With the sales of GM and Ford down slightly this month, and with Internationals posting a 14.7% sales increase over last year, traditional imports commanded 43.47% of the US new vehicle market in April.
GM actually performed quite well in car sales -- up 12.1% in April over last year, thanks to Cadillac and Chevrolet. Cadillac car sales were almost up 50%, and Chevrolet turned in close to a 25% sales increase, due to the popularity of the Cobalt and Malibu.
GM's truck division took a 13.4% hit, however, and since trucks make up the lion share of GM's sales, that accounts for the 3.7% overall decline. Chevy trucks were the big decliners, mostly in full-size vehicles such as the Suburban, Tahoe and Avalanche. Chevy continues to have strong success with the Equinox small SUV and the Colorado small pickup, however.
Chrysler was up 9.2% for the month, with strong numbers coming from Chrysler brand products such as the 300 sedan and the PT Cruiser, PAcifica and Town & Country light trucks. The Town & Country minivan, in particular, continues to surprise the industry with a 25% sales gain over last April, proving the company's Stow n' Go gamble is paying off.
Jeep turned in a modest sales gain, on the strength of the Grand Cherokee; Dodge, however, held Chrysler back due to plunging sales from the Neon and Stratus.
Ford also had success with car sales, and as in the case with GM, it was not enough to offset the slide in truck volume. The Ford Mustang, of course, is knocking 'em dead, and the Five Hundred turned in a very strong 9,215 unit sales.
Combined with the Mercury Montego and Ford Freestyle, all built on the same platform as the Five Hundred, the trio sold over 18,000 units for the first time, thus making Ford's projection of 200,000 combined annual sales a distinct possibility.
With the exception of the Freestyle and F-series pickups, Ford saw losses in all its other consumer trucks. The worst decliners were the Explorer and Expedition SUVs and the Ranger pickup.
Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru and Suzuki all turn in stellar month
The 14.7% increase in April sales by International nameplates was robust enough to lift the entire U.S. auto industry to an overall improvement of 1.3% over last year, despite a decline in traditional domestic auto sales.
International vehicles are now selling at a pace of 6.2% ahead of last year’s record-breaking performance, when the sector broke 40% market share for the first time in history. Market share for the International segment stands at 42.4% in 2005.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda lead the way
While Nissan and Honda turned in their best April sales performances ever, Toyota had its best sales month on record in the United States. While Toyota’s overall April 25.9% sales increase is extraordinary, the company’s main car division turned in an astounding 46.4% increase over the same month last year. Three of its cars -- the Camry, Corolla and Prius -- broke their own April sales records, and the all-new Avalon nearly tripled sales with 9,229 units sold.
Toyota’s success was well spread out -- Scion had its best month with 15,802 units sold, as did the full-size Tundra pickup. The small Tacoma pickup had increased sales as well, and the new Lexus hybrid RX400h SUV sold 2,345 units in only 13 days after its April 18 release. Lexus overall was up 10.7%, aided by sales of the newly released GS 300 and GS 430 sedans.
Nissan also had an exceptional month, with seven of its models contributing to its overall 31.8% sales increase. Nissan-brand cars improved 37.2%, with the Altima’s best-ever April sales of 22,869 representing a 46.6% increase over the same month last year. The Sentra turned in an even better increase of 64.7%. Nissan trucks also improved nearly a third [31.7%] thanks to the new Pathfinder SUV and the Titan full-size pickup, which has improved sales by nearly 50% for the year. Infiniti sales were up 16.6%
Honda sales were up 18% in April, where increases were also seen in its cars, trucks and luxury Acura division. Honda sold 5,579 hybrid vehicles in April, between its Accord, Civic and Insight models. Honda-brand truck sales were up 25.9%, led by individual April record sales for the Odyssey minivan and CR-V and Pilot SUVs. Acura division’s 16.2% increase to 19,102 units represented an April record and the division’s second-best month ever.
Subaru, Hyundai and Kia all have record setting April, Suzuki has best month in 17 years
Subaru’s 16,717 units sold represents a 22.9% increase over last year, led by a nearly 40% increase in its Legacy line, which includes the Outback wagon. Subaru sales are now up 5.4% for the year.
Hyundai had its best April, with 40,958 vehicles sold, a 16.9% increase. The Elantra and Sonata cars had their best April ever, and the new Tucson SUV set a single-month sales record with 5,195 units sold.
Kia posted a similar 15.9% increase over last year, and the company’s sales are up 9.3% over 2004’s record-breaking pace. Sales of the Spectra and Amanti were both up over 55% for the month.
Suzuki’s 14.8% increased sales of 8,084 vehicles was its best month since August, 1988. Notably, the Forenza platform, which includes the Forenza Wagon and Reno, were up 87.9% for the month, and the XL-7 SUV was up 57.9%. Suzuki’s sales are up 11.5% for the year.
Mercedes and Mazda post modest gains
Mazda was up 2.6% for April, led by the 3 and 6 series, as well as the Tribute SUV, which posted a 34.6% sales increase.
Mercedes’ 18,805 vehicles sold represents a 2.3% increase, leaving the company 7.3% down for the year. A 60% increase in sales of the all-new 2006 M-Class offset sales drops in the C and E-Class sedans.
Audi and Volvo stay about even, Land Rover is up
Audi’s 7,202 vehicles sold represents a .9% increase, while Volvo’s 10,743 units sold is a .6% drop. Audi is down .5% for the year, Volvo’s sales are off 3%.
Land Rover's new LR3 helped the company post a 24.3% increase in April, with 3,140 vehicles sold. The LR3 has sold 6,534 vehicles in 2005, more than half of Land Rover's total volume, which is up 8.6%.
BMW and Porsche drop
BMW brand vehicles fell 10% in sales for the month, due to a 19.5% drop-off in car sales. The company’s X3 and X5 SUVs continue to be popular, with sales up 26.2%. For the year to date, BMW’s sales are even with 2004
The MINI brand, however, continues to sell well, with sales up 31% over last April. A slight drop in hardtop sales was more than compensated by the 1,528 convertibles sold last month. For the year, MINI is up 25.4%.
Porsche’s success with the Boxster -- up 82% -- were not enough to offset the drop in Cayenne sales, which fell 38.3%. Overall, Porsche’s sales were down 7.8% for the month and are .2% up for the year.
Volkswagen and Mitsubishi drop further
Volkswagen reported sales of 18,458 units, down 28.1% for the month, and now down 18.9% for the year. Mitsubishi's 9,230 vehicles sold in April represents a 43.3% drop, putting the automaker down 40.2% for the year to date.
Saab, Isuzu and Jaguar
Saab dropped 8.6% in April, Isuzu is down 12.1% and Jaguar posted a 30.1% drop in sales.