Chevrolet Sonic Experiences Massive Sales Drop

It's been a while since we've reported on anything Chevrolet Sonic related. One of the brand's smallest models (only the Spark is smaller), available in the US as both a sedan and hatchback, has not been selling well, to put it mildly. The latest sales figures are proof, according to data compiled by GM Authority. In the third business quarter of this year, Chevy Sonic sales in the US came to just 2,148 units, a 71 percent drop compared to the same period in 2018 when 7,283 examples were sold. In the first nine months of this year, Sonic sales dropped by a troubling 40 percent to only 10,632 units. Things were even worse in Canada.

Get this: a grand total of two Sonics were sold in the Great White North in Q3 2019. That translates to a 99 percent sales decrease compared to Q3 2018 when 383 units were sold. Only nine Sonics have been sold so far this year in Canada.

For its segment, the Chevy Sonic had the worst sales decrease compared to this time last year. The Nissan Versa is down by about 32 percent, the Hyundai Accent by about 27 percent, and the Toyota Yaris by 60 percent. Interestingly, the discontinued Ford Fiesta sales are actually up in the US in Q3 2019 by nearly 32 percent. What you see here are remaining Fiestas sitting on dealership lots and they're being sold with hefty discounts. The subcompact hatchback and sedan segment is also not entirely dead; it's just that Chevy's offering isn't competitive.

Aside from the Fiesta's bittersweet numbers, the Honda Fit saw its sales go up last quarter by almost 29 percent. The Mitsubishi Mirage was up by an impressive 35 percent. Meanwhile, the Kia Rio experienced a nearly 9 percent sales increase.

The segment as a whole, however, is down by about 10 percent compared to Q3 2018. Chevrolet appears to have all but given up on the subcompact passenger car segment, evidenced by a lack of inventory, little to no marketing, and GM's strategy to decrease sales to rental fleets. Will the Chevrolet Sonic survive past the 2020 model year? We have our doubts.