Model year
Encyclopedia
The model year of a product is a number used worldwide, but with a high level of prominence in North America
, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product.
The model year and the actual calendar year
of production do not always coincide. For example, a 2009 model year automobile
is available during most of the 2009 calendar year, but is usually also available from the third quarter of 2008 because production of the 2009 model began in July and August 2008. When a brand new model is introduced there may be an additional delay to retool and retrain for production of the new model.
extended the idea of yearly fashion change from clothing to automobile
s in the 1920s. His firm General Motors was the first to systematize the process of slightly altering cars every year to grab the buyers' attention.
The term may also be used by Europe
an and Japan
ese automakers in respect of model availability dates in North American markets: these often receive updated models significantly later than domestic markets, especially in the event of unforeseen slow sales causing an inventory build up of earlier versions.
The practice of identifying revisions of automobiles by their "model year" is strongest in the United States. Typically, complete vehicle redesigns of longstanding models occur in cycles of at least five years, with one or two "facelifts" during the model cycle, and are introduced at various times throughout the year. Additionally, introductions of new models are often phased in around the world, meaning that a "2004 model" of a particular vehicle may actually refer to two entirely different vehicles in different countries. Therefore, the more common practice for enthusiasts and motoring writers in other countries is to identify major revisions using the manufacturer's identifier for each revision. For instance, the Holden Commodore
, a popular Australia
n car, are grouped into the following series: VB (introduced 1978), VC (1980), VH (1981), VK (1984), VL (1986), VN (1988), VP (1991), VR (1993), VS (1995), VT (1997), VX (2000), VY (2002), VZ (2004) and VE (2006). This is done for the simple reason of making the cars more easily distinguished.
the "model year" is absolutely defined only by the manufacturer, and not by any local vehicle registration practices or marketing opinions.
Industry practice varies between markets according both to the level of exports to North America, and the extent to which US owned subsidiaries dominate the domestic automarket. In the 1960s and 1970s, many new models were traditionally introduced at the London or Paris motor shows during October, and manufacturers owned by US corporations as well as domestically controlled UK auto makers tended to follow US auto-industry conventions in respect of model years. The concept was never so universally applied in Europe as in North America, however, and since the 1980s, the more commercially critical European Motor Shows have been the March Geneva Motor Show and the September Frankfurt Motor Show, new models have increasingly been launched in June or July even in the UK, where the two remaining US owned subsidiaries no longer design and build distinctively British Ford and Vauxhall models. All this has left the US style model year concept increasingly absent from the European domestic automarkets.
An automotive model year is categorically defined by the 10th digit of the Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN), and simply indicates any manufacturer-specified evolution in mid-cycle of a model range - such as revised paint options, trim options or any other minor specification change. The 10th VIN digit does not relate to the calendar year which the car is built, although the two may coincide. For example, a vehicle produced between July 2006 and June 2007 may have a 7 as the 10th digit of the VIN, and another vehicle produced between July 2007 and June 2008 may have an 8 in the 10th digit - with the change-over date varying depending on manufacturer, model and year.
, automobile model year sales traditionally begin with the fourth quarter of the preceding year. So model year refers to the "sales" model year; for example, vehicles sold during the period from October 1 to the next December 30 is considered one model year. In addition, the launch of the new model year has long been coordinated to the launch of the traditional new television season (as defined by A.C. Nielsen) in late September, because of the heavy dependence between television to offer products from automakers to advertise, and the car companies to launch their new models at a high-profile time of year.
In other cases, products of a previous model year can continue production, especially if a newer model hasn't yet been released. In that case, the model year remains the same until a new model is introduced. This is to ensure that the model will be seen by the public, and will actually sell an amount of vehicles before a new vehicle model is produced, and people will look at the newer model rather than the previous one.
In the United States, for regulation purposes, government authorities allow cars of a given model year to be sold starting on January 2 of the previous calendar year. This has resulted in a few cars in the next model year being introduced in advertisements during the NFL
's Super Bowl
.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product.
The model year and the actual calendar year
Calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number of days. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle , certain years...
of production do not always coincide. For example, a 2009 model year automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
is available during most of the 2009 calendar year, but is usually also available from the third quarter of 2008 because production of the 2009 model began in July and August 2008. When a brand new model is introduced there may be an additional delay to retool and retrain for production of the new model.
