April Sales: Bad News For Detroit, Good News For Toyota City

All results of April are in, and large parts of Detroit are unhappy. Sales of GM and Ford declined, the formerly torrid gains of Chrysler slowed down a bit. Reborn Toyota posted another double-digit gain and came within touching distance of outselling Ford, while Volkswagen continues its winning streak.

GM’s April sales dropped 8 percent, and Ford’s 5 percent, generally in line with analysts’ expectations. For Chrysler, analysts had expected a gain of 16 percent, Chrysler exceeded with 20 percent.

Toyota reports a 12 percent increase, following a 15 percent gain in March. Deliveries at Volkswagen show a 27 percent gain for the group.

For the first four months, sales of General Motors show no growth. In a growing market, this signals a further erosion of GM’s slipping market share.

Total sales rose 2 percent in April, the seasonally adjusted annual rate stands at 14.4 million, same as in March, and up from 13.1 million a year earlier.

AutomakerApril 2012April 2011Pct. chng.YTD 2012YTD 2011Pct. chng.

BMW Group26,82525,2776%102,65090,32414% BMW division21,06218,80112%82,61171,41716% Mini5,7316,446–11%19,91118,7876% Rolls-Royce32307%1281207%

BMW Group26,82525,2776%102,65090,32414%

Chrysler Group141,165117,22520%539,216404,17533% Chrysler Division31,87920,37956%111,21763,17576% Dodge45,24844,3202%171,470146,29717% Dodge/Ram66,75363,5805%262,470222,38118% Fiat3,849882336%12,6991,382819% Jeep38,68432,38420%152,830117,23730% Ram21,50519,26012%91,00076,08420%

Chrysler Group141,165117,22520%539,216404,17533%

Daimler AG25,07019,62628%91,99576,89220% Maybach4333%161233% Mercedes-Benz24,30219,15627%88,95175,14618% Smart USA76446764%3,0281,73475%

Daimler AG25,07019,62628%91,99576,89220%

Ford Motor Co.179,658189,284–5%717,480684,7925% Ford division173,350182,048–5%690,336657,3015% Lincoln6,3087,236–13%27,14427,2430% Mercury–––%–248–100%

Ford Motor Co.179,658189,284–5%717,480684,7925%

General Motors213,387232,538–8%821,707825,0830% Buick15,44618,413–16%52,78263,152–16% Cadillac9,85113,127–25%40,81753,639–24% Chevrolet155,487169,794–8%603,621586,2993% GMC32,60331,2045%124,487121,9932%

General Motors213,387232,538–8%821,707825,0830%

Honda122,012124,799–2%442,177432,7772% Acura12,17511,6045%42,98042,9720% Honda Division109,837113,195–3%399,197389,8052%

Honda122,012124,799–2%442,177432,7772%

Hyundai Group109,814108,8281%411,447356,22116% Hyundai division62,26461,7541%225,837204,37411% Kia47,55047,0741%185,610151,84722%

Hyundai Group109,814108,8281%411,447356,22116%

Jaguar Land Rover4,3654,2313%18,35214,99922% Jaguar1,0731,249–14%4,4013,75017% Land Rover3,2922,98210%13,95111,24924%

Jaguar Land Rover4,3654,2313%18,35214,99922%

Maserati2322291%83470219%

Maserati2322291%83470219%

Mazda21,50620,6384%103,52985,19722%

Mazda21,50620,6384%103,52985,19722%

Mitsubishi5,2808,081–35%21,88728,248–23%

Mitsubishi5,2808,081–35%21,88728,248–23%

Nissan71,32971,5260%393,690356,88410% Infiniti7,1296,7615%33,34934,597–4% Nissan Division64,20064,765–1%360,341322,28712%

Nissan71,32971,5260%393,690356,88410%

Porsche3,4373,1728%10,59610,1794%

Porsche3,4373,1728%10,59610,1794%

Saab Cars –696–100%–2,765–100%

Saab Cars –696–100%–2,765–100%

Subaru26,31024,7626%106,87892,21916%

Subaru26,31024,7626%106,87892,21916%

Suzuki1,7742,132–17%8,3368,835–6%

Suzuki1,7742,132–17%8,3368,835–6%

Toyota178,044159,54012%665,327593,46412% Lexus17,55117,5760%66,64764,9323% Scion5,5035,710–4%20,67418,46912% Toyota division154,990136,25414%578,006510,06313% Toyota/Scion160,493141,96413%598,680528,53213%

Toyota178,044159,54012%665,327593,46412%

Volkswagen49,24938,67927%173,542131,42132% Audi11,52110,01815%40,99135,40116% Bentley20311971%65343949% VW division37,52528,54232%131,89895,58138%

Volkswagen49,24938,67927%173,542131,42132%

Volvo Cars NA4,8486,404–24%21,26521,844–3%

Volvo Cars NA4,8486,404–24%21,26521,844–3%Other (estimate)2622562%1,0481,0213%TOTAL1,184,5671,157,9232%4,651,9564,218,04210%

Table courtesy Automotive News [sub]