Honda Civic off to Strong Start in 2016, Kia Soul Leads Subcompacts [Sales Report]

2016 Honda Civic Sedan
2016 Honda Civic Sedan

The all-new 2016 Honda Civic stormed out of the gate in January, topping all other compact cars in January sales while also being the monthly top-seller for the company, beating out perennial sales leaders Accord and CR-V.

The Civic beat out the second-place Toyota Corolla by over 4,000 sales and was the best-improved vehicle as well with a 43 percent increase over January 2015.

The new Civic is bigger and better in every way than its predecessor and was named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit auto show.

Nearly every other car on the list saw sales dip from 2015. The Dodge Dart had the biggest slip, down 42 percent from last year. Apart from the Civic, only the Buick Verano, with a three percent increase, and the aging Mitsubishi Lancer, with a 0.5 percent increase, avoided the drop.

Compact Car Sales – January 2016

Jan 2016 # Dec 2015 # Jan ’16/Dec ’15 % Jan 2016/2015 YTD 2016 # YTD 2016/2015 %
Honda Civic 26,741 32,796 -18.5% 43.0% 26,741 43.0%
Toyota Corolla 22,362 32,445 -31.1% -18.3% 22,362 -18.3%
Nissan Sentra 16,144 19,760 -18.3% 12.2% 16,144 12.2%
Chevrolet Cruze 14,362 16,849 -14.8% -23.2% 14,362 -23.2%
Ford Focus 12,977 11,005 17.9% -29.8% 12,977 -29.8%
Hyundai Elantra 9,885 14,242 -30.6% -19.2% 9,885 -19.2%
VW Jetta 8,177 14,073 -41.9% -8.8% 8,177 -8.8%
Mazda 3 7,551 9,838 -23.2% -4.4% 7,551 -4.4%
Kia Forte 5,329 5,411 -1.5% -17.0% 5,329 -17.0%
Dodge Dart 4,748 6,731 -29.5% -42.0% 4,748 -42.0%
Subaru Impreza 4,382 6,059 -27.7% -14.0% 4,382 -14.0%
VW Golf 3,993 5,715 -30.1% -4.9% 3,993 -4.9%
Buick Verano 2,859 2,545 12.3% 3.0% 2,859 3.0%
Mitsubishi Lancer 1,523 1,324 15.0% 0.5% 1,523 0.5%
Scion iM 1,250 1,245 0.4% NEW 1,250 NEW

 

2016 Kia Soul
2016 Kia Soul

The Kia Soul and the Nissan Versa picked up where they left off in 2015, leading the subcompact car sales chart with a commanding lead over the rest of the field.

The Soul had a strong month with a nearly 13 percent sales increase over 2015. The Versa, while still selling strong enough to take second place, was down 24 percent over last year.

The third-place Hyundai Accent also had a strong month with a near-14 percent increase. The rest of the field was mostly down from 2015, the exceptions being the Chevrolet Sonic and two MINIs, the 4-door Hardtop and the all-new Clubman.

The Scion iA, which will wear a Toyota badge after 2016, continued to see month-over-month increases and was the best-selling Scion model. It also trounced its future sibling, the Toyota Yaris, selling at about a 3.5:1 ratio.

Subcompact Car Sales – January 2016

Jan 2016 # Dec 2015 # Jan ’16/Dec ’15 % Jan 2016/2015 YTD 2016 # YTD 2016/2015 %
Kia Soul 9,191 12,159 -24.4% 12.9% 9,191 12.3%
Nissan Versa 8,006 11,058 -27.6% -24.1% 8,006 -24.1%
Hyundai Accent 5,050 2,718 85.8% 13.8% 5,050 13.8%
Chevrolet Sonic 3,678 7,293 -49.6% 4.5% 3,678 4.5%
Honda Fit 3,095 4,197 -26.3% -46.7% 3,095 -46.7%
Ford Fiesta 2,560 3,550 -27.9% -25.9% 2,560 -25.9%
Scion iA 1,840 1,808 1.8% NEW 1,840 NEW
Kia Rio 1,430 997 43.4% -9.0% 1,430 -9.0%
MINI Cooper 4-door 1,232 1,247 -1.2% 82.5% 1,232 82.5%
MINI Cooper 2-door 1,216 956 27.2% -18.6% 1,216 -18.6%
Fiat 500 1,207 1,501 -19.6% -49.0% 1,207 -49.0%
Chevrolet Spark 1,121 1,340 -16.3% -64.6% 1,121 -64.6%
Mitsubishi Mirage 963 1,262 -23.7% -43.5% 963 -43.5%
Toyota Yaris 548 377 45.4% -62.0% 548 -62.0%
Fiat 500L 369 308 19.8% -58.0% 369 -58.0%
MINI Clubman 277 464 -40.3% 277.0% 277 277.0%

 

Check out this TFLcar MPG review of the segment-leading 2016 Honda Civic: