Chevrolet Cruze sales decreased in the United States, Mexico, and South Korea, while increasing in Canada during the third quarter of 2018.
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2018 - United States
In the United States, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 31,971 units in Q3 2018, a decrease of about 27 percent compared to 44,046 units sold in Q3 2017.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 27 percent to 109,662 units.
MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CRUZE | -27.41% | 31,971 | 44,046 | -26.52% | 109,662 | 149,234 |
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2018 - Canada
In Canada, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 7,564 units in Q3 2018, an increase of about 12 percent compared to 6,732 units sold in Q3 2017.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 1 percent to 22,012 units.
MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CRUZE | +12.36% | 7,564 | 6,732 | -0.83% | 22,012 | 22,196 |
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2018 - Mexico
In Mexico, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 833 units in Q3 2018, a decrease of about 0 percent compared to 829 units sold in Q3 2017.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales totaled 1,874 units.
MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CRUZE | +0.48% | 833 | 829 | * | 1,874 | 0 |
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2018 - South Korea
In South Korea, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 715 units in Q3 2018, a decrease of about 62 percent compared to 1,896 units sold in Q3 2017.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 57 percent to 3,594 units.
MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CRUZE | -62.29% | 715 | 1,896 | -57.16% | 3,594 | 8,390 |
The GM Authority Take
Cruze sales continued to decline in the third quarter, with the compact model range posting one of the biggest declines in sales volume in its segment.
The lackluster performance places the Cruze into fifth place in its competitive set in terms of U.S. sales volume during the quarter, behind the Honda Civic in first, Toyota Corolla in second, Nissan Sentra in third, and the Hyundai Elantra. Notably, the top three Japanese contenders accounted for roughly 40 percent of the segment’s overall sales volume.
Sales Numbers - Compact Mainstream Cars - Q3 2018 - United States
MODEL | Q3 18 / Q3 17 | Q3 18 | Q3 17 | YTD 18 / YTD 17 | YTD 18 | YTD 17 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CIVIC | -27.46% | 78,794 | 108,617 | -10.32% | 255,036 | 284,380 |
COROLLA | -16.95% | 73,706 | 88,746 | -11.35% | 235,168 | 265,273 |
SENTRA | -6.90% | 49,471 | 53,137 | -0.34% | 165,147 | 165,711 |
ELANTRA | +14.80% | 49,151 | 42,815 | +4.06% | 148,879 | 143,067 |
CRUZE | -27.41% | 31,971 | 44,046 | -26.52% | 109,662 | 149,234 |
JETTA SEDAN | -20.68% | 28,157 | 35,500 | -32.83% | 61,118 | 90,996 |
FOCUS | -38.78% | 25,166 | 41,106 | -19.03% | 100,267 | 123,827 |
IMPREZA | +0.76% | 21,726 | 21,563 | -7.82% | 59,540 | 64,589 |
FORTE | -38.56% | 20,488 | 33,346 | -18.68% | 74,888 | 92,092 |
MAZDA3 | -23.55% | 15,498 | 20,273 | -14.66% | 51,294 | 60,107 |
GOLF | -58.78% | 1,635 | 3,967 | -49.08% | 5,671 | 11,137 |
GOLF GTI | -32.38% | 4,112 | 6,081 | -20.89% | 13,301 | 16,814 |
GOLF R | +167.48% | 880 | 329 | +17.51% | 3,120 | 2,655 |
GOLF SPORTWAGEN | -43.63% | 3,405 | 6,040 | -48.49% | 11,421 | 22,171 |
500L | -37.24% | 327 | 521 | -2.84% | 1,231 | 1,267 |
DART | -97.02% | 45 | 1,510 | -96.07% | 379 | 9,643 |
LANCER | -99.89% | 3 | 2,816 | -68.95% | 3,302 | 10,633 |
TOTAL | -20.74% | 404,535 | 510,413 | -14.15% | 1,299,424 | 1,513,596 |
The Cruze outsold the remaining segment contenders including the Volkswagen Jetta Sedan, soon-to-be-discontinued Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza, Kia Forte, Mazda3, Volkswagen Golf (which accounted for a combined 10,032 sales), Fiat 500L, along with the discontinued Dodge Dart and Mitsubishi Lancer.
