Chevrolet Cruze sales decreased in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil during the third quarter of 2019.
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2019 - United States
In the United States, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 5,799 units in Q3 2019, a decrease of about 82 percent compared to 31,971 units sold in Q3 2018.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 59 percent to 45,276 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2019 / Q3 2018 | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | YTD 2019 / YTD 2018 | YTD 2019 | YTD 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRUZE | -81.86% | 5,799 | 31,971 | -58.71% | 45,276 | 109,662 |
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2019 - Canada
In Canada, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 3,415 units in Q3 2019, a decrease of about 55 percent compared to 7,564 units sold in Q3 2018.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 60 percent to 8,721 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2019 / Q3 2018 | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | YTD 2019 / YTD 2018 | YTD 2019 | YTD 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRUZE | -54.85% | 3,415 | 7,564 | -60.38% | 8,721 | 22,012 |
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2019 - Mexico
In Mexico, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 9 units in Q3 2019, a decrease of about 99 percent compared to 833 units sold in Q3 2018.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 86 percent to 254 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2019 / Q3 2018 | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | YTD 2019 / YTD 2018 | YTD 2019 | YTD 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRUZE | -98.92% | 9 | 833 | -86.45% | 254 | 1,874 |
Chevrolet Cruze Sales - Q3 2019 - Brazil
In Brazil, Chevrolet Cruze deliveries totaled 4,933 units in Q3 2019, a decrease of about 19 percent compared to 6,116 units sold in Q3 2018.In the first nine months of the year, Cruze sales decreased about 11 percent to 16,626 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2019 / Q3 2018 | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | YTD 2019 / YTD 2018 | YTD 2019 | YTD 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRUZE | -19.34% | 4,933 | 6,116 | -10.87% | 16,626 | 18,654 |
Competitive Sales Comparison
Chevrolet Cruze sales continued to decline in the third quarter of 2019, both in North America—where it has been discontinued—as well as in markets where it’s still produced and available. As expected as a result of its discontinuation, the Cruze range posted the third-largest decline in sales volume in its segment in the U.S.
The performance puts the now-discontinued model in ninth 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, Hyundai Elantra in third, Nissan Sentra in fourth, VW Jetta Sedan in fifth, Kia Forte in sixth, Subaru Impreza in seventh and Mazda’s Mazda3 in eighth. Notably, the top three Japanese contenders accounted for more than 50 percent of the segment’s overall sales volume during the quarter.
Sales Numbers - Compact Mainstream Cars - Q3 2019 - United States
| MODEL | Q3 19 / Q3 18 | Q3 19 | Q3 18 | Q3 19 SHARE | Q3 18 SHARE | YTD 19 / YTD 18 | YTD 19 | YTD 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HONDA CIVIC | +9.54% | 86,312 | 78,794 | 25% | 19% | +0.18% | 255,484 | 255,036 |
| TOYOTA COROLLA | +10.05% | 81,110 | 73,706 | 24% | 18% | -0.51% | 233,978 | 235,168 |
| HYUNDAI ELANTRA | -17.60% | 40,498 | 49,151 | 12% | 12% | -15.72% | 125,469 | 148,879 |
| NISSAN SENTRA | -22.68% | 38,251 | 49,471 | 11% | 12% | -10.29% | 148,150 | 165,147 |
| VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SEDAN | -8.48% | 25,768 | 28,157 | 8% | 7% | +22.29% | 74,741 | 61,118 |
| KIA FORTE | +21.40% | 24,872 | 20,488 | 7% | 5% | -2.14% | 73,285 | 74,888 |
| SUBARU IMPREZA | -9.76% | 19,605 | 21,726 | 6% | 5% | -17.21% | 49,293 | 59,540 |
| MAZDA MAZDA3 | -22.68% | 11,983 | 15,498 | 3% | 4% | -21.03% | 40,506 | 51,294 |
| CHEVROLET CRUZE | -81.86% | 5,799 | 31,971 | 2% | 8% | -58.71% | 45,276 | 109,662 |
| VOLKSWAGEN GOLF SPORTWAGEN | -7.02% | 3,166 | 3,405 | 1% | 1% | -27.42% | 8,289 | 11,421 |
| VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI | -39.96% | 2,469 | 4,112 | 1% | 1% | -29.21% | 9,416 | 13,301 |
| VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R | +79.55% | 1,580 | 880 | 0% | 0% | -2.63% | 3,038 | 3,120 |
| VOLKSWAGEN GOLF | -30.46% | 1,137 | 1,635 | 0% | 0% | -17.58% | 4,674 | 5,671 |
| FIAT 500L | -37.00% | 206 | 327 | 0% | 0% | -50.85% | 605 | 1,231 |
| DODGE DART | -93.33% | 3 | 45 | 0% | 0% | -96.57% | 13 | 379 |
| FORD FOCUS | -100.00% | 0 | 25,166 | 0% | 6% | -87.55% | 12,480 | 100,267 |
| TOTAL | -15.27% | 342,759 | 404,532 | -16.31% | 1,084,697 | 1,296,122 |
Even so, the Cruze outsold some segment contenders, including the Volkswagen Golf (which accounted for a combined 8,352 sales), the Fiat 500L in addition to the discontinued Dodge Dart and Ford Focus.
