September 2015: Shooting For New Records Edition

Without a doubt, the biggest bits of automotive news in the world right now revolve around Volkswagen and the revelation that the German brand has been cheating on emissions regulations for years. But that's not the only news worth noting. In fact, 2015 is shaping up to be a record year for automobile sales in the United States.

Analysts had predicted a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of over 17 million in September of 2015, but Americans bought enough new vehicles to push that figure up past 18 million. If momentum carries through the end of the year, the US may set a new record for new-vehicle sales. The current record stands at 17.395 million units sold and was set back in the year 2000.

September's off-the-charts sales numbers were led by Ford, which saw a boost of over 23 percent when compared to the same period a year prior. That performance was bested only by Jaguar Land Rover, but Ford's sales tally of well over 220,000 units makes its achievement arguably even more impressive than JLR's 61-percent increase. Nissan, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Honda and General Motors all saw sales increase by double-digit amounts, making September of 2015 one for the record books.

As has been the case all year, trucks and utility vehicles are moving faster than ever. Ford sold nearly 70,000 F-Series trucks, making it the best September for the Blue Oval's best-seller since its heyday of 2006. Jeep, too, was up huge, posting a gain of nearly 40 percent. GMC, another truck-heavy brand, saw its sales increase by around 24 percent. It seems the promise of low fuel prices and sweet deals is still enough to get Americans to buy big and overlook efficiency.

A few more noteworthy data points:

• Fiat Chrysler's 13-percent gain marks the 66th consecutive month of sales increases for the automaker.
• Subaru is on the way to a seventh consecutive year of record sales in the US.
• BMW, Lexus and Mercedes are still in a close race to take the luxury brand sales crown in 2015. It looks like this battle may go down to the wire.
• There were 25 selling days in September of 2015, which is one fewer than the same month a year ago.

As always, you're encouraged to peruse our past By The Numbers posts for all the sales data from previous months and years.