We attribute the Cruze’s ongoing sales slump to the following factors:
- An ongoing shift in consumer buying dynamics that favors crossover utility vehicles at the expense of other vehicle types like sedans and hatchbacks.
- Product-related issues, including the second-generation model not being a particularly standout product in an extremely competitive segment. Specifically, the current doesn’t have much that differentiates it from well-established and highly-attractive rivals from Japan, Korea and Germany. In addition, the Cruze has various other shortcomings, such as not offering all-wheel-drive, a high-performance variant, and also being the only model in its competitive set that can not be equipped with an accessory-level roof rack. So despite being a new product with several features unique to its segment, the Cruze is simply not as competitive as its direct rivals.
- Lack of marketing support for the Cruze on a national and retail level.
The compact mainstream car segment contracted 20 percent in Q3 2018 and 14 percent in the first nine months of 2018.
Just this Monday, General Motors announced plans to discontinue the Cruze in early 2019. With such poor global performance, the announcement shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given that Chevrolet Cruze sales have been on a steady decline since the release of the second-generation model in the 2015-2016 timeframe.
About The Numbers
- All percent change figures compared to Chevrolet Cruze Q2 2017 sales
- In the United States, there were 77 selling days in Q2 2018 and 77 selling days in Q2 2017
- In Canada, there were 77 selling days in Q2 2018 and 76 selling days in Q2 2017
- South Korea sales figures reflect actual vehicle registrations rather than wholesales
- China sales figures represent retail deliveries and not wholesales
- Model sales specifics:
- Chevrolet Cruze sales include Cruze sedan and Cruze hatchback, plus all variants thereof
- Ford Focus sales include Focus sedan and Focus hatchback, plus all variants thereof (see Ford Focus sales)
- Hyundai Elantra sales include Elantra sedan and Elantra GT (hatchback), plus all variants thereof
- Volkswagen:
- Volkswagen Jetta sales include Jetta sedan plus all variants thereof such as Jetta GLI and Jetta Hybrid (see Volkswagen Jetta sales)
- Volkswagen Golf sales include Golf 3-door hatchback and Golf 5-door hatchback (see Volkswagen Golf sales)
- Volkswagen Golf GTI sales include Golf GTI 3-door and Golf GTI 5-door (see Volkswagen Golf GTI sales)
- Volkswagen Golf R sales include Golf R (see Volkswagen Golf R sales)
- Volkswagen Golf SportWagen sales include Golf SportWagen and Golf AllTrack (see Volkswagen Golf SportWagen sales)
- Volkswagen e-Golf sales are not included in the numbers (see Volkswagen e-Golf sales)
- Honda Civic sales include Civic sedan, Civic hatchback, and Civic Coupe, plus all variants thereof
- Toyota Corolla sales include Corolla sedan and Corolla hatchback
- Nissan Sentra sales include Sentra sedan, plus all variants thereof such as Sentra SR
- Subaru Impreza sales include Impreza sedan and Impreza hatchback, plus all variants thereof such as Impreza WRX and Impreza STI
- Kia Forte sales include Forte sedan, Forte hatchback, and Forte coupe (Koup), plus all variants thereof
- Mazda3 sales include Mazda3 sedan and Mazda 3 hatchback, plus all variants thereof (see Mazda3 sales)
- Mitsubishi Lancer sales include Lancer sedan, plus variants thereof such as Lancer Evolution sedan
- Fiat 500L sales include 500L (see Fiat 500L sales)
- Dodge Dart sales include Dodge Dart sedan, plus all variants thereof (see Dodge Dart sales)

2018 Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback and Sedan Redline editions
About Chevrolet Cruze
The Chevrolet Cruze is a range of compact passenger cars that currently consists of a four-door sedan and five-door hatchback. It slots above the Chevrolet Spark city car and subcompact Chevrolet Sonic and below the midsize Chevrolet Malibu and full-size Chevrolet Impala. The current model was introduced for the 2016 model year and represents the second generation of the Cruze nameplate. It rides on the GM D2 platform shared with the second-generation Chevrolet Volt and Buick Verano (in China).
