Toyota Corolla Best-Selling Car in the Country, Sort Of

Sales numbers for June are rolling in, and the list of the top 10 sellers in the country has once again shifted. Last month the Honda Civic took the top spot away from the Ford F-150, and now the Toyota Corolla has taken the No. 1 mantle. Before Toyota can claim the spot, though, we must tell readers that Toyota includes Matrix sales along with that Corolla number because they’re built on the same platform.

We don’t agree with that form of accounting, but Toyota’s Camry came in second, so even without the added Matrix sales it still would have come out on top. The Civic slid to third.

Overall sales were down for Ford, GM, Chrysler and Toyota — yes, Toyota — as people start pinching pennies. Many other automakers saw upticks — most significantly Honda, but Kia, Hyundai and Subaru also saw numbers go up. Hyundai sold more than 50,000 vehicles in a month for the first time ever last month, with the Accent, Sonata and Elantra seeing big increases.

Below is the new top 10.

June

1. Toyota Corolla: 42,180 (includes Matrix)
2. Toyota Camry: 41,572
3. Honda Civic: 39,967
4. Honda Accord: 39,704
5. Ford F-Series: 38,789
6. Chevrolet Silverado: 34,290
7. Nissan Altima: 24,541
8. Chevrolet Cobalt: 20,888
9. Ford Focus: 17,950
10. Hyundai Sonata: 16,875

Comments

[LM]

Interesting to see the Cobalt on here. It's good to know the rental companies are updating their fleets (with Cobalts and Corollas).

I still think you have anti-toyota bias with your mention of the Matrix. The car is officially called the Corolla-Matrix. Civic includes Civic Coupe...Just because they market it under a different moniker doesn't mean it's a significantly different car. Same engine, transmission, trim options.

I have read that the Civic lost the top spot because dealers don't have the supply...

[Colin B.]

Wow!!! Dodge Ram is no where to be seen...odd that the Focus is down?

I remember hearing that Ford is having supply issues with that one. It will be some time until they can up the capacity to 240k per annumn... like they want it to be.

Impala is off by half as well and the so called "car you can't ignore" (Malibu) can't even beat out its GM stablemate(G6).

[Dave T.]

LM,
It's different because the Matrix gets a separate marketing and ad budget from corolla. The Civic does not for its coupe vs. sedan.

By your reasoning the Camry and Highlander should be lumped together too. Same platform, engines etc.

[Keith]

The Matrix is its own vehicle and in no way is it marketed as a Corolla derivative. Even Toyota's website makes no mention of the Corolla-Matrix. Toyota needs to count them separately.

[markt]

A month ago i could call any dealership and get a civic no problem. Now i call and am told they have to go find one. Same deal with the corolla, but toyota has more inventory.

[Dave T.]

ram missed the cut
16,149

[markt]

but in response to the corolla-matrix name. i own a 2004 matrix and the title reads as a corolla matrix, and the carfax report says the same.

[Dave T.]

Markt,
That may be true but I think to the average car buyer they don't think the two are related until they see a title or carfax report. Where as a Honda Accord coupe or Toyota Camry Solara are very well defined as such.

[ziggy]

Why aren't the Civic Hybrid numbers added to the civic total? They sold 2,710 of them...when added puts the civic at #1.

[LM]

Camry Solara is not marketed as "Camry Solara"....

Toyotas been playing this game for decades! Remember Celica Supra? I thought it was a way for them to grow a brand, but apparently they want to keep them tied together.

As far as Camry and Highlander - that's much more of a stretch. While they share a platform, they have different wheelbases, drivetrains, etc. Corolla and Matrix are almost twins except for sheetmetal and the dashboard. It's surface, but engines, transmissions are the same (except the AWD).

[Dave T.]

Ziggy,
As explained last month that number is already included in the total. Honda is breaking the # out to highlight how many hybrids it sells which is very nice of them but it isn't an error.

[Dave T.]

LM,
You're right. The solara marketing is separate. It's non-existent.

[Keith]

It is marketed as the Camry Solara. The Matrix and Corolla may share drivetrains but in no way would I consider them twins. Not one piece of sheetmetal or glass is interchangeable and their interiors are complete different save for the common items such as climate controls, electrical architecture, switchgears, etc.

[Dave T.]

Actually looking closely they share the same door handles and window switches. Nav unit, shifter, a/c controls. I think almost everything else is different
http://blogs.cars.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/01/corollamatrix.jpg

[maxwell]

You have t be careful with some of the stats. The Japanese brands do not have overlapping cars sold under different labels. GM and Ford do.

If you combine the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ, you get a little over 20,300 units for June, ranking about #8

Maxwell,
Why do you have to be careful? Toyota is the one that is combining cars, they might as well include the Vibe too, lol. Besides, the Fusion/Milan aren't even on this list. MKz actually has a totally different interior and engine than the lesser two.

Broq

[Tim]

Honda #1. Only car company to gain sale/profits! Buy and live Honda!

[Liger]

I was at the Honda dealership yesterday getting a Civic Si 6 speed transmission fixed (finally!). I only saw about 4 Civics on the lot, consisting of: Si Coupe, Si Sedan, Si Mugen that has practically been glued to the showroom floor all year, and a Civic EX-L that had been sold.

