May's Fastest- and Slowest-Selling Cars
We often call it a trend, but after so many months of SUVs and trucks dominating the list of fastest-selling cars in the country we have to call it the norm. Car shoppers simply aren’t rabid for the traditional car any longer.
In May, 17 of the 21 fastest-selling vehicles were SUVs and trucks, and one of those other four was a station wagon, last month’s fastest-seller the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen. Another all-new model tops May’s list, Honda’s HR-V.
Related: 2016 Honda HR-V Expert Review
Like March’s fastest-seller, Jeep’s Renegade, the HR-V is a subcompact SUV based off of Honda’s smallest car, the Fit. Small, medium, large, extra-large … it didn’t seem to matter when it came to SUVs though, as all are represented in the fastest-sellers list.
It took an average of 57 days to sell a new car in May, which is an improvement from last May when it took 61 days to sell car. But it is up from April’s 53 days.
The cars that took much longer than that average sported one particular nameplate. BMW’s large coupe, the 6 Series, dominated the slowest-sellers list for another month with five different variations in the bottom 10. But affordable cars like Chevrolet’s Sonic and Kia’s Rio are there too.
This month we again point to Cadillac’s ATS sedan as a slower-seller that deserves some added consideration from shoppers looking for a deal.
The biggest surprise of the month had to be the 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The midsize sedan was redesigned for 2015 and won our $27,000 Midsize Sedan Challenge late last year. Yet it is the second-slowest-selling midsize sedan – behind only the soon-to-be-updated Chevy Malibu at 119 days – at 90 days. Kia’s Optima, also soon to be updated, sold faster at 79 days.
Shoppers will get a great all-around car and likely a good deal on a new Sonata if this data is any indication. Overall sales of the Sonata were down in April as well. Current incentives on the Sonata expired today, but were significant. Shoppers should keep an eye on what will follow.
May’s Fastest-Selling Cars
- 2016 Honda HR-V: 6 days
- 2016 Acura RDX: 8 days
- 2016 BMW X3: 9 days
- 2015 Subaru Outback: 11 days
- 2015 Chevrolet Colorado crew cab: 12 days
- 2015 Porsche Macan: 12 days
- 2016 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan: 13 days
- 2015 Toyota Highlander: 13 days
- 2015 Ford Flex: 14 days
- 2016 Ford Fusion: 15 days
- 2015 Subaru WRX: 15 days
- 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek: 15 days
- 2015 Toyota 4Runner: 15 days
- 2015 Audi Q3: 17 days
- 2015 Cadillac Escalade ESV: 17 days
- 2015 Chevrolet Colorado extended cab: 17 days
- 2015 Ford Edge: 17 days
- 2015 Land Rover Range Rover: 17 days
- 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL450: 17 days
- 2015 Subaru Impreza sedan: 17 days
- 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen: 17 days
May’s Slowest-Selling Cars
- 2015 BMW 650i Gran Coupe: 192 days
- 2015 BMW 640i convertible: 164 days
- 2015 Chevrolet Sonic sedan: 147 days
- 2015 Kia Rio 5-door: 140 days
- 2015 BMW 650i xDrive Gran Coupe: 139 days
- 2015 Kia Rio sedan: 133 days
- 2015 640i Gran Coupe: 132 days
- 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD extended cab: 131 days
- 2015 Chevrolet Sonic hatchback: 130 days
- 2015 BMW 650i convertible: 129 days
Cars.com Picks for May
- 2015 Kia Forte5: 123 days
- 2015 Cadillac ATS sedan: 112 days
- 2015 BMW 750i: 106 days
- 2015 Ford Fiesta sedan: 105 days
- 2015 Hyundai Sonata: 90 days
About the Lists
The Fastest- and Slowest-Selling Cars list reports the average number of days it takes to sell models from the day they arrive on the lot until the final paperwork is signed by a buyer. This is not a days-of-inventory list like you may find on other websites. With lots mostly clear of 2014 models, we look exclusively at 2015s and 2016s.
For the fastest sellers, we only list vehicles that pass a certain threshold of sales in order to weed out limited editions, ultra-high-performance cars and others that might skew the numbers or otherwise inaccurately portray popularity. To highlight all slow sellers, slowest sellers have no such threshold.
Our Picks highlight cars that take a significant time before they’re sold and might be overlooked by shoppers. Dealers could be more motivated to sell these cars.
