General Motors
2.9 million; up 5.3%
Chevrolet was up 4.4%, while Buick and GMC both climbed about 11.4%. Cadillac was down 6.5%. Chevrolet Silverado sales spiked toward the end of the year, and the company’s SUV lineup performed well throughout 2014.
Ford
2.5 million; down 0.5%
The Ford brand’s sales were down 1.1%, while Lincoln’s were up 15.6%. Sales of two of Ford’s most popular vehicles, the F-150 pickup and Mustang muscle car, were off toward the end of the year as the automaker launched new versions of each.
Toyota
2.4 million; up 6.2%
Lexus was up 13.7%, thanks to a 46.7% increase for the IS sedan. At Toyota, sales of Camry and Corolla cars were good, but smaller, more fuel-efficient models such as the Prius hybrid fell. SUVs gained, led by a 49% increase in the 4Runner.
Fiat Chrysler
2.1 million; up 16.1%
Jeep (up 41.1%) accounted for most of Fiat Chrysler’s growth, with the Cherokee small SUV up nearly seven-fold from 2013 to 178,508 vehicles. The Ram truck brand produced a 27.5% increase, Chrysler was up about 2%, and Dodge was down 4%.
Honda
1.5 million; up 1.0%
At Honda, sales increases for redesigned Accord sedans (up 5.9%), Fit subcompacts (up 10.9%), and CR-V crossovers (up 10.2%) made up for declines of all other vehicles. At Acura, strong sales of crossovers made up for losses in cars.
Nissan
1.4 million; up 11.1%
Nissan’s Leaf electric car had a good year, up 33.6% to 30,200 units. Infiniti numbers were dominated by a 107.1% increase for the Q50 sedan. Big declines for several other cars and SUVs led to a 0.8% increase for Infiniti in 2014.
Hyundai/Kia
1.3 million; up 4.0%
Hyundai’s sales were flat for most of the year, closing up only 0.7% as the company’s factories in Korea and North America were near full capacity. Kia was up 8.4%, with a doubling of Sedona minivan sales and a 30.3% gain for the Sportage SUV.
Volkswagen
548,981; down 3.0%
The Golf compact posted the lone increase for VW, at 8.9%, led by specialty versions such as the electric e-Golf and the GTI. The brand as a whole was down 10%. Thanks to a nearly 26-fold increase in A3 sedans, Audi rose 15.2%.
Sources: Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen