Relative to their own achievements during the first seven months of 2014, no auto brand in America is growing faster through the first seven months of 2015 than Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi?
Yes, Mitsubishi.
Compared with the January-July period last year, Mitsubishi volume is up 25 percent in 2015. Yet a 25-percent gain at Mitsubishi, which is ending North American production, translates to only 11,391 extra sales, year-over-year. Moreover, if we reach back a decade, Mitsubishi sales through the first seven months of 2005 were 33-percent stronger than they are now — and that was three years into the brand’s free fall.
Jeep, on the other hand, has produced a 21-percent year-over-year increase through the first seven months of 2015, a gain of 82,515 sales. That latter figure is unparalleled in today’s U.S. auto market. Jeep has boosted its sales with nearly across-the-board gains. The Patriot is up 34 percent, the Cherokee is up 28 percent, the Grand Cherokee is up 4 percent, and the Wrangler is up 19 percent. Jeep has added 20,751 sales via the Renegade. Only the Compass, down 16 percent, has been a drag. Jeep sales have increased in each of the last five years and reached a record high in calendar year 2014.
Similarly, Mitsubishi is producing gains across its lineup. Lancer volume is up 19 percent, the Mirage is up 53 percent, Outlander volume has grown by 16 percent, and the Outlander Sport reported an 18-percent year-to-date gain. Only the disappearance of a few Galant sales (only 122 were sold by this point last year) and an inconsequential 26-percent i MiEV drop has slowed the brand’s growth.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net , which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.