So, at least from what I have seen, the Civic's sales are down only due to supply issues. They did have about the same amount of Fit's as Civic's, and lots and lots of v6 accords, minivans, ridgelines and suv's.

[maxwell]

Broq: I meant that American companies have a habit of offering essentially the same product, gussied us as the brand price increases, under different brands.

When listing the top 10 models, the result might be that what is essentially the same car from the same company, often from the same factory, does not place as a decent seller.

The fact that Ford puts a fancier interior and different engine in its most expensive form of the Fusion does not mean that it's not just a fancied up Fusion.

[MSS]

8 out of 10 get 30MPG or better!!!

[Tor]

...a Matrix is also known as a Corolla hatch in Europe so including it is fair. Civic includes coupe and hybrid anyway.

[Tor]

come to think of it isn't the Silverado the best selling vehicle?

I mean the Silverado and the Sierra are the same vehicle...

[J]

Are we getting back to this topic again?

So shall the Vibe be counted into the Matrix sales too?

[J]

BTW, Toyota has fleet sales as well.

[rob]

Toyota used to have a Corolla and Corolla wagon. Calling the Corolla wagon the Matrix doesn't really change the fact that it is the Corolla wagon. They aren't just built on the same platform, they are nearly identical in every way. If only every sedan came available as a wagon...

[Tony]

Corolla/Matrix....

BTW, they have totally different rear suspension. Corolla - multilink. Martix - independent.

[Dave T.]

Let's put it this way:
Cars.com does not list the Matrix under Corolla.
None of our competition lists the Matrix under Corolla.
Toyota's consumer website does not list the Matrix under Corolla.
So we'll just have to say that to the consumer it is a different vehicle and leave it at that.
If everyone understands that going in then there should be no confusion.

Going into rebadging argument for total sales would be too confusing for everyone and the automakers decide to run their business that way so we'll count them separately. The reason they rebadge a vehicle is because they think a certain brand buyer won't consider the other brand's vehicles so they create the same vehicle for each brand buyer. They think they would LOSE those brand sales entirely if they didn't rebadge, that's why Mercury and GMC still exist.

[ziggy]

Toyotas sales numbers are down not because of a decrease in demand for their vehicles but because they can't produce enough of them to meet demand, i.e. the Prius. Other manufacturers are down because of decrease in demand for their vehicles.

[ziggy]

Also Toyota and Honda can make these sales numbers without having to resort to cash back offers and gas cards. Honda does have low APR specials but it doesn't seem to matter with interest rates as low as they are right now.

[maxwell]

Ziggy: Toyota is offering purchasing incentives on all cars except Hybrids and Corolla.

I just got an email from my local dealer with "$500 below invoice" for all Toyotas except Corolla and hybrids. That offer includes Yaris in the discounted cars.

[Keith]

That's a pretty general statement about Toyota. And yes the Prius is on backorder and their cars are doing well but what about all their other models? Just because they are Toyota doesn't mean that their minivan, pickups, SUV's are any less susceptible to decreases in sales as a result of a decrease in demand than anyone else.

[alex]

weather the corilla or civic or camry isd number one, the fact that the f series is not number 1 speaks volumes. If honda woule make more fits thwy would sell great too. small cars and 4 cyc mid size rule.

[ziggy]

Maxwell -
These incentives must be for your area or to current Toyota owners. MSN Auto usually keeps a good listing of national incentive programs and Toyota does not list anything. Toyota's website does not show anything either.

[Dave T.]

Ziggy,
Toyota does not list national incentives. WE list regional incentives on our Cars.com incentives page. You must put in a zip to get Toyota deals.

[ziggy]

That's my point ... they sell without having to resort to national incentives for cash back offers and gas cards. I checked your site for zip codes in LA, Omaha, Chicago and Boston - no programs listed.

[Keith]

Toyota uses a "middleman" distributor here in the Southeast and this distributor controls all incentives. They are already promoting cashback and financing offers as well as lease deals for '09 Corollas, Camrys, Highlanders.

[J]

Great, we better did not start on the "same platform" argument.

What platform is the Ford Edge build on?
Oh, what about the Highlander? Oh crap, the CR-V, Murano, and RAV4.
Do we still want the list to go on?

[Bloke]

J, are you arguing with yourself here? Oh that's right, don't get you started. Man what happens when you do get started?

[J]

Bloke,

Go get a life please.

Read rob has said about the same platform argument, if you haven't done so already.

[Bloke]

J, yeah and the issue was cleared up right after it. Did you forget to "read Dave T has said" about it? If I am to get a life, you do the same and quit posting garbage just so you see your own moniker on the site. Really I didn't mean to get you started.

[Tony]

I have a Toyota Corolla 2009 and the car manual's cover says Toyota Corolla/Matrix. The Corolla and Matrix have the same car manual so that means they are intrinsically the same. Toyota Corolla is no. 1!!!. Honda lags behind to manufacture a 2009 Civic model because they could not even sell yet all their 2008s. Honda is also slow in its research and developement (R&D) unit.