US auto market hits new record

North America's automotive industry set a new record in 2015, when 17,470,659 new light vehicles were sold – 5.7 per cent more than in 2014 and also well above the previous record of 17,402,486 set in 2000.

However, the US market still lagged behind China by more than a million vehicles.

Amid the celebrations and boardroom bonuses, 2015 was a tough and trying year for Ford and its all-new aluminium-bodied F-Series pick-up, which battled Chevrolet Silverado for bragging rights as America’s best-selling nameplate.

F-Series has reigned supreme for 33 years, but by mid-year Chevrolet looked right for an upset. Ford’s F-Series eventually ended 2015 on top for the 34th straight year (and its 39th year as the best-selling light truck) following strong sales pushed by aggressive buyer incentives in the last quarter.

Ford delivered 780,354 F-Series pick-ups while Chevrolet sold 600,544 Silverados. Chrysler’s RAM pick-up finished the year as the nation's third most popular vehicle with total sales of 451,116.

If GMC Sierra (Silverado’s mechanical clone) deliveries of 224,139 are tallied with Silverado, then GM takes the crown. Toss in the mid-size Colorado and Canyon, and GM’s pick-up deliveries finished 2015 within sight of one million.

Americans love their pick-ups. F-Series, Silverado and RAM all outsold the country's most popular passenger car — the Toyota Camry — by a wide margin. However, 2015 was Camry’s 14th consecutive year as America’s best-selling car with Toyota delivering 429,355.

The traditional fight between Camry and the Honda Accord didn’t happen. Accord sales, instead, slipped by 8.7 per cent to 388,374. By year’s end, Toyota's Corolla — with 363,332 sales — pushed Accord but finished ultimately third ahead of the Honda CR-V at 345, 647.

Globally, as in Australia, the Corolla dominated with 1.2 million sales, followed by the Ford Focus in a distant second.