Compared to its first-generation predecessor, the second-gen model is an all-new vehicle that is slightly larger, sleeker and more modern. The first-generation Cruze family was produced in sedan, hatchback, and wagon body styles, but only the sedan was available in North America. By comparison, the second-generation model is available only as a sedan and hatchback. Though a wagon variant of the second-gen model was never produced, the hatchback model became available in North America. The second-generation Cruze received a midcycle enhancement, otherwise known as a facelift, refresh or update, for the 2019 model year that consists of updated exterior styling, a new Chevrolet infotainment system, and new interior colors.
The Cruze is produced across the following GM plants globally:
- GM Lordstown plant in Lordstown, Ohio, USA assembling the Cruze sedan supplying North America
- GM Ramos plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico assembling the Cruze hatchs upplying North America
- GM Rosario plant in Argentina assembling the Cruze sedan and Cruze hatch (called Cruze6) supplying Latin America
- GM Norsom II plant in China assembling the Cruze sedan and Cruze hatchback satisfying China
- GM Gunsan plant in South Korea supplying Eurasia as Holden Astra Sedan (this facility was closed in 2018, and Cruze production no longer takes place here)
In November 2018, General Motors announced that it will discontinue the Chevrolet Cruze, along with five other passengers cars. The move will see the vehicle discontinued globally, while resulting in the idling of the Lordstown plant in Warren, Ohio. The model is set to be discontinued in the first quarter of 2019.
Related News & Info
- GM news
- GM forums
- Chevrolet Cruze information
- Running GM sales results
- Running Chevrolet sales results
- Running Chevrolet Cruze sales results
- Running Chevrolet sales results
Comments
To put this in context. This is a drop from an already 2/3 drop of where it needs to be to meet the plants min volume.
Remember when Alex and Sean were chastising GMA readers for saying NAFTA was dead? So much for two bloggers that claim to be experts on GM and everything it seems…
https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/trump-to-notify-congress-in-near-future-he-will-terminate-nafta-1395923
Some of us are more in the know than you know…Bye, bye NAFTA. Tired of WINNING yet?
That’s incredible. Some excellent automobiles on that list fighting for survival here. Nobody must enjoy driving anymore in this country.
There is an untapped market: If Bluebird added some fake leather seats and fake wood trim to their school buses, I am sure plenty of Americans would drive them to work to the office, or to McDonalds. Bigger is always better, right?
Still, small cars will always be around, and when the electric revolution happens, the VW faithful will have an E Golf, the Toyota crowd will get an E Corolla; I predict an E Civic from Honda. And GM? Well whatever they can throw together between now and then. It’s easier to be loyal to a brand when you can actually recognize it.
GM had the potential to make a High Performance model for the Cruze in order for it to compete with the Civic SI and perhaps even the Subaru WRX, GM could have even had a High Performance SS Model for the Impala like they done in the previous generations, but too much focus was placed into the Camaro and Corvette and the existence of the Impala seemed as if it was swept under the Carpet along with the lack of doing more than showing “Yawn-Like” J.D. Power & Associates commercials in their efforts of promoting both cars to entice potential consumers to buy. My suspicion is that they wanted this to happen in their efforts to bring forth to the surface, their proposed All New Electric Cars as well as Cars with Autonomous Technology within the 2020 decade, the Volt in my opinion is a very good, well evolved car, though I personally would not want to go through the Plug/ Un Plug procedure every time I need to drive somewhere, it appeared at one point that this car was well on it’s way to a Long-Term stronghold within the Chevy profile, but like the Impala and the Cruze, there weren’t many alternative promotional strategies put in place to increase sales potential and to allow for this car to maintain “Staying Power”. At the end we can’t blame the cars for their fate, we have to blame the leadership that did not do enough to prevent these Bang- For- The- Buck Auto’s from seeing their last days on the Assembly Line and causing thousands to lose their jobs.
