The midsized car segment continues to lose share in the US car market in 2021. Sales were down 11% in an overall market up 3%, to just under 1.36 million deliveries, which is the lowest volume of this millennium and half of the total segment sales of 2015. The share of midsized cars down to 9% from 10.4% in 2020. In Q4, sales of midsized sedans were down 35% in an overall market down 21%.
The Toyota Camry is the best selling midsized sedan in the US for the 20th consecutive year thanks to sales up 7%, improving its share to 23.1%. However, in Q4 the Camry was down 36% on the same period of 2020. Still, it was able to outsell the Honda Accord by more than 100,000 units in 2021 as the latter is up just 2%. Their closest two rivals see their sales drop by more than 20% as the Tesla Model 3 holds on to its podium position with sales down 23% and the Nissan Altima loses a quarter of its sales. The two South-Korean players are the best performing nameplates in the top-12 and jump into the top-6 as the Hyundai Sonata is up 21% and the Kia K5 is up threefold on its introduction year. The only blemish on their record is the 47% drop in deliveries for the Sonata in Q4. The mainstream domestic players have exited the segment as the Chevrolet Malibu is down 62% (and -75% in Q4) into 9th place, while the Ford Fusion is down 89% into 22nd place. The Fusion sold just 103 units in the last quarter.
Thanks to a strong fourth quarter, the Volkswagen Passat (+6%) passes the Subaru Legacy (-16%), while its sibling Volkswagen Arteon is up 54% on 2020, despite a 30% drop in deliveries in Q4. The Mazda6 sees stable sales at #18 and the Kia Stinger is up 8% at #21. The new generation Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sets a new annual sales record for the nameplate at 2,629 deliveries, which allows it to outsell the Honda Clarity which will be discontinued.
Luxury midsized models outperform their mainstream rivals at +10% as they now make up 33.9% of the midsize segment, up from 27.4% in 2020. In Q3 and Q4, the luxury models made up nearly 35% of midsized models. The Tesla Model 3 is one of the worst performing models with sales down 23%, most likely due to the launch of the Model Y crossover. Keep in mind we have to estimate Tesla sales by model and region as the brand itself does not specify them. Still, the Model 3 has held on to the overall podium, outselling its nearest rival BMW 3-Series (+19%) by over 70,000 deliveries. The Lexus ES holds on to third place among luxury models with sales up 5%. If the Mercedes-Benz C-Class outsold the ES in Q3 by a handful of deliveries, in Q4 the C-Class was down 70% to just 1,700 deliveries due to a model changeover to a new generation. The Acura TLX is up 20% into overall 11th place while the BMW 4-Series (+142%) and Lexus IS (+62%) each jump four luxury rivals thanks to their respective new generations. The Audi A5 (-8%) and A4 (-11%), as well as the Infiniti Q50 (-16%) and Volvo 60-Series (-19%) all show double digit declines. The Alfa Romeo Giulia (-7%) is distanced by Genesis G70 (+14%) while the Cadillac CT4 (+48%) is closing in quickly, outselling them both in Q4.
