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2016 U.S. Pony Car Sales: Mustang Takes Top Spot, But Market Is Shrinking

2016 is yesterday’s news, but if it were not so, us gearheads wouldn’t be able to figure out which pony car is the best-selling pony car out there. As expected, the Ford Motor Company pulled a great year with the Mustang. But the thing is, the Big Three in Detroit have struggled in 2016 compared to the preceding year.
Ford Mustang / Chevrolet Camaro / Dodge Challenger 16 photos
Photo: edited by autoevolution
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Let’s start with how many Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers were sold in the United States in 2015: 122,349, 77,502, and 66,365. Now let’s see how these three fared in 2016, as per each automaker’s count: 105,932, 72,705, 64,478. Notice anything strange? That’s right, ladies and gents, the American buyer wasn’t all that into pony cars in the calendar year that just ended.

Compared to 2015, the Mustang suffered the biggest dive in terms of retail and fleet sales: -13.4%. Camaro sales, meanwhile, contracted by -6.2%. As for the big bad Challenger, a drop of -2.8% is not exactly bad, but not good news either. If it’s market share you’re interested in, the Mustang takes 43.6%, whereas the Camaro and Challenger pick up 29.9% and 26.5%.

Based on December 2016 figures, however, it’s the Camaro that’s gaining ground. With 7,000 deliveries to its name, that number accounts to a boost of 31% over December 2015. Mustang deliveries in the same month totaled 7,064 units, representing a decline of 19%. The Challenger, as surprisingly as this might sound, managed to move 5,257 examples in the said period. That's 15% better compared to the month of December 2015, which isn't bad at all.

These being said, Ford needs to do something about the Mustang if it wants to stay top dog given the Camaro’s rising popularity. In this regard, a mid-cycle update is due to arrive for the 2018 model year, as is an all-new Shelby GT500 for 2019. In the Camaro's case, the track-bred Z/28 is worth looking forward to. The Challenger, on the other hand, is now available in V6 engine-AWD combo. A widebody version of the tire-shredding SRT Hellcat, expected to be christened ADR (American Drag Racer), is in the offing as well.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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