Segment continues shrinking, with only the evergreen Challenger and the new Porsches registering sales growth
Sales in the US Mid-sized Sports segment fell by 11.0% to 51,950 in the first quarter of 2018, continuing the trend that began with the 13.9% sales decline in 2017. With no updates coming for the American big three muscle (Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger) in 2018, the segment is unlikely to recover in 2018. The second half of the year will see the release of the new BMW Z4, for sure, but given the relatively low volumes registered by that car it probably won’t make much of a dent on the segment overall.
Highlights:
- After arresting the 2017 slide in the last quarter of the year, sales of the segment-leading Ford Mustang fell once more, this time by 15%, allowing the ridiculously evergreen Dodge Challenger to close within 1,500 of the once-dominant Ford
- The once-number-two Chevrolet Camaro saw its sales shrink by 23%, only two-thirds of the Dodge
Clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
- Nissan 370Z hung onto fourth spot despite a 21% decline in sales, even though the resurgent Porsche Cayman came to within 200 units after a 34% growth spurt (considerably bettering the 9% sales growth of its Boxster sibling)
- Sales of the aging Mercedes-Benz SLC fell by 32% – bad, but not nearly as bad as the 41% sales decline of the much-younger Audi TT, or the 61% sales decline of the Alfa Romeo 4C
Note: clicking on the model names in legend turns the display for that model on/off; data is displayed from 1990 onwards, but starts earlier – access previous years using slider on bottom