Even the most sincere optimist would be hard pressed to find good news in the April automotive sales numbers. Car sales were down 9% and trucks 9.5%. The April decline was sufficient to drag down year-to-date numbers by 5.1% and 7.6% respectively and industry sales in total by 6.2%.
Hardest-hit among the broad swath cut by a dismal month were domestic manufacturers and the biggest market segments. Domestic car sales were off 15% and truck sales 12% while imports enjoyed 3% and 10% increases. Minivans sales were off almost 15%, pickups 11% and compacts 5%. The extremes of the market enjoyed some positive developments, with the least and most expensive vehicles both recording increases. Sub-compact sales were up almost 16%, luxury SUVs 39% and luxury cars 3%.
Among manufacturers, Kia was the big winner in April, posting an increase of almost 14% over April 2003, while Ford posted the largest decline - 18.3%. Here's the breakdown by manufacturer:
Manufacturer
April
2004 to date
Kia
13.8%
8.1%
Volvo
9.2%
16.6%
Toyota
6.5%
8.1%
BMW
6.4%
10.2%
Nissan
2.6%
9.7
Hyundai
2.6%
5.9%
Mazda
-5.0%
-4.9%
Honda
-5.8%
-3.8%
Mercedes
-6.2%
-6.7%
VW
-7.3%
2.7%
Subaru
-11%
-11.5%
Jaguar
-13.5%
-10.3%
Suzuki
-15%
-0.6%
Chrysler
-15.1%
-14.5%
GM
-16.3%
-15.6%
Ford
-18.3%
- 6.4%
Here's a look at the top three sellers in each segment for the month
Richard Russell is technical editor for Carguide magazine, a regular contributor to the Halifax Herald and Globe and Mail newspapers, owner of Advanced Driving Concepts driver training school, and a founding member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada.
