.8	2062	-22.9	13261
Chevrolet Spark	-11.5	3287	-12.8	22696
Hyundai Accent	-12.1	3755	-5.9	40252
Honda Fit	-15.3	4332	48.4	39966
Fiat 500	-17.0	1959	-16.0	17349
Chevrolet Sonic	-20.7	5102	-25.9	42078
Honda CR-Z	-24.2	270	-33.7	1562
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	-25.1	272	-5.8	1979
Ford Fiesta	-27.2	5491	-3.9	40980
MINI Paceman	-36.2	95	-13.3	933
Nissan Versa	-36.3	9949	-8.0	76904
Kia Rio	-41.3	2227	-28.2	17062
MINI Countryman	-44.9	1203	-26	9481
MINI Roadster	-48.0	78	-14.1	751
Smart ForTwo	-67.4	441	-32.2	4065
MINI Coupe	-70.2	25	-52.5	283
Fiat 500L	-78.0	314	-22.0	6390
Jeep Renegade	-	6320	-	20751
Chevrolet Trax	-	6111	-	30926
MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Dr	-	1036	-	9297
Fiat 500X	-	962	-	970
BMW i3	-	935	-	5391

June 2015 Subcompact Car Sales

By Andy Lilienthal

June's sales are history, and the biggest overall gain was had by the Toyota Yaris, which moved more than 112% more models than this time last year. The BMW i3 jumped towards the top after being on sale a full year, hence the crazy YTD percentage, and the MINI Paceman had an outlying miniature spike in sales that boosted it's percentage.

The biggest loser this month was the dowdy yet, extremely practical Fiat 500L, which was down 54% vs. this time last year. Ovreall sales of the "big" Fiat are down 11%. The biggest fall from glory is currently going to the still-funky Nissan Juke, which is down 43% in year-to-date sales at this point. In overall units sold, the also-still-funky Kia Soul continues to hold off not-funky Nissan's Versa for the title of most-popular small car on the list. Funky, eh?

Make/Model	% Jun. '15 vs Jun. '14	Units Jun. '15	% YTD Jun. '15 vs Jun. '14	Units YTD
Toyota Yaris	112.6	2810	48.7	12688
BMW i3	54.0	551	542.1	4456
MINI Paceman	36.3	248	-9.6	838
Buick Encore	33.4	5526	29.1	30549
Ford Fiesta	23.6	7971	1.2	35489
Honda Fit	21.2	4669	63.3	35634
Mitsubishi Mirage	15.0	1669	63.3	13501
Hyundai Accent	14.4	6541	5.0	35976
MINI Roadster	14.3	144	-1.9	414
Smart ForTwo	13.8	973	12.8	10453
Mazda MX-5 Miata	6.8	440	-0.3	2654
MINI Cooper /S Convertible	6.8	393	-1.7	1707
MINI Countryman	4.3	2041	-22.1	8278
Chevrolet Spark	4.0	3857	-13.0	19409
Nissan Juke	0.3	2567	-43.1	14647
Kia Soul	-3.9	11844	-9.4	67986
Nissan Versa	-12.3	10190	-1.4	66955
Chevrolet Sonic	-18.8	7894	-26.6	36976
Hyundai Veloster	-19.1	2065	-25.1	11201
Toyota Prius c	-19.6	2756	-6.7	18921
Kia Rio	-25.7	2420	-25.7	14835
Fiat 500	-31.0	2283	-15.0	15390
MINI Coupe	-34.6	51	-49.6	258
Honda CR-Z	-35.2	204	-35.4	1292
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 2 Dr	-38.2	1425	32.5	10227
Fiat 500L	-54.0	530	-11.0	6076
Chevrolet Trax	-	5971	-	24815
Jeep Renegade	-	4858	-	14431
MINI Cooper /S Hardtop 4 Dr	-	1886	-	8261
Fiat 500X	-	324	-	332