cars news 10: January 2016 Sales: FCA and GM Up, Ford Down

For the first month of 2016, two of the three Detroit automakers posted gains, with FCA sales increasing by 7 percent and GM sales up by 0.5 percent. Ford, on the other hand, was down 3 percent compared to January of 2015.

Dodge led the way for FCA with a 19-percent increase in sales compared to January 2015, followed by Jeep with a 15-percent increase. GM saw Buick’s retail sales go up by 45 percent while Lincoln posted an 8-percent sales increase thanks to high demand for the new MKX crossover. FCA sales totaled 155,037 units in January, just behind Ford’s 166,546 units. GM led in terms of overall sales volume, moving 203,745 units for the month.

FCA

Winner: Dodge Grand Caravan (83-percent increase, 8,525 sales)

Despite its age, the Dodge Grand Caravan saw the largest sales jump for January 2016 when compared to the rest of the FCA lineup. It’s possible that performance was incentive-driven, as the Grand Caravan is being discontinued. The Dodge Durango, however, was not far behind at 70 percent while the Grand Caravan’s twin, the Town & Country, saw a 39-percent increase in sales volume. Both minivans will be replaced by the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. In terms of sales volume, the Jeep brand was FCA’s breadwinner in January.

Loser: Chrysler 200 (63-percent decrease, 5,200 sales)

While it’s a big improvement over the car it replaced, the Chrysler 200 is lagging behind in terms of sales. Last week, we also reported that the Chrysler 200 and the Dodge Dart won’t be replaced once their life cycles are finished due to FCA switching

Ford

Winner: Lincoln MKT (88.4-percent increase, 505 sales)

No, it isn’t the prettiest car on the road — or a big seller for Lincoln — but the Lincoln MKT saw the largest sales increase among Ford vehicles. Right behind it was the Lincoln MKX, which saw a 51.1-percent increase at 2,052 units sold.

Loser: Ford Focus (29.8-percent decrease, 12,997 sales)

Due to the market shift toward crossovers and SUVs, compact cars have seen declining sales, and the Ford Focus’ popularity has begun to decline as a result. Low gas prices also likely contributed to the decline in subcompact and compact car sales, along with the surge in popularity of crossovers and SUVs.

Winner: Buick Regal (235-percent increase, 2,653 sales)

Buick’s midsize sedan, the Regal, saw the largest increase in sales with 2,653 units going home to buyers for January 2016 compared to 792 cars in January 2015. Right behind the Regal was the LaCrosse at 100.5 percent and finally the Encore, which was the highest-selling model in the Buick lineup at 4,920 units.

Loser: Chevrolet Spark (64.6 percent decrease, 1,121 sales)

Another victim of low gas prices and the growing popularity of crossovers, the Chevrolet Spark’s sales dropped 64.6 percent to 1,121 units, making it the biggest decline in the Chevrolet brand. In January 2015, Chevrolet sold 3,170 Sparks.