Kia Soul back on top of subcompact car sales in May [Sales Report]

2016 Kia Soul

After the Hyundai Accent surprisingly took the top subcompact car sales spot in April, the status quo returned as the Kia Soul beat out the Nissan Versa for May bragging rights.

Soul sales are down 1.3 percent for the month, but that was enough to keep it ahead of the Versa’s strong showing. For the year, sales of Kia’s little box-on-wheels are up almost four percent.

The Versa had an excellent month with a nearly 20 percent gain, which was enough to put it in the black for the year with a 1.8 percent increase.

The Accent followed up its surprisingly strong month with a surprisingly weak one, dropping down to fifth place behind the Ford Fiesta and the Honda Fit. Despite this, monthly sales were actually up nearly 23 percent, with yearly figures up 23 percent as well, no doubt aided by its strong April. That one month is worth nearly a third of the Accent’s overall sales.

2016 Chevrolet Spark rear

The Chevrolet Spark’s sales climbed a class-leading 29.2 percent for the month, although sales are down nearly 25 percent for the year. Now that all-new models are finding their way into showrooms, sales may continue to rise if May is any indication.

The news wasn’t so cheery for the Spark’s stablemate. The Sonic was the month’s biggest loser, down 67 percent for the month.

Down the list, with the exception of the grossly inflated MINI Clubman’s numbers, all remaining contenders saw precipitous drops over May of 2015. May was a tough month, having fewer sales days than last year, but the segment has been shrinking for some time.

Subcompact Car Sales – May 2016

May 2016 # Apr 2016 # May ’16/Apr ’16 % May 2016/2015 YTD 2016 # YTD 2016/2015 %
Kia Soul 13,706 11,517 19.0% -1.3% 58,299 3.8%
Nissan Versa 12,114 9,165 32.2% 19.7% 57,778 1.8%
Ford Fiesta 6,150 4,462 37.8% -34.8% 21,475 -22.0%
Honda Fit 5,706 5,132 11.2% -10.0% 22,351 -27.8%
Hyundai Accent 5,432 12,993 -58.2% 22.7% 36,191 23.0%
Chevrolet Spark 3,495 3,082 13.4% 29.2% 11,732 -24.6%
Scion iA 3,056 3,023 1.1% NEW 13,488 NEW
Chevrolet Sonic 2,980 5,102 -41.6% -67.1% 20,709 -28.8%
Kia Rio 2,241 2,523 -11.2% -38.0% 10,130 -18.4%
Mitsubishi Mirage 2,098 3,302 -36.5% -37.7% 11,632 -1.7%
Fiat 500 1,553 1,488 4.4% -41.0% 6,819 -48.0%
Toyota Yaris 1,236 1,365 -9.5% -48.5% 5,284 -46.5%
MINI Cooper 2-door 968 1,136 -14.8% -44.1% 5,390 -38.8%
MINI Cooper 4-door 908 976 -7.0% -42.5% 5,336 -16.3%
MINI Clubman 825 884 -6.7% 27400.0% 3,404 30845.5%
Fiat 500L 334 463 -27.9% -73.0% 2,064 -63.0%

 

Check out this TFLcar video review of the 2016 MINI Clubman: