Despite the withdrawal from the segment by domestic brands, compact cars make a strong rebound in 2021. Sales of compact cars in the United States are up 37% in the first half of the year, beating the overall market which is up 29%. Just over 745,000 compact cars were sold in the first six months of 2021, improving the segment’s share of the market to 8.9%, up from 8.4% in the first half of 2020 and from 8.1% in Q1 of this year. Just one nameplate in the top-15 is down on the same period of last year.
The Toyota Corolla had a strong start of the year, but the Honda Civic outsold it in Q2, by 14,000 deliveries. Still, that’s not enough to take back the class leadership as the Corolla is still 2,500 units ahead. In 2020, the Corolla also started on top but had already lost its lead by the end of the first half. The Nissan Sentra is the best performer in the top-6 with sales up 78% on last year when it struggled harder than the rest of the segment. The Sentra’s podium position is under threat from the Hyundai Elantra which took third place in Q2 by selling over 7,000 units more than the Sentra. It’s now less than 4,000 deliveries behind. The Kia Forte also gains share on last year, distancing the Volkswagen Jetta, up just 15%. The Jetta was outsold by the Toyota Prius in Q2 as the Japanese hybrid is the second best performing model in the top-10 after the Chevrolet Bolt which more than doubles up thanks to the addition of a second, more crossover-like bodystyle. General Motors does not publish split sales of the two Bolt version.
The Mazda3 outperforms the overall market but loses share of the segment at +33%, whle the Subaru Impreza is knocked out of the top-10 with sales down 8%, the only nameplate in the red in the top-15. Its sporty sister model WRX is up 38% and combined the two nameplates would be in 8th place. The Hyundai Ioniq more than doubles its sales at +104%, while the Honda Insight also gaisn share at +42% and the Nissan Leaf is up 157%, underscoring the increased popularity of electrified compact cars. The Volkswagen Golf is down 45% as it is changing to the new generation, which will no longer be available in the US as the regular Golf or the station wagon, only in the sporty GTI and R versions.
Luxury compact cars are losing ground after a strong start of 2021. In Q1 they held 5.1% of the class and in all of 2020 they held 5.9%, but after six months their share has dropped to 4.1% as sales are up just 2% on the first half of 2020. The BMW 2-Series had a great start of the year but has slowed down in Q2, allowing the Acura ILX to lead the segment in Q2 by 1,200 deliveries. The ILX is now just 1,100 units behind the 2-Series. The two Mercedes-Benz nameplates both lose almost a quarter of their sales on last year, while sales of the Audi A3 have fallen flat in Q2 as the brand is preparing for a model change. Audi has confirmed the new generation A3 is coming to North America again, but with the current you wonder if its worth their while. I guess they’ve done their research and have concluded that a compact luxury sedan brings in plenty of new buyers to the brand who may later move up in the brand’s line-up. The BMW i3, considered all but dead just last year, make a strong comeback with sales more than tripling, but it remains a niche model.
US compact car sales 2021 – first half
| Compact segment | 2021-H1 | 2020-H1 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | |
| 1 | Toyota Corolla | 155.531 | 109.601 | 42% | 20,9% | 20,2% |
| 2 | Honda Civic | 152.956 | 127.858 | 20% | 20,5% | 23,5% |
| 3 | Nissan Sentra | 77.859 | 43.787 | 78% | 10,4% | 8,1% |
| 4 | Hyundai Elantra | 74.057 | 48.450 | 53% | 9,9% | 8,9% |
| 5 | Kia Forte | 62.159 | 39.444 | 58% | 8,3% | 7,3% |
| 6 | Volkswagen Jetta | 43.009 | 37.364 | 15% | 5,8% | 6,9% |
| 7 | Toyota Prius | 38.763 | 20.483 | 89% | 5,2% | 3,8% |
| 8 | Mazda3 | 21.634 | 16.228 | 33% | 2,9% | 3,0% |
| 9 | Chevrolet Bolt EV | 20.288 | 8.371 | 142% | 2,7% | 1,5% |
| 10 | Subaru Impreza | 17.165 | 18.620 | -8% | 2,3% | 3,4% |
| 11 | Subaru WRX | 14.272 | 10.333 | 38% | 1,9% | 1,9% |
| 12 | Hyundai Ioniq | 11.107 | 5.438 | 104% | 1,5% | 1,0% |
| 13 | Honda Insight | 9.867 | 6.964 | 42% | 1,3% | 1,3% |
| 14 | BMW 2-series | 9.340 | 5.576 | 68% | 1,3% | 1,0% |
| 15 | Acura ILX | 8.233 | 5.395 | 53% | 1,1% | 1,0% |
| 16 | Volkswagen Golf | 7.978 | 14.377 | -45% | 1,1% | 2,6% |
| 17 | Nissan Leaf | 7.729 | 3.007 | 157% | 1,0% | 0,6% |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 5.913 | 7.801 | -24% | 0,8% | 1,4% |
| 19 | Mercedes-Benz CLA | 4.696 | 6.211 | -24% | 0,6% | 1,1% |
| 20 | Audi A3 | 1.330 | 4.139 | -68% | 0,2% | 0,8% |
| 21 | BMW i3 | 851 | 252 | 238% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 22 | Mini Clubman | 509 | 1.035 | -51% | 0,1% | 0,2% |
| 23 | Chevrolet Cruze | 71 | 682 | -90% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 24 | Volkswagen Beetle | 9 | 2.332 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,4% |
| 25 | Chevrolet Volt | 2 | 62 | -97% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 26 | Dodge Dart | 2 | 5 | -60% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 745.330 | 543.815 | 37% |
Source: Manufacturers.