According to Cars.com, the Honda Civic has overtaken the Toyota Camry as the best-selling car, and the Ford F-Series as the best-selling vehicle of any kind in America (according to sales figures for May). A lot has happened in 2008 with a resulting change in consumer sentiments and buying trends. High gasoline prices, the credit squeeze, and the slowdown in the American economy have been contributing factors, to the change.
According to Cars.com, the top 10 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. in May 2008, include the Honda Civic: 53,229 units (including hybrid); the Toyota Corolla: 52,826; the Toyota Camry: 51,291 (including hybrid); the Honda Accord: 43,728 (including hybrid and coupe); the Ford F-Series: 42,973; Chevy Silverado: 37,020; Nissan Altima: 34,428 (including hybrid and coupe); Ford Focus: 32,579; the Chevy Cobalt: 26,702 and the Chevy Impala: 23,803.
According to the New York Times, May marked the first time that Asian automakers surpassed all of Detroit’s big three. In May 2008, the Honda Civic topped other popular and economical models such as the Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus, selling 53,299 units out of which, 4,676 were hybrids. Though the Honda Civic is available as a hybrid, it was the gasoline-powered Civic that set the sales trend. Toyota sales figures also include Matrix sales along with the Corolla, even though it is marketed separately from the Corolla. Toyota, Ford and Chevy fleet sales were anywhere between 5% and 30% or more, according to the model, and are included in the monthly sales figures. May sales recorded an increase for the subcompact Chevy Aveo - up 44%, the compact Pontiac Vibe - up 72%, and the Chevy Cobalt - up 19%; sales of Ford’s Focus increased by 53%.
Heading into July, Toyota reported an 11.5 percent drop in overall sales due to supply concerns. According to Reuters, the demand for small cars and fuel-efficient hybrids left Toyota with shortages of popular models such as the Prius Hybrid, Yaris and Corolla. By contrast, according to Consumer Affairs, Honda reported a 14.8 percent gain in June 2008 with a new monthly sales record. CNNMoney says that Honda has the capacity to build 400,000 Honda Civic small cars annually, thus keeping pace with demand, while automakers like GM, saw a 21 percent decrease in sales, and has the capacity to build only 250,000 Chevrolet Cobalts.
