U.S. auto sales did disappoint a lot as we told you în our previous article: U.S. April car sales decline deeper than expected. You knew about projections of 4% decrease and 3.1% decrease coming from major companies but even so it’s hard to understand what exactly happened with the car market industry.
Here's how major foreign automakers fared:
1st Projection: -4.8%
2nd Projection: -4.8%
Actual results: -4.4%
The Japanese automaker sold 201,926 vehicles in the U.S. in April. The company's namesake Toyota brand recorded a 3.5% sales decrease, while its Lexus luxury lineup fell 11.1%. Despite its historically stalwart lineup of passenger cars, Toyota was not immune to consumers' transition into crossovers, sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Toyota brand car sales fell 10.4%, including sharp declines for the Prius hybrid and Avalon full-size car. But the trend cut both ways, as several Toyota SUVs flourished. Sales of Toyota brand SUVs and crossovers rose 8.7% for the month, including upticks for the RAV4 and Highlander.
The company also said it was encouraged by early sales of its C-HR subcompact crossover, which began hitting dealerships in April and sold 550 units.
Nissan
1st Projection: -0.1%
2nd Projection: -0.7%
Actual results: -1.5%
The Japanese automaker sold 121,998 vehicles in the U.S. in April. Its namesake Nissan brand was down 2%, while its Infiniti luxury brand rose 3.5%. The Nissan Rogue crossover continued its streak as the company's sales hero, recording an 18.2% sales increase to 27,386 and putting considerable distance between the company's one-time best seller, the Altima sedan, which fell 28.9% to 20,263. Nissan said it set its April record for sales of crossovers, pickup trucks and SUVs, which were up 11%.
Volkswagen Group
1st Projection: -3.4% (does not include Porsche brand)
2nd Projection: -0.4% (includes Porsche)
Actual results: The company's namesake VW brand reported a 1.7% sales increase in April with 27,557 units. VW's luxury Audi brand was up 5.1% to 18,711 vehicles.
