America, These Are Your Best-Selling Models for the First Half of 2016

While some models continue to dominate their segments, others are emerging as surprise winners

The U.S. market is crucial for the world’s leading automakers, so we were curious to see which vehicles sold the most during the first six months of this year. We selected the leader and the challenger from each category, starting with segments that have lower sales and finishing up with those that attract the most buyers.

Premium Cars

No. 1: Lexus RX – 49,412 units (+12%)

The Lexus RX’s dominance proves that SUVs and crossovers continue their growth, particularly in the United States. While the Japanese brand’s car sales are down by a fifth this year, SUVs like the RX and NX have added around 8,400 sales in the first six months of this year.

No. 2: Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 37,305 units (-14%)

The C-Class ranks above the BMW 3-Series and 4-Series only because the Bavarian automaker chose to give a different name to the Coupé, Convertible, and Grand Coupé body styles, separating them from the Sedan and Touring. Combined, the mechanically-similar 3-Series and 4-Series outsold the C-Class by approximately 15,000 units in the first half of 2016.

Vans

No. 1: Ford Transit – 78,840 units (+36%)

The Transit is America’s best-selling van, accounting for four out of every ten U.S. full-size commercial vans sold in the country. Available in a multitude of configurations (including passenger van), the Transit shares the platform with the European model. If sales of the E-Series and Transit Connect are added, Ford makes up more than half of the commercial van category.

No. 2: Dodge Grand Caravan – 71,523 (+94%)

Don’t let the spectacular year-over-year growth fool you – it’s due to the fact that the plant building the Grand Caravan was shutdown in the first half of 2015 to retool for the new Chrysler Pacifica. However, the aging Grand Caravan is still going strong.

SUVs & Crossovers

No. 1: Toyota RAV4 – 165,900 units (+16%)

The RAV4 has taken advantage of the Honda CR-V’s slight sales decrease and has taken the first spot in the category. Interestingly, since 2007, only two vehicles have dominated this segment – the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V. Toyota may consolidate its lead in the second half of the year if the CR-V continues to decline.

No. 2: Honda CR-V – 159,075 units (-2%)

The CR-V has been America’s best-selling SUV for the last four years. However, the RAV4 has outsold it for the first half of the year – if only by just 6,825 units. The battle is still close, with the CR-V dominating June sales and the RAV4 falling into fourth spot.

Mainstream cars

No. 1: Toyota Camry – 199,760 units (-7%)

While it may look like a steep year-over-year decline, Camry sales follow the downward trend of the U.S. passenger car market. Toyota sold 16,056 fewer Camrys in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2015.

No. 2: Honda Civic – 189,840 units (+20%)

The Civic’s strong growth is due to the launch of the tenth-generation model at the end of 2015. Available both as a sedan and coupé, the all-new Civic has received great reviews so far. If it continues to grow at the same rate, it may soon outsell the Camry.

Pickup trucks

No. 1: Ford F-Series – 395,244 (+11%)

It should come as no surprise that the F-Series dominates the segment so categorically – it has done it for years. The all-new, aluminum-build F-150 makes up the bulk of F-Series sales. If growth stays the same, Ford will sell more than 800,000 pickup trucks in America in 2016. The last time that happened was in 2005.

No. 2: Chevrolet Silverado – 273,642 units (-1%)

GM’s core pickup truck could do much better in a segment that rose 7 percent in the first half of 2016. Who knows, maybe the F-150 is too good for the Silverado. A consolation for GM is that combined sales of the Silverado and its GMC Sierra twin were 380,118.

Story references: Automakers via TTAC