While General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Ford and Tesla report their sales quarterly, other automakers reported their monthly sales from November. Unlike even October’s results which showed upticks across some brands, most automakers gained ground over November 2018. However, while numbers are looking up heading into the holiday season, some brands continue to struggle in the market.
This monthly sales report covers the best and worst-selling brands of the month by volume, as well as the changes over November 2018. Next month we’ll have a complete picture of how manufacturers performed over the whole year, including those who will report their sales quarterly in January 2020.
| Rank | Brand | Oct 2019 Sales | Oct 2018 Sales | MoM % |
| 1 | Toyota | 177,764 | 163,977 | +8.4% |
| 2 | Honda | 119,470 | 106,481 | +12.2% |
| 3 | Nissan | 83,562 | 96,427 | -13.3% |
| 4 | Hyundai | 60,601 | 57,083 | +6.2% |
| 5 | Subaru | 56,893 | 56,782 | +0.2% |
| 6 | Kia | 50,504 | 45,101 | +12.0% |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz | 37,263 | 32,879 | +13.3% |
| 8 | BMW | 31,213 | 28,330 | +10.2% |
| 9 | Lexus | 30,093 | 26,446 | +13.8% |
| 10 | Volkswagen | 29,218 | 26,789 | +9.1% |
| 11 | Mazda | 24,374 | 18,673 | +4.5% |
| 12 | Audi | 20,618 | 17,082 | +20.7% |
| 13 | Acura | 14,482 | 14,053 | +3.1% |
| 14 | Volvo | 9,635 | 8,181 | +17.8% |
| 15 | Land Rover | 9,514 | 8,547 | +11.3% |
| 16 | Infiniti | 9,385 | 14,086 | -33.4% |
| 17 | Mitsubishi | 8,188 | 7,688 | +6.5% |
| 18 | Porsche | 6,326 | 5,673 | +11.5% |
| 19 | Mini | 3,067 | 3,528 | -13.1% |
| 20 | Jaguar | 2,958 | 3,197 | -7.5% |
| 21 | Genesis | 2,167 | 417 | +419.7% |
This month’s winners and losers
Most automakers can chalk up a win for November sales, as sales picked up consistently over this point last year. Toyota, Honda and Nissan remained the top three best-selling brands, at least among those who report sales monthly. Honda did particularly well, with the brand’s sales picking up over 12 percent, thanks to particularly strong sales of the HR-V crossover which doubled from last year, the Fit and the CR-V. As ever, sedans were the pinch point for Honda’s sales, with Accord sales down 10.6 percent and Clarity sales down by half.
Toyota saw a successful month as well, thanks in no small part to RAV4 sales. The compact crossover is a huge factor in the brand’s 8.4 percent overall increase over November 2018, with dealers selling 44,665 examples (up from 35,350 this time last year). Unlike the Accord, Toyota Camry sales did pick up by 4.3 percent, and Corolla sales were up by a healthy 17.3 percent.
Other brands that fared well include Kia (up 12 percent) and Hyundai (up 6.2 percent). Both brands picked up their crossover sales, and both added excellent three-row models to their lineup with the Telluride and Palisade, respectively.
Nissan, Infiniti sales down by double digits
While most mainstream and luxury brands picked up last month, Both Nissan and Infiniti struggled against all the competition. Nissan declined 13.3 percent, while its luxury marque fell by a whopping 33.4 percent. While relatively new models like the Altima did well, its other aging platforms are suffering as time goes on. The Rogue’s sales dropped 25.5 percent, as did the Murano (down 18.4 percent), the Pathfinder (down 10.8 percent) and the Armada (down 14.2 percent).
Nissan is working on newer models like the Armada and it’s also pivoting toward electrification in the near future. However, in the short term both Nissan and Infiniti were among the worst performing brands month-over-month from November 2018.
Best and worst-selling models
From Acura to Volvo, almost all brands saw crossovers lead the way as their best-selling models. The Toyota RAV4 sold 44,665 units while the Honda CR-V sold 33,987. One notable exception, however, is the Hyundai Elantra. Despite strong sales performances from the Palisade, Tucson and Santa Fe, Hyundai’s compact car actually outsold each of them, no doubt thanks to its lower $18,950 barrier to entry. Not only that, but the Elantra has new styling, comes pretty well equipped even on the base models, boasts good fuel economy and it’s incredibly easy to find healthy discounts, making them some of the best value cars around.
Naturally, at the other end of that spectrum, niche models sold slowly in November 2019. Apart from that, though, there were also a few new models entering the market that have not had a full month’s worth of sales just yet. The Mazda CX-30 and Hyundai Venue, for example, are two brand new models that are just arriving at dealers, so it will be interesting to see how they perform in December and the first months of 2020.
| Brand | Best-selling model | Worst-selling model |
| Acura | RDX (5,767) | NSX (11) |
| Audi | Q5 (6,152) | R8 (54) |
| BMW | X3 (5,948) | X6 (382) |
| Genesis | G70 (1,153) | G90 (194) |
| Honda | CR-V (33,987) | Clarity (855) |
| Hyundai | Elantra (17,322) | Venue (290) |
| Infiniti | QX60 (3,824) | QX30 (52) |
| Kia | Sorento (7,899) | K900 (32) |
| Lexus | RX (11,526) | LC (86) |
| Mazda | CX-5 (14,139) | CX-30 (31) |
| Mercedes-Benz | GLC (7,515) | SLC (62) |
| Mini | Countryman (1,158) | Clubman (410) |
| Mitsubishi | Outlander Sport (2,795) | Outlander PHEV (372) |
| Nissan | Rogue (23,734) | GT-R (16) |
| Porsche | Macan (2,471) | 718 (247) |
| Subaru | Forester (16,386) | BRZ (115) |
| Toyota | RAV4 (44,665) | Mirai (98) |
| Volkswagen | Tiguan (8,402) | Passat (228) |
| Volvo | XC90 (3,522) | V90 (36) |