Raymond there was no money or real volume to an SS. It would have made no difference.
Time to let go this delusion.
I was really disappointed when I bought my 2018 Chevrolet Cruze that it didn’t have Cruze control. But with me being young and having no credit. It was the only vehicle I was approved for. It’s a beautiful car. Buttttttt Cruze control kinda kills it for me. Especially when I drive 50 miles to and from work 6 -7 days a week.
I blame the GM bean counters for a lot of this. It is a reasonably good looking car and all, but its feature content as far as standards and availables per trim level are what I think is hindering it.
I agree with the trims not being grouped well. Don’t forget them shrinking the warranty a fews years back.
The high msrp pricing has to scare off potential conquest buyers. Maybe GM’s marketing also doesn’t connect well enough with lifestyle mindsets by focus on awards too much. The DeLorenzo types say marketing is their biggest weakness.
I would rather see GM and Ford platform share Cruze, Focus, plus whatever (USA built) than for both to concede a big market segment.
When gas hits near $4-$5 per gallon these gas sippers will come back in demand. However, the small SUV’s do a pretty good job at gas sipping with 4 cylinders with most of then in the low 30 MPG range. But with Victoria’s comment is what I always suspected, the largest buyer of the small car segment are the young drivers, usually just out of school with low income range when starting a new career and limited funds. My own son saved money and a few months after graduation he bought a Mazda 3 when he started his new teaching job in 2007. Just recently he upgraded to a Honda CR-V. Chevy, Ford and FCA never crossed his mine.
The last time I saw an ad for the Cruze was when the Built in Mexico hatch was introduced. GM marketing did a good job of assuring the demise of the Cruze. Almost like GM planned it.
Gm is driving their customers away by discontinuing cars. Not everyone wants or needs a SUV or CUV, I can see reducing the number of models but a complete elimination absurd.
Well if they continue to shrink parking spaces in parking lots as they are to squeeze 2 more vehicles in the row I can’t wait to see t
I know GM says cars are dead, but Toyota sells a lot of Corolla’s and Camrey’s. Are we admitting we can’t compete??
They could have easily made an Impala SS in their efforts to boost interest based on Consumer Purchase, but too much focus wen’t towards the Camaro and Corvette models, and the Impala suddenly appeared as a car within GM’s profile that just no longer existed, which will soon be a sad reality. The Cruze and Volt models could have had optional High- Performance models as well in order to contend with the Subaru WRX, the Honda Civic Si, even putting a High Performance Volt up against Tesla Model 3, that’s if GM was serious to “Go There”, bad leadership yields poor judgement based on how the GM profile is sustained which in term is costing thousands their jobs.
Considering the number of Chevrolet dealers, the Cruze sales numbers are really awful!
“Bottom Line” is that the folks in charge at GM have no car savvy. That is why they have somewhat good, competent products, but rather dismal compared to the competition.
As former GM President Ron Zarella is reported to have said, “You don’t have to be a car guy to design a good car.”
Well, that may be true. But when your car comes up against a car designed by a real car guy, you lose!
The story of GM.
The reality is the Cruze was not a bad car not perfect but not bad. Even if they had made it the best in class the outcome would be the same.
The plant is way under capacity. The reality is they can invest the money in a taller CUV of a similar size , price and mpg and sell two to three times as much.
The harsh reality is most small cars are limited on what they can carry and with 5 doors and a higher roof you van carry much larger objects.
My Malibu is a great car with a large trunk but I can get few larger shaped opjects through the opening. My old HHR would carry every and almost anything even though it was nothing but a tall. Cobalt wagon.
With the decline in car size people are turning to vehicles with more utility. Add to that they come in all price and mpg ranges. Heck my new Acadia handles better than my old SSEI and is as fast.
