U.S. Auto Brand Sales Results - April 2015 YTD: Almost As Good As Expected

by Timothy Cain

Published: May 1st, 2015

A predicted 6% increase in April 2015 auto sales ended up as a 5% year-over-year boost, equal to nearly 65,000 more sales last month than in the same period one year ago.

The biggest gains among volume brands were produced by Jeep (with its best-ever month and a 20% increase to 71,759 April sales), GMC (another no-car brand), and Subaru.

Honda, Volkswagen, and Kia all posted slight losses, however, and the gains produced by big brands like Toyota, Hyundai, and Chevrolet weren’t all that significant. Ford, the best-selling auto brand in America, was up 5%. General Motors’, the top-selling manufacturer, increased 6% despite the third Buick decline in four months.

Industry-wide sales were strengthened by SUVs and crossovers. All of the category’s top 20 sellers posted improved sales, year-over-year.

AutomakerApril 2015April 2014% Change2015 YTD2014 YTD% ChangeAcura 14,87414,1225.3%54,51852,0704.7%Alfa Romeo 38——255——Audi 16,82715,6537.5%56,92550,88111.9%BMW 26,95225,0526.9%105,44497,5798.1%Buick 18,22419,214-5.2%68,72172,112-4.7%Cadillac 15,80113,90013.7%52,97653,488-1.0%Chevrolet 187,837181,6483.4%664,393634,3314.7%Chrysler 27,70421,967 26.1%109,63794,45016.1%Dodge 44,90653,463-16.0%168,417198,687-15.2%Fiat 3,7564,298-12.6%14,79415,723-5.9%Ford 213,518203,5524.9%783,940762,2092.9%GMC 47,19439,31420.0%167,005143,78216.2%Honda 115,194118,334-2.7%409,493405,7400.9%Hyundai 68,009 66,1072.9%240,038226,1206.2%Infiniti 9,979 9,1708.8%43,821 40,3918.5%Jaguar 1,0791,0354.3% 5,4155,750-5.8%Jeep 71,75959,754 20.1%250,508205,59321.8%Kia 53,28253,676 -0.7%194,382186,6824.1%Land Rover 5,311 4,53317.2% 22,287 17,61226.5%Lexus 25,87623,16511.7%103,05688,25016.8%Lincoln 8,1346,80319.6%29,61228,4064.2%Maserati 1,06096410.0%2,9893,332-10.3%Mazda 24,12322,4347.5%102,167100,4911.7%Mercedes-Benz 29,18825,887 12.8% 107,344 98,501 9.0% Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2,7642,394 15.5% 8,323 7,018 18.6% Total Mercedes-Benz 31,95228,28113.0%115,667105,5199.6%Mini 5,4764,39024.7%18,25313,04739.9%Mitsubishi 8,2166,542 25.6%32,00626,38221.3%Nissan 99,869 94,7645.4%433,655418,5093.6%Porsche 5,2174,07228.1%16,64714,20817.2%Ram 40,86439,170 4.3%151,270140,1637.9%Scion 4,3095,386-20.0%16,28719,843-17.9%Smart 4801,048-54.2%2,0133,285-38.7%Subaru 47,24140,08317.9%178,522152,47117.1%Toyota 173,144171,1091.2%659,606612,5647.7%Volkswagen 30,00930,831-2.7%109,248118,154-7.5%Volvo 4,3814,635-5.5%18,10318,333-1.3%————— ——BMW-Mini 32,42829,5929.6%123,697110,62611.8%FCA/Chrysler Group189,027178,652 5.8%694,881654,6166.2%Daimler 32,43229,32910.6%117,680108,8048.2%Ford Motor Company 221,652210,3555.4%813,552790,6152.9%General Motors 269,056254,0765.9%953,095903,7135.5%Honda Motor Company 130,068132,456-1.8%464,011 457,8101.4%Hyundai-Kia 121,291119,7831.3% 434,420412,8025.2%Jaguar-Land Rover 6,3905,56814.8%27,702 23,36218.6%Nissan Motor Company 109,848103,9345.7%477,476458,9004.0%Toyota Motor Corporation203,329199,660 1.8%778,949 720,6578.1%Volkswagen Group * 52,29550,765 3.0%183,602184,102-2.7%———————Industry Total **1,455,242 1,390,769 4.6% 5,411,707 5,134,781 5.4%

* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands.

** Industry total takes into account Automotive News estimates for brands such as Tesla (1700 April units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar.

#April2015Sales #AutoSales #BrandSalesFigures #U.S.AutoSales

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13 of 95 comments

Raph on May 01, 2015

Another good month for Mustang double digit sales again.

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Big Al from Oz on May 04, 2015

@Lou_BC, The thread is becoming rather long. No, HDs will not benefit more, unless they are driven more. Using CAFE the car is the vehicle that will benefit most from lighter weights. Cars must meet more stringent FE requirements than any other class of vehicle in the US under CAFE. Cars only produce a 3% profit, so aluminium is out of the question due to the chance of gaining a return or making a loss. Plus the US only needs to grab Asian and Euro platforms that already produce the desired FE targets. Engines/drivetrains exist externally to the US. HDs fall outside of pickups in that their 8 500lbs attracts a different system of FE evaluation, similar to how the EU measures it's vehicles. Under CAFE 1/2 ton pickups are given a lax formula in comparison to cars. This allow for the use of larger engines. The HD formula is even more lax. It's almost a sliding scale as vehicles get larger in the US. I'd bet the driver behind the F-150 being chosen is primarily driven by the profits it attracts. Also, pickup design isn't that complex in comparison to a car. So, a pickup would of been easier to produce. It's odd that more business orientated vehicles are adopting a different system, closer to what is used in the EU.

