Small Japanese automaker Subaru surprisingly held second place in new car/truck sales in Colorado for the first six months of this year, leading third-place Ford by only six units, probably Outbacks.
Locked in a tight sales race after six months are Toyota/Scion with 11,939 new car/truck registrations, Subaru with 11,265 and Ford with 11,259, according to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.
Subaru generally ranks 9th or 10th nationally in sales. Its almost-100-percent use of all-wheel-drive powertrains has made it a longtime favorite in Colorado, though. Its rise to No. 2 is somewhat remarkable in that it attains the high sales numbers without the benefit of any pickup trucks in its showrooms. Ford, of course, relies greatly on its F150, the biggest-selling vehicle in the country, and Toyota adds volume with its Tacoma and Tundra pickups.
Such a lofty position (No. 2) for Subaru is also a precarious one, for Ford since the six-month totals were announced has posted strong results in the Denver region for July: Among sales increases for Ford were 46 percent for the Expedition, 31 percent for Edge, 21 for Transit Connect, 13 for Explorer and 9 percent for the Fusion midsize sedan, according to Paul Witt of Summit Information Services. The F150 SuperCrew grew 14 percent in July and Super Duty was up 13 percent. So, the race is on to the end of December.
To overtake Ford for the second spot in sales in the past six months, Subaru increased its totals by 1,363 units. Ford, in the same period, gained 554, Toyota 482, Chrysler 441 and GMC 423.
Subaru has replaced its automatic transmissions with continuously variable trannies mated to its boxer engines. The six 2015 Subarus I’ve driven and reviewed this model year have been the Outback, Legacy, Crosstrek, WRX, WRXSTI and the BRZ sports car. I’d have preferred shift-point automatics in them all; the tradeoff for Subaru is improved fuel mileage.
New car/truck registrations increased 5.4 percent in Colorado through June, going from 89,833 in the six months of 2014 to 94,651 in the same period this year.
“By year’s end, Colorado may reach its highest new car/truck registration numbers in a decade,” said Tim Jackson, president of CADA. “The critera driving positive numbers are higher level of consumer confidence, improved job gains, newly emerging technologies in both power source and in-cabin, lower-cost fuel, longer loan terms and lower monthly payments, and easier access to credit for most buyers.”
Compact SUVs, full-size pickups, compact pickups, compact luxury SUVs and full-size crossover SUVs led in market-share gains for the first six months, Jackson said.
The top 10 sellers in Colorado thus far, in order, are Toyota/Scion, Subaru, Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Jeep, Nissan, Ram, GMC and Hyundai. The top five sellers of luxury cars in Colorado are BMW with 2,120, Lexus with 2,050, Audi with 1,729, Mercedes-Benz 1,523 and Acura 999.
The six-month new car/truck sales for 2015 for Colorado:
- Toyota/Scion 11,939
- Subaru 11,265
- Ford 11,259
- Chevrolet 7.127
- Honda 6,692
- Jeep 6,453
- Nissan 6,101
- Ram 3,812
- GMC 3,050
- Hyundai 2,811
- Kia 2,779
- Volkswagen 2,574
- Dodge 2,201
- Mazda 2,137
- BMW 2,120
- Lexus 2,050
- Audi 1,729
- Mercedes 1,523
- Acura 999
- Chrysler 971
- Buick 888
- Infiniti 699
- Cadillac 592
- Land Rover 482
- Lincoln 436
- Mini 415
- Volvo 376
- Porsche 370
- Mitsubishi 323
- Tesla 249
- Fiat 102
- Jaguar 47
- Smart 36