April's Fastest and Slowest Selling Cars

Plugging in seems to be popular for at least one automaker. Toyota's Prius Plug-In was the third-fastest-selling car in the U.S. in April. In March, it was the second-fastest. We reported last week that Prius Plug-In sales bested those of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, and if it keeps selling at this pace, we could see even larger sales numbers in the future.

The average time it took to sell a new 2012 or 2013 model — from the time it arrived on dealer lots until the paperwork was signed — increased to 45 days in April from 41 in March. But March was and is traditionally a busier sales month. The 45-day mark bested April 2011's 48-day average.

Luxury SUVs also were hot. BMW has turned over to the 2013 model year for the X3 and X5 and that propelled the newcomers to the top of the Movers list, selling in just four days. The all-new Infiniti JX and redesigned Acura RDX also moved quickly at a rate of six and seven days, respectively.

Movers & Losers: March 2012

The Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Prius were in high demand in March, with just-released 2013 Elantra sedans staying at dealerships just three days before shoppers take them home — proof that if a car is executed right, it can sell fast even in its third year.

There are still nearly twice as many 2012 Elantras versus 2013s in Cars.com's national new-car inventory, and the 2012s moved briskly, too. They averaged just 10 days on dealer lots in March. That's well below the month's 41-day average, which was a tick slower than February's 39-day average but it's faster than March 2011, when new cars took 48 days to sell.

Movers & Losers: February 2012

Rising gas prices brought shoppers back toward fuel-efficient small cars and hybrids, with the hot-selling Toyota Prius — up a staggering 52% in February sales — taking just nine days to turn. The Prius is EPA-rated at up to 51 mpg, but four other cars with 40 mpg or better EPA ratings made this month's Movers list. Just two cars, the redesigned BMW 3 Series and Lexus GS, topped the Prius. The Volvo XC90 was the only anomaly. Despite light incentives, shoppers are snapping up the 10-year-old SUV.

Of January's top 10 movers, seven stayed in the mix. The Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne slipped below our minimum transaction threshold, while the Land Rover Range Rover fell to 27 days. That's still better than February's average, which was 39 days to turn — a slowdown from January's 34 days but far less than February 2011's 47 days.

Movers and Losers: January 2012

As we move forward into 2012, there is more reason to be optimistic about car sales. The amount of time it took for a new 2012 model to be sold went from 35 days in December to 34 days in January, keeping a breakneck pace versus last January’s 40-day pace.

Leading the list of fast sellers were the overly practical, somewhat boring group of crossovers and compacts as well as luxury nameplates, again almost all SUVs and crossovers.

Movers and Losers: December 2011

Fueled by holiday-themed sales events and bullish shoppers, December sales helped the U.S. auto industry sell 12.8 million light vehicles in 2011 — up 10% from 2010 and the best year since 2008. Not surprisingly, cars sold fast in December as dealerships opened 2012 with a 52-day supply of cars. That's the lowest January inventory on record, Automotive News reports.

Days-to-turn average measures how long it takes a car to go home with a new owner relative to when it arrives at a dealership. For December's list we looked at 2012 models, as dealers had cleared out most of the 2011 inventory. That trend usually makes December's average plunge, but even then it's low at 29 days to turn versus 35 days in December 2010. That's dramatic. If you include 2011 models, the days-to-turn average comes in at 86 days, which is closer to November's 75 days.

Movers and Losers: November 2011

November's sales pace, the best since Cash for Clunkers-fueled summer 2009, had 2011 and 2012 models averaging 75 days to sell, which is down from October's 93 days and November 2010's 83 days. Typical of year-end months, the gulf between 2012s and 2011s has increased. In November, it took just 23 days to sell the higher-demand 2012s, but 133 days for the 2011s. That's a bigger divide from October's 15/93 days (2011s/2012s). Not surprisingly, dealers sold more than two 2012s for every 2011 in November.

