Commercial Van Sales In America - September 2016 YTD

Automotive

After climbing 17.5% through the first two-thirds of 2016, U.S. sales of commercial vans declined 2.5% in September 2016, a sudden downturn not caused by the segment-leading Ford Transit.

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U.S. Vehicle Sales By Model - September 2016 YTD

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The Transit, now routinely the leader of the pack, posted its 16th consecutive year-over-year sales increase, rising 6% to 10,799 units. Earning 38% of the full-size market, the Transit was part of a Ford van lineup which accounted for 51% of the overall commercial van segment in September.

In fact, the Transit led a full-size sub-segment which posted real growth in September. Blame for the overall van category's decline can be cast upon the smaller vans, including Ford's own Transit Connect, the Chevrolet City Express, the little Chevrolet's Nissan NV200 donor van, and the Ram ProMaster City. 

Excluding the tweener-sized Mercedes-Benz Metris, small commercial van sales were down 29% in September 2016. Year-to-date, sales through the first three-quarters of 2016 are up just 9% in the small commercial van sector.

Click Chart To Expand

Why, in a market blossoming with new small contenders, is growth among small commercial vans so limited compared with the more established full-size sector? You can blame fuel costs, perhaps, at least as part of an overall financial equation which favours larger vans. To the practical and pragmatic fleet buyer, the extra cost of the full-size van – both in terms of MSRPs and fuel – is clearly more than counteracted by the vast difference in capacity. 

In the full-size sector, GM's market share in September 2016 fell to 23.3% from 26.4% one year ago. At the same time, inventory of GM's increasingly outdated full-size vans is ballooning. GM had a 103-day supply of Express vans heading into September, according to Automotive News, and a 218-day supply of Savanas. Ford, meanwhile, is more closely matching supply to (greater) demand. There are currently 75 days of Transit supply, much closer to the industry average of 61 days.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly U.S. auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. This table is sortable, so you can rank commercial vans any which way you like. Mobile users can now thumb across the table for full-width access. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.

Click Column Headers To Sort • October 2016 • August 2016 • September 2015

Van	September 2016	September 2015	% Change	2016 YTD	2015 YTD	% Change
Chevrolet City Express ²	296	1024	-71.1%	5750	7404	-22.3%
Chevrolet Express ³	5663	6666	-15.0%	49,751	44,208	12.5%
Ford E-Series ³	4073	3988	2.1%	40,195	39,036	3.0%
Ford Transit ³	10,799	10,154	6.4%	112,607	86,085	30.8%
Ford Transit Connect ²	2714	3852	-29.5%	33,753	36,827	-8.3%
GMC Savana ³	1004	728	37.9%	13,896	16,392	-15.2%
Mercedes-Benz Metris ²	565	---	---	4154	---	---
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ³	2405	2317	3.8%	21,002	20,274	3.6%
Nissan NV ³	1395	1437	-2.9%	13,383	12,538	6.7%
Nissan NV200 ²	1284	1400	-8.3%	14,379	12,934	11.2%
Ram Cargo Van ²	---	9	-100%	21	2146	-99.0%
Ram ProMaster ³	3218	2762	16.5%	26,544	19,225	38.1%
Ram ProMaster City ²	856	920	-7.1%	12,649	5369	136%
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Full-Size Commercial Vans ³	28,557	28,052	1.8%	277,378	237,758	16.7%
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Small Commercial Vans ²	5715	7205	-20.7%	70,706	64,680	9.3%
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Total	34,372	35,257	-2.5%	348,084	302,438	15.1%

Source: Automakers
Sprinter & Metris sales combined by Mercedes-Benz, not GoodCarBadCar, and displayed with full-size commercial vans for the time being.

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Commercial Van Sales In America - October 2016
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