Automobiles
Alfred P. SloanAlfred P. Sloan
Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr. was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman, and CEO of General Motors Corporation...
extended the idea of yearly fashion change from clothing to automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s in the 1920s. His firm General Motors was the first to systematize the process of slightly altering cars every year to grab the buyers' attention.
The term may also be used by Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese automakers in respect of model availability dates in North American markets: these often receive updated models significantly later than domestic markets, especially in the event of unforeseen slow sales causing an inventory build up of earlier versions.
The practice of identifying revisions of automobiles by their "model year" is strongest in the United States. Typically, complete vehicle redesigns of longstanding models occur in cycles of at least five years, with one or two "facelifts" during the model cycle, and are introduced at various times throughout the year. Additionally, introductions of new models are often phased in around the world, meaning that a "2004 model" of a particular vehicle may actually refer to two entirely different vehicles in different countries. Therefore, the more common practice for enthusiasts and motoring writers in other countries is to identify major revisions using the manufacturer's identifier for each revision. For instance, the Holden Commodore
Holden Commodore
The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...
, a popular Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n car, are grouped into the following series: VB (introduced 1978), VC (1980), VH (1981), VK (1984), VL (1986), VN (1988), VP (1991), VR (1993), VS (1995), VT (1997), VX (2000), VY (2002), VZ (2004) and VE (2006). This is done for the simple reason of making the cars more easily distinguished.
Europe
In the automotive industryAutomotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
the "model year" is absolutely defined only by the manufacturer, and not by any local vehicle registration practices or marketing opinions.
Industry practice varies between markets according both to the level of exports to North America, and the extent to which US owned subsidiaries dominate the domestic automarket. In the 1960s and 1970s, many new models were traditionally introduced at the London or Paris motor shows during October, and manufacturers owned by US corporations as well as domestically controlled UK auto makers tended to follow US auto-industry conventions in respect of model years. The concept was never so universally applied in Europe as in North America, however, and since the 1980s, the more commercially critical European Motor Shows have been the March Geneva Motor Show and the September Frankfurt Motor Show, new models have increasingly been launched in June or July even in the UK, where the two remaining US owned subsidiaries no longer design and build distinctively British Ford and Vauxhall models. All this has left the US style model year concept increasingly absent from the European domestic automarkets.
An automotive model year is categorically defined by the 10th digit of the Vehicle Identification Number
Vehicle identification number
A Vehicle Identification Number, commonly abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles. VINs were first used in 1954...
(VIN), and simply indicates any manufacturer-specified evolution in mid-cycle of a model range - such as revised paint options, trim options or any other minor specification change. The 10th VIN digit does not relate to the calendar year which the car is built, although the two may coincide. For example, a vehicle produced between July 2006 and June 2007 may have a 7 as the 10th digit of the VIN, and another vehicle produced between July 2007 and June 2008 may have an 8 in the 10th digit - with the change-over date varying depending on manufacturer, model and year.
USA
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, automobile model year sales traditionally begin with the fourth quarter of the preceding year. So model year refers to the "sales" model year; for example, vehicles sold during the period from October 1 to the next December 30 is considered one model year. In addition, the launch of the new model year has long been coordinated to the launch of the traditional new television season (as defined by A.C. Nielsen) in late September, because of the heavy dependence between television to offer products from automakers to advertise, and the car companies to launch their new models at a high-profile time of year.
In other cases, products of a previous model year can continue production, especially if a newer model hasn't yet been released. In that case, the model year remains the same until a new model is introduced. This is to ensure that the model will be seen by the public, and will actually sell an amount of vehicles before a new vehicle model is produced, and people will look at the newer model rather than the previous one.
In the United States, for regulation purposes, government authorities allow cars of a given model year to be sold starting on January 2 of the previous calendar year. This has resulted in a few cars in the next model year being introduced in advertisements during the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
.
See also
- Car modelCar modelAn automobile model is a particular brand of vehicle sold under a marque by a manufacturer, usually within a range of models, usually of different sizes or capabilities...
- Vehicle Identification NumberVehicle identification numberA Vehicle Identification Number, commonly abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles. VINs were first used in 1954...
- Emission standardEmission standardEmission standards are requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. Many emissions standards focus on regulating pollutants released by automobiles and other powered vehicles but they can also regulate emissions from industry, power...
- United States CodeUnited States CodeThe Code of Laws of the United States of America is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States...