November's movers were an eclectic bunch. Hot nameplates included new or redesigned models — the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Hyundai Veloster and Toyota Prius V — alongside popular nameplates like the Subaru Forester, Honda Fit and Kia Soul. Falling gas prices and cooler weather made SUVs a hotter ticket, with the Toyota 4Runner and BMW X3 selling fast. In all, eight of November's top 15 movers were SUVs, up from six in October.

Movers and Losers: October 2011

Fall is turning quickly into winter, and the 2012 model year is making a big impact on the movers and losers list. In October there were still more 2011s sold versus 2012s, but it took much longer to sell them.

The average for both 2011 and 2012 new models was 60 days, but the 2011s took 93 days on average to move off lots. The new 2012s were obviously in more demand, moving on average in just 15 days. The slowest 2012s were the Nissan NV cargo van at 69 days and the Fiat 500 hatchback in 66 days.

That's not good news for the just-introduced Fiat brand.

Movers and Losers: September 2011

Practicality and value remain common threads for the fastest-selling cars over the past few months. September’s Movers' list is similar to August's Movers, with some newcomers like the 2012 Toyota Camry and 2012 Hyundai Veloster at the top. Those that fell off September's Movers’ list from last month like the GMC Terrain are still selling at a fast clip — 14 days for the Terrain.

September’s average time it took a model to sell ticked up from 60 to 61 days for a new 2011 or 2012. That's the same amount of time it took in September 2010.

Losers are spending much more time on lots than last month, though, with the worst sellers sticking around for a whopping 282 days. Last month, the worst-selling car was at 208 days.

Our picks for deals are 2011 models that have new 2012s on lots competing for sales. That means dealers should be motivated to unload these slow-selling cars. We made sure to select models that showed relatively healthy inventory levels on Cars.com. Check out the full list of Movers, Losers and our Picks as well as info about how we select the lists below.

Movers and Losers: August 2011

I recently went car shopping, looking for an inexpensive second car to replace an aging station wagon. I knew the Kia Soul would be the least expensive option for us, and it can fit two child-safety seats in the back with space to spare. When I went to the local Kia dealer they had exactly one Soul on the lot. It was a 2012 base model with a manual transmission, which luckily was what I was looking for.

My wife and I decided to hold off on the purchase, but the fact that there was one silver-colored car to choose from in a busy suburban Chicago dealership illustrates how tight supply is for affordable new cars. The 2012 Soul tops our Movers list this month, tied with the 2012 Hyundai Elantra sedan, 2012 Nissan Versa sedan and 2012 Toyota Highlander.

Besides the Highlander, those are three of the most-affordable cars a shopper can possibly buy.

There are more expensive vehicles that are moving quickly, but overall, the Movers are affordable options in their respective segments and all are moving in less than 10 days.

At this time of year it’s difficult to come up with Losers using our guidelines as most 2012s are now appearing on lots. That has kept the average time a car spends on a new-car lot to 60 days despite many 2011s lingering for more than 200 days and a few close to 400 days.

It’s no surprise that Saab, with its uncertain future, has the two top … err, bottom spots on that list. We’d expect the now officially discontinued Mazda RX-8 to have attractive discounts as well.

Movers and Losers: July 2011

Despite some pessimistic reporting earlier last month, July turned out to be a good recovery month for the auto industry. More than 1 million new vehicles were sold, and sales were up 4.7% from a year ago. Despite the rosy sales figures, the average time it took a model to sell increased slightly in July to 58.8 days from June's 58 days.

This month’s Movers and Losers list shows that many of the fastest-selling vehicles once again come from Hyundai. The 2012 Hyundai Elantra remained one of the fastest-selling volume vehicles in July, taking just six days to sell. You could say everything at Hyundai is a fast-seller: The 2012 Sonata and Tucson also took six days to sell. The new 2012 Hyundai Accent sedan (10 days) and hatchback (seven days) also sold like hotcakes. Overall, the Tucson, Accent, Sonata and Elantra represent roughly 80% of Hyundai’s sales for the month.

This month’s Losers list includes the addition of two hybrids — the 2011 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid (159 days) and 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (150 days). The Toyota Yaris sedan (165 days) also merged on to the slow lane, though that model is due to be replaced.