Bestsellers of 2007

The final auto sales figures for 2007 are in, and the news is good for some carmakers and not so good for others. Total sales in the U.S. are trending slightly down, with numbers about 2.5 percent lower than the final numbers in 2006. But that doesn't tell the whole story. According to Automotive News, domestic vehicles are down just under four percent, while imports are up almost two percent.

General Motors continues to lead the U.S. in sales, but they are down 6 percent from last year. The other two Detroit-based car companies — Ford Motor Company and Chrysler LLC — are third and fourth on the list, down 11.8 percent and 3.1 percent in sales, respectively.

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This means that Toyota has passed Ford for the first time to take the second spot in overall U.S. sales. Toyota has seen a 3.1 percent increase in U.S. sales year-over-year, selling about 60,000 more vehicles than Ford. Honda and Nissan follow in the fifth and sixth positions — both showing healthy sales increases.

BMW is the top European brand in U.S. sales and also has a success story. The German automaker is showing a 7.1 percent increase in sales over last year. This puts BMW just slightly higher than the Volkswagen Group in U.S. sales.

The Ford F-Series remains in first place — the full-size pickup truck has been at the top of the best-sellers list in America for more than 25 years. But sales of the F-Series were down more than 13 percent, and the Chevrolet Silverado ended the year about 72,000 units behind.

And while the data is based on vehicle nameplates, when combining the Silverado numbers with that of its GMC Sierra sibling, total General Motors pickup truck sales reach 826,500 units sold compared to the F-Series at 690,589. However, all three vehicles have sold in fewer numbers than the previous year.

The Toyota Camry is still the best-selling passenger car in America with 473,108 units sold — up 5.5 percent over 2006. And Toyota continues its strong push in the market by fielding the third-best-selling passenger car in America with the Corolla.

Trucks continue to dominate the top positions on the list (including the in the sixth position), Dodge Ram and also lead in overall sales, with trucks accounting for almost 51 percent of total U.S. sales. However, many of these truck sales can be attributed to the smaller, more fuel-efficient crossover utility vehicles.

These include the Honda CR-V, which has seen a 29 percent increase in sales over 2006 to make it the best-selling SUV in America. Other success stories in the SUV market include the Hyundai Santa Fe with sales up 44 percent and the Jeep Wrangler, up 48 percent. At the same time, sales of larger SUVs continue to trend downward — the Toyota 4Runner is down 15 percent, while the Ford Explorer is off 23 percent from 2006 sales.

The Honda Accord, another perennial top seller, fills the fourth position overall with the smaller Civic taking seventh place on the list. The redesigned 2008 Honda Accord should help Honda continue its strong showing on the sales front.

Chevrolet's Impala remains the best-selling domestic-branded passenger car, taking the eighth position. Sales for this recently redesigned sedan have increased nearly 7 percent over last year.

Nissan continues to show strong results with its popular Altima sedan. Ninth on the top-ten list, Altima sales are up more than 22 percent over last year. This includes sales of the recently launched Altima Hybrid as well as the new Altima coupe.

Not surprisingly, smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles are generally increasing in sales. Most noticeable is Toyota's Prius hybrid, which has seen an increase in sales over 2006 of almost 70 percent. Sales of Honda's Fit more than doubled in 2007, and sales of the Mazda3 are up 27.4 percent.

Here are the top ten bestsellers in America for the calendar year 2007, based on data published by Automotive News.

Source: Automotive News Data Center

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