The compact mainstream car segment contracted more than 15 percent to 342,759 units in Q3 2019.
The GM Authority Take
The Chevrolet Cruze sales slump is directly attributable to the discontinuation of the model in North America, since both the GM Lordstown plant in the U.S. and the GM Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico ended Cruze production in March.
The discontinuation was caused by GM electing to focus on other models and segments that are more profitable for the automaker in the short-term or that promise greater opportunity in the long term. Prior to the discontinuation, Cruze sales were already falling behind those of the competition, primarily as a result of the following reasons:
- An ongoing shift in consumer buying dynamics that favors crossover utility vehicles at the expense of other vehicle types like sedans and hatchbacks.
- Product competitiveness factors, including the fact that the second-generation Cruze was not a particularly standout product in an extremely competitive segment. Specifically, there wasn’t much of a reason to buy the Cruze over similar offerings from well-established and highly-attractive rivals from Japan, Korea, and Germany.
- Various other product-related shortcomings such as not offering all-wheel-drive or a high-performance variant, while also being the only model in its competitive set that cannot be easily equipped with a roof rack. As such, despite being a relatively new product with several features unique to its segment, the Cruze was simply not as competitive as its direct rivals.
- Lack of marketing support for the Cruze on national and retail levels.
Despite its discontinuation in North America, the Cruze will live on in other markets, including China and South America.
About The Numbers
- All percent change figures compared to Chevrolet Cruze Q3 2018 sales
- In the United States, there were 76 selling days in Q3 2019 and 76 selling days in Q3 2018
- Sales by model:
- 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 Mazda3 hatchback, plus all variants thereof (see Mazda3 sales)
- Fiat 500L sales include 500L (see Fiat 500L sales)
- Dodge Dart sales include Dodge Dart sedan, plus all variants thereof (see Dodge Dart sales)
- GM Q3 2019 sales U.S.A.
- Chevrolet sales Q3 2019 U.S.A.
- Cadillac sales Q3 2019 U.S.A.
- Buick sales Q3 2019 U.S.A.
- GMC sales Q3 2019 U.S.A.
- GM Canada sales Q3 2019
- Chevrolet Canada sales Q3 2019
- Cadillac Canada sales Q3 2019
- Buick Canada sales Q3 2019
- GMC Canada sales Q3 2019
- GM Mexico sales Q3 2019
- GM China sales Q3 2019
- Chevrolet China Q3 3019 sales
- Buick China Q3 2019 sales
- Cadillac China Q3 2019 sales
- GM Brazil sales Q3 2019
- GM South Korea sales Q3 2019
Comments
People that love crappy commuter cars are just drawn towards the “foreign cars”. I have no idea how to shake up that market, but no interest in it either.
A shameful episode from GM how I see it. My humble respects to the workers at the Lordstown plant. The Cruze should have been GM’s premier world car with a global reach to help amortize US manufacturing costs, just like the Civic Corolla Elantra Sentra Mazda 3 and Forte. But this current gen Cruze was not introduced and marketed with the same level of professionalism as the first gen. The 2016/17 Cruze should have been introduced to foreign markets first with a big marketing push, GM would have seen how it’s being received and what changes could be made before NA release.
Also with this second gen Cruze, no youth oriented performance halo model? No more Chevy Cruze racing series? Really GM? Bad leadership in my opinion. The only saving grace from GM is that the Cruze will continue to be manufactured and sold in South America and China in the near future, GM need to stick to their models and sell the car globally which they should have been doing from 2016.
I believe the same. Gm had a terrible strategy with a Solid product. Chevrolet Cruze outperforms its rivals in safety and fuel economy in its segment.
I have a 2013 RS with 182300 miles and it is in condition as if it were new.
I think that thinking heads are needed inside GM
Yeah — Sales usually drop off when you quit making something …. Duh….
I bought a 19 Cruze Sedan LS in November 18. I’ll keep it for 15 years or more like my last car and get my moneys worth. I love the car.
Interesting that this Article does not Include Tesla sedans as a “Mainstream Car”. Obvious bias here. EV sedan sales are way up, and slowly eating away at the market. If the Model 3 was on this list, you would see them at the number 4 spot, and number 6 spot respectively with a YTD increase.