Cars and Drivers

Will Subaru Outsell Volkswagen in the US in 2015?

Subaru Forester 2015
Source: Subaru of America Inc.
Volkswagen was the eighth-largest auto seller in the United States in 2014, with total sales of 595,988 units. The total includes sales of both VW and Audi brands, and it is down 2% compared with 2013 sales.

Subaru, a division of Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries, sold 513,693 units in the United States in 2014, all under a single brand. Subaru sales are up 21% compared with 2013.

By one way of counting, Subaru already outsells VW. Excluding Audi brand sales, the VW brand sold 366,970 units in the United States last year, well below Subaru’s total.

Counting just the two top-selling Subaru models, the Outback and Forester crossover utility vehicles, Subaru sold nearly 300,000 units. Adding in the new XV Crosstrek small crossover, sales topped 370,000 for the year.

VW’s best-selling Jettas sold about 161,000 units in 2014, while the Passat sold nearly 97,000 and the VW Golf sold about 34,000. The company’s top three sellers pushed out a total of around 292,000 units. Add in sales of 29,000 for the Beetle, and VW still cannot reach the total for the top three models from Subaru.

Subaru’s sales have risen from about 188,000 in 2008 to this year’s total north of half a million. That is an increase of nearly 175%. VW sold about 223,000 VW-brand cars in the United States in 2008, for an increase of nearly 65%. Good to be sure, but not enough to fend off Subaru’s charge.

Including Audi sales, VW Group sales have increased from 313,581 in 2008 to nearly 600,000 in 2014, slightly less than double. There is no question that Audi has boosted group sales, but even with those added in the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of group sales is just 9.7%, compared with Subaru’s CAGR of 15.5%.

Barring some unexpected catastrophe in 2015, Subaru is going become the number eight best-selling car maker in the United States, and it will take aim at number seven Hyundai/Kia, with its annual 2014 sales of 1.3 million units.

ALSO READ: BMW Wins 2014 US Luxury Car Sales Race

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