US midsized car sales 2021
| Midsized segment | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | 2021-Q4 | 2020-Q4 | Change | |
| 1 | Toyota Camry | 313.795 | 294.348 | 7% | 23,1% | 19,4% | 57.026 | 89.403 | -36% |
| 2 | Honda Accord | 202.676 | 199.458 | 2% | 14,9% | 13,1% | 44.688 | 54.167 | -17% |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 | 121.610 | 158.000 | -23% | 9,0% | 10,4% | 33.700 | 43.000 | -22% |
| 4 | Nissan Altima | 103.777 | 137.988 | -25% | 7,6% | 9,1% | 28.269 | 40.906 | -31% |
| 5 | Hyundai Sonata | 93.142 | 76.997 | 21% | 6,9% | 5,1% | 12.682 | 23.871 | -47% |
| 6 | Kia K5 | 92.326 | 31.656 | 192% | 6,8% | 2,1% | 18.870 | 20.994 | -10% |
| 7 | BMW 3-series | 49.461 | 41.442 | 19% | 3,6% | 2,7% | 12.094 | 12.722 | -5% |
| 8 | Lexus ES | 45.406 | 43.292 | 5% | 3,3% | 2,8% | 11.353 | 13.508 | -16% |
| 9 | Chevrolet Malibu | 39.376 | 102.651 | -62% | 2,9% | 6,8% | 7.221 | 29.252 | -75% |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 30.815 | 26.294 | 17% | 2,3% | 1,7% | 1.731 | 5.697 | -70% |
| 11 | Acura TLX | 26.100 | 21.785 | 20% | 1,9% | 1,4% | 3.168 | 6.664 | -52% |
| 12 | Volkswagen Passat | 24.396 | 22.964 | 6% | 1,8% | 1,5% | 7.892 | 6.774 | 17% |
| 13 | BMW 4-series | 22.937 | 9.495 | 142% | 1,7% | 0,6% | 6.632 | 3.862 | 72% |
| 14 | Subaru Legacy | 22.766 | 27.240 | -16% | 1,7% | 1,8% | 4.071 | 7.204 | -43% |
| 15 | Lexus IS | 21.998 | 13.600 | 62% | 1,6% | 0,9% | 1.838 | 4.879 | -62% |
| 16 | Audi A5 / S5 | 17.408 | 18.828 | -8% | 1,3% | 1,2% | 2.931 | 4.799 | -39% |
| 17 | Audi A4 / S4 | 16.263 | 18.341 | -11% | 1,2% | 1,2% | 1.738 | 4.019 | -57% |
| 18 | Mazda6 | 16.214 | 16.204 | 0% | 1,2% | 1,1% | 1.943 | 4.239 | -54% |
| 19 | Infiniti Q50 | 13.896 | 16.533 | -16% | 1,0% | 1,1% | 2.512 | 3.447 | -27% |
| 20 | Volvo 60 series | 13.605 | 16.828 | -19% | 1,0% | 1,1% | 3.192 | 4.413 | -28% |
| 21 | Kia Stinger | 13.517 | 12.556 | 8% | 1,0% | 0,8% | 3.140 | 2.764 | 14% |
| 22 | Ford Fusion | 11.781 | 110.665 | -89% | 0,9% | 7,3% | 103 | 20.001 | -99% |
| 23 | Genesis G70 | 10.718 | 9.436 | 14% | 0,8% | 0,6% | 2.999 | 2.312 | 30% |
| 24 | Alfa Romeo Giulia | 7.634 | 8.203 | -7% | 0,6% | 0,5% | 1.520 | 2.560 | -41% |
| 25 | Cadillac CT4 | 7.253 | 4.889 | 48% | 0,5% | 0,3% | 1.396 | 2.721 | -49% |
| 26 | Volkswagen Arteon | 5.537 | 3.602 | 54% | 0,4% | 0,2% | 672 | 961 | -30% |
| 27 | Lexus RC | 2.987 | 3.808 | -22% | 0,2% | 0,3% | 267 | 1.169 | -77% |
| 28 | Infiniti Q60 | 2.728 | 2.792 | -2% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 526 | 506 | 4% |
| 29 | Toyota Mirai | 2.629 | 499 | 427% | 0,2% | 0,0% | 361 | 158 | 128% |
| 30 | Honda Clarity | 2.597 | 4.215 | -38% | 0,2% | 0,3% | 169 | 1.617 | -90% |
| 31 | Lincoln MKZ | 1.681 | 12.518 | -87% | 0,1% | 0,8% | 16 | 2.385 | -99% |
| 32 | Jaguar XE | 211 | 1.686 | -87% | 0,0% | 0,1% | 100 | 400 | -75% |
| 33 | Buick Regal | 42 | 2.484 | -98% | 0,0% | 0,2% | 4 | 59 | -93% |
| 34 | Kia Optima | 16 | 48.484 | -100% | 0,0% | 3,2% | 0 | 383 | -100% |
| 35 | Chrysler 200 | 15 | 9 | 67% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 10 | 2 | 400% |
| 36 | Volkswagen CC | 3 | 96 | -97% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 | 6 | -100% |
| 37 | Cadillac ATS | 0 | 116 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 | 6 | -100% |
| Segment total | 1.357.316 | 1.520.002 | -11% | 274.834 | 421.830 | -35% |
Source: Manufacturers.