Talk:Model year

Europe
This paragraph, moved from the article, needs a source to support it:

"In Europe, the model year of the following calendar year is given to all the vehicles produced and sold since September of the preceding year. For instance, if the car was produced in August 2004, then it still belongs to the 2004 model year, but if it was produced in October of the same year, then it is a 2005 model."

This may be true of some countries, or it may be an EU regulation. But I don't think it's common knowledge. I may be wrong about this but my impression is that it is more common practice to date a car from when it is first registered. When referring to model years, there may be two different cars with the same model year because the new model was launched half way through the year. Europe never really adopted the 1950s American habit of launching a cosmetically new (but technically little changed) car each year to persuade people to change their model, so the concept of "model year" has little significance in European consumers' eyes. Adrian Robson 18:33, 11 April 2006 (UTC)


 * This is a common "confusion". In the automotive industry the "model year" is absolutely defined only by the manufactuer, and NOT any local vehicle registration practices, or media marketing opinions.
 * 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.  To quote an example, on the Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (introduced late 2003), cars which were manufactured from July 2006 had a 7 as the 10th VIN digit, coinciding with minor trim revisions.  The 7 continued until July 2007, when it was replaced with an 8.  HTH -- Teutonic_Tamer (talk to Teutonic_Tamer) 12:08, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

UK section
Why is this section here? This article is about manufacturer's model years, not about vehicle registration schemes, which is a quite different topic and is (for the UK) covered in some depth in the Vehicle registration plates of the United Kingdom article. Letdorf (talk) 18:30, 24 August 2009 (UTC).

Importance
Is this article really 'Top' importance in Wikiproject Business? I have nothing to do with this project but it seems to not even really belong in the project let alone 'Top' priority... Dechetes (talk) 11:22, 2 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Agreed. It's important for automobile businesses (esp. in the US) and maybe TV but not for businesses in general. It was added by an anonymous user with no real explanation. If nobody gives a good reason for it to stay then I will delete it from the business project in about a week.  Stepho   (talk) 12:49, 2 January 2010 (UTC)

Bicycles
I have a 2 pronged question:
 * 1) Are bicycles sold today (2017) with any real emphasis on the model year? As in, does the salesman really push that this year's model is substantially better than that dated old thing you bought last year? The article only has a reference for this from over a century ago and a single US buyer guide from 2010. The buyer guide doesn't say anything about model years but does mention that stores don't like to stock summer sport items over the winter period. I certainly don't see model years as a sale point here in Australia, although it might be different in other parts of the world.
 * 2) If model years are a thing for bicycles, is there a reason why they must be in a stand-alone section instead of in the list? Noting again that the stand-alone section has only a reference that is over a century old and a single US buyer guide from 2010.  Stepho  talk  01:09, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

@Besselfunctions added a new 2013 reference that supposedly supports the argument that US bicycles are sold in model years. But two thirds of the companies in it say they don't use model years (introducing new models only when there is something new to add) and the last one says it introduces new models to introduce new features (just like the non model year manufacturers) and at the minimum introduces new colour schemes (ie change for change sake). This hardly supports a US trend, let alone a world-wide trend.  Stepho  talk 21:55, 13 June 2017 (UTC)


 * hasn't replied and no one else has objected, so that leaves me free to remove the bicycle section.  Stepho  talk 07:32, 25 June 2017 (UTC)


 * Nobody objected, so I deleted the bicycle section due to failure of references to support the claim.  Stepho  talk 22:20, 27 June 2017 (UTC)

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Model year v. production year?
The US, and Canadian produced cars, goes on Fiscal Year. Sept-June. So, a Dec. 1941 year car in the US is actually a 1942. I know for a Fact that Mazda presently goes on Fiscal year, like the US and Canadian-assembled.. Canada does not make any "cars". Just assembly plants of several makes. Canada never did have their Own car. My '16 Mazda is Assembled in Mexico; of Japanese, German, and Indian made parts. Head office in Japan, so, Japanese. 2600:8800:7018:2E00:F4CB:68EF:628E:57A7 (talk) 13:45, 9 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Beware that "Fiscal year" means different things in other countries (Jan-Dec, Mar-Feb, July-June). Not sure what happens to July and August in your example - tax free?
 * US model years are defined as any period that includes January 1. So technically the US 2024 model year could run Jan 2, 2023 to Dec 31, 2024 in the extreme case or the single day of Jan 1, 2023 in the other extreme.
 * In the US and Canada, new models and updates tend to come around Aug/Sept/Oct because that's when the big car shows occur. Always nice to introduce new stuff when there is a captive audience. But other dates happen too (Mustang 1965 1/2 model year intro is the most famous example). Japanese manufacturers know that the US is their biggest market, so often they base their release dates on US expectations. But not always. Europe goes their own way.
 * Where it as made/assembled is irrelevant. If it is sold in Canada or the US then it must be assigned a model year to put in the VIN and license papers. This is true of other countries too but each country chooses they own way to assign that model year. In my country (Australia) and many other markets outside of N.America, a model built Sept 2023 to Aug 2024 would be called a 2023 model year - ie based on the date of the start of the production run. Each market follows their own rules.  Stepho  talk 22:28, 9 February 2023 (UTC)