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- Scoutdude on May 04, 2015
  
  It's not almost like a sliding scale it is a sliding scale, increase the footprint and the required MPG goes down. The heavy light duty trucks class 2 & 3 will benefit even more from the reduced weight, drop the curb weight and the payload and GCWR go up by the same amount. Plus the many of the Class 2 and 3 truck buyers do use their trucks more both in terms of miles per year and amount of time they are used loaded near or at capacity.
  
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- Lou_BC on May 04, 2015
  
  @BigAl - MPG isn't usually an issue with HD pickups but capacity is. Currently HD pickups are capped at the class 3 and 4 limits. They don't want to move into class 5 or they will have to be built to different standards. If the F450 for example drops 1,000lbs that means it can be rated to carry that much more and still be a class 4 vehicle. Price sensitive operators who drive on paved roads can save a ton of money by using a HD dually pickup as opposed to a commercial variant. If Ford keeps the cargo ratings the same then that amounts to a performance increase at max load i.e. overall the truck is 1,000lbs lighter.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on May 04, 2015
  
  @Lou_BC, Then from your comment price sensitive operators will like the Euro style of truck and it will win out over the US style of trucks. The larger "HD" 250 Transit with a flat bed and the 3.2 PowerStroke or as we call them Duratorq will be a far more efficient and cheaper vehicle for a business to operate than a HD. HDs do have fantastic towing ability, that is about all they can offer. That would be the only reason to buy a HD over a flatbed Transit. I'd expect a boom in Transit style trucks then.
  
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- DenverMike on May 04, 2015
  
  @BAFO - Your logic is stuck in reverse. You should have that checked. But do really you expect a fullsize pickup to attain the fuel economy of a car? As as in 'same' CAFE standards? Beside weight working against them, unloaded of course, the aero drag is horrendous! There's no getting around that. If they did, they'd no longer be what we refer to as "pickups". So please explain how the EU would do it? That's right, they're more lenient on heavier vehicles. Imagine that!!! Otherwise, they'd just ban larger vehicles. For work, play, commute, holiday, wouldn't matter one bit, right? Riiiiight!
  
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- Big Al from Oz on May 04, 2015
  
  @DenverMike http://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/WPM25-ProductionSharingAgreementsAnEconomicAnalysis-KBindemann-1999.pdf
  
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- DenverMike on May 04, 2015
  
  @BAFO - Yes BOF pickups are ugly expensive to build. But what does that have to do with the F-series being obscenely profitable? #1 most profitable car in the world, btw. So it does take massive profits to offset those horrendous costs of building pickups. This has little to nothing to do with MSRP. High volume is absolutely vital in this segment.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on May 04, 2015
  
  @DenverMike Thank you DiM, Then there is no reason for the Chicken Tax according to the statement you just made. Increased competition will force the US manufacturers to reduce the price of pickups. Who is getting ripped off? The consumer.
  
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- DenverMike on May 04, 2015
  
  @BAFO - It’s stup!d to think the Chicken tax creates 25% profits for pickups, since importing OEMs easily get around it by something we like to call “loopholes”. 25% is just an arbitrary number. It could just as well be 2,500,000% But if it guaranteed 25% profit, the Tundra, Titan, Frontier, Ridgeline would enjoy that too. And we’d still have every pickup ever sold here, STILL SOLD HERE!!! Why would they go away? Some ran away screaming actually. People reward BMW and Mercedes with something pushing 50% profit. Is there a Double Chicken tax involved?? Various BMW and Merc cars (S-class, 3-series, etc) are in close formation, following Detroit pickup's wild profitability, while only selling a tiny fraction of the those 3 pickups.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on May 04, 2015
  
  @DiM, What drugs do you need to become like you? End of conversation, it appears you've has another hit.
  
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- Lou_BC on May 04, 2015
  
  @Big Al from Oz - there are many jobs you cannot do with a cargo van. I don't see any loggers with vans. All have HD pickups or class 4-6 service bodied trucks. Same can be said for mining, oil/gas, and agriculture. The only place where vans make sense over pickups are in towns and cities were secure storage is needed. Pickup design has become as complex if not more complex than that of cars. Pickups (1/2 ton) regardless of end use need to be designed for work but provide ride and comforts of a car. Ram has chosen the car end of the spectrum and Ford and GM have the work end better covered.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on May 04, 2015
  
  @Lou_BC, Did I say van? You are making mention of Classes of pickups that I term as a truck, not a pickup. So, in the forestry industry there is a far greater choice of product available to do what HDs are doing. You made mention of the capability of pickups as a work truck. This only represents 25% of the trucks. The rest are cars, hence the fluffy interiors and suspensions. The Transits (and many other trucks) also will also come as a cab chassis. Transits from the onset are designed as a work truck. A cab chassis style Transit would suit probably more than what half pickup are currently used for in the work environment. With a cab chassis a bed can be added that is far more versatile for many businesses. What I'm stating according to your comment the "working" pickups can be replaced with alternatives that are just as good and in some instances are cheaper to operate and maybe even more reliable.
  
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