(January 5, 2017) Solid gains at GM, Nissan and Honda in December helped push 2016 vehicle sales to a new record, topping the 2015 total by more than 56,000 units. Sales totaled 17,539,052 for the year.

Volume rose 10 percent at General Motors for a second straight month. Nissan advanced 9.7 percent and Honda posted a 6.4 percent gain.  Toyota Motor Corp. rose 2 percent and Ford Motor Co. edged up 0.1 percent, while Fiat Chrysler recorded its third straight double-digit decline.

Based on initial estimates, GM’s December U.S. retail market share rose 0.3 points to 17.6 percent. GM has gained retail market share in 18 of the past 21 months. For the year, GM gained 0.5 points of retail market share, pushing retail market share to 16.8 percent. For 2016, GM was the U.S. retail industry’s fastest-growing manufacturer.

“We finished 2016 with a strong December, reflecting the continued strength of GM’s U.S. retail and commercial businesses,” said Kurt McNeil, GM’s vice president of U.S. Sales Operations. “We begin 2017 well positioned to continue growing our U.S. retail business, driven by all-new products like the Chevrolet Equinox and Traverse being launched into key, growing U.S. market segments.”

Honda Division sales also set a new annual record, rising 4.8 percent on sales of 1,476,582 vehicles in 2016, as well as a new December record, gaining 6.9 percent on sales of 143,329 units. Honda trucks set new all-time best annual and monthly marks, gaining 6.7 percent on sales of 705,387 for the year, and 19 percent on sales of 73,380 for December. Honda cars were up 3.1 percent for the year on sales of 771,195 units.

Nissan Motor's December increase reflected an 8.3 percent gain at Nissan and a 21 percent jump at Infiniti. The Nissan division set an all-time record with 1,426,130 U.S. sales, up 5.5 percent. And in a sign of how strong light-truck demand has become across the industry, the Rogue crossover topped the Altima sedan to become Nissan’s top-selling U.S. model for the first time, with 2016 sales of 329,904, or an increase of 15 percent.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) had a tough month with deliveries dropping 10 percent behind a 6 percent decline at Jeep and a 34 percent drop in fleet shipments. Ram was the only FCA US brand to gain, with a 10 percent rise. For the year, Jeep and Ram posted U.S. sales records.

Mercedes took the 2016 U.S. luxury title even though its sales for the year declined, but the results were still strong enough to beat Lexus and last year’s winner, BMW. Mercedes U.S. sales fell 0.8 percent to 340,237 in 2016, with December sales dropping 6.4 percent to 32,011 vehicles. But Mercedes finished the year with a 16.8 percent share of the U.S. luxury market to win the luxury title that it last won in 2013.

Lexus 2016 U.S. sales slipped 3.9 percent to 331,228 vehicles. BMW finished a distant third in with sales slipping 9.5 percent to 313,174 vehicles.

Sources: Automotive News, manufacturers