In reviewing some of the top selling vehicles for year-end 2021, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) notes that the impact of the vehicle inventory issue showed an uneven spread among automakers and models.
For example, among light trucks the Ford F-Series remains in first place despite the fact that the OEM experienced a sales decline of 9.5% for 2021—although it also experienced an increase of 17.8% in the fourth quarter. RAM pickups were in second place after a sales decline of 12.2% for the year, and the Toyota RAV4 slotted third thanks to an increase of 6.8%.
“The impacts of the shortage were spread unevenly between OEMs and models,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC. “Some models sat unfinished, while others saw sales ebb and flow during the year as vehicle companies struggled to keep assembly plants operating.”
In the fourth quarter, the Ford Bronco Sport moved up to tenth position after sales jumped 195 units in 2020 to 5,151 units in 2021.
For passenger cars, the Honda Civic topped the list with an increase in sales of 1.3% for the year and 6.2% for the quarter. The Toyota Corolla (second place) and Hyundai Elantra (third place) managed to record larger sales increases—of 20.6% and 19.6% respectively for the year, putting them closer to the top spot.
The Nissan Sentra slotted eighth on the list, but noted the largest percentage growth (up 47.2%) among the top ten passenger cars for 2021.
“Overall, passenger car sales remained near par while light truck sales increased 8.3%,” said DAC. “This difference pushed light truck share over 80% of the market for the first time, with trucks reaching 81.2% of sales against passenger cars at 18.8%.”