Years ago the family sedan was the 6 passenger family truckster. You used it as a school bus. You used it to haul as my dad did a ping pong table on the roof. It was the sports car if it was a SS and luxury car all in one. Today you get 5 people in and that is it.
Yes, as the manufacturers are downsizing their cars in an effort to meet the previous Administrations 54.5 MPG CAFE mandate, the cars are becoming too small for the American lifestyle.
You might say that this is another government program gone wrong! The objective was to force us into smaller, fuel sipping cars. But since they are not compatible with our driving and lifestyles, we are instead migrating toward pickups and SUV’s.
Which, by the way, now have all the amenities of a luxury car plus higher seats, better visibility, and more capability.
I’ve never understood the mass interest in cuv and why the automotive industry pushed this car to the public!
People today value utility over driving ability. Cuvs have more space but they dont handle as well, dont brake as well, are not as fast, and are not as fun to drive! Which is pathetic, if you want extra space go buy a SUV! That’s why they were built. If small cars dont fit our lifestyle nowadays then maybe we should stop have 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 kids!
The sales of the Cruze averaging 10,000 units a month do not support GM Canceling the vehicle
The bolt should be canceled using this thought process as it sells less than 2,500 units a month
This just shows how inept GM Management and Board of Directors are
Canceling both the Cruze and the Volt may negatively impact future electric car sales as car buyer build loyalty with other brands. More importantly factory utilization can be dealt with either through adding new products by retooling one line, introducing new models such as assembling the Cruze hatch in the US rather than Mexico, and even sub-leasing a portion of the factory
Too many “vanilla” vehicles from GM. Just read article from KBB
that Impala and Malibu are 1and 2 in comfortable vehicles under 30k. Also, love the new Chevy Family commercial for employee discount pricing. Wonder if any of them are being laid-off?
I just saw that employee pricing commercial, too. “My Daddy works for Chevy!” Not for long, kiddo. Merry friggin’ Christmas.
Cruze needed full led headlamps with refresh
Change interior materials if had money
Needed a sport option 2.0 turbo Bremos
Could it also have something to do with having the highest sticker prices in it’s segment while offering less equipment and even less advanced safety features without moving up to the highest trim and then paying even more for a safety package. Could it have something to do with how GM cheapened both the front end look of the car and by eliminating so many things from the previous model like 4 door unlock buttons, switching over to fake leather seats, deleting the rear seat map pockets on all models and rear armrest on LS versions among several things? Also when was the last time you heard a commercial advertising this car with it’s available hatch and high mileage diesel option? About the only thing the 2019 MCE got right was the stop/start disable switch and adding a package to LS models with cruise control, alloy wheels and remote start.
The fact that Japanese and Korean car brands continue to build cars similar in size and price as the Chevrolet Cruze demonstrates that there is still a market for this type of vehicle as what is wrong is leadership.. fire current General Motors CEO Mary Barra then hire some creative engineers to design a Cruze that people want.
So, selling approx 140,000 units per year is not enough to justify the existence of this model? GM is doing something terribly WRONG then. They need to have more versatile platforms that could support the Malibu/Regal, Trax/Encore, Equinox/Terrain and more off of modular architecture so they can fill out the extra shifts at the plant then.
The GM gets killed for sharing platforms with Buick, gmc, Cadillac! Which I never have understood, GM is held to a different standard that the rest of the industry is. Other manufacturers share platforms and parts with the cheapest to most expensive cars and nobody says a thing to them. GM does the same and the automotive media writes articles condemning GM for this practice!
This is why I dont give a dam about the comments about GM cars and trucks. GM cant win these people over so why bother, these kind of people will never be happy! They will always find fault in a GM product even when they are top notch!
I don’t get too worked up over the criticism myself, I’ve been buying GM since 1996 and my next new truck will be a new Sierra in the Summer of 2020, I have to admit, the RAM has hit a Home Run with it’s new 1500 this year and we certainly have a lot of them running around in our area, but at this very moment, the presence of the all new GMC Sierra is starting to increase in my area also and that is what excites me more.
https://www.facebook.com/austintownlocalschools/videos/294511967934705/