Domestic Automakers Report Mixed April Sales

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – April produced mixed results for the domestic auto industry, according to sales reports from the three largest American automakers. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford Motor Co. posted their best April in a decade, while General Motors Co. reported a small drop in total sales.

While sales for General Motors fell, retail sales for the company were up 3.3% to 200,656, marking the company’s 12th straight month of retail sales gains. For all four GM brands, deliveries declined.

Chevrolet sales were down to 183,442, a 2.3% drop from a year ago. Topping sales was the Silverado pickup with 49,990 hitting the streets, an 8.7% gain. The Lordstown-built Chevy Cruze saw a large drop to 14,153 delivered last month, down 32.4% from last year.

GMC sales dropped slightly, just 0.1%, to 47,159 – 35 fewer than April 2015 – and were led by the Sierra pickup truck with 20,531. Sales of Buick vehicles dropped 2.8% to 17,720, led by the Encore crossover. Cadillac deliveries dropped nearly 29% to 11,236. The brand’s top seller was the SRX with 2,952 leaving showrooms.

At Ford Motor Co., sales rose 4% in April to 231,316, the best since 2006. Sales for the Ford brand totaled 221,540 last month, a 3.3% gain, while Lincoln sales rose 20.2% to 9,776. The F-150 pickup topped sales  with 70,774 leaving showrooms last month, a 12.6% jump from last year. Ford’s top-selling car was the Fusion with 20,730 delivered, an almost 17% decline.

Lincoln sales were led by the MKC crossover, of which 2,822 were sold. Also topping sales for the luxury brand were the MKX with 2,631 delivered and the MKZ sedan with 2,129 sold.

Fiat Chrysler reported a 6% increase in sales as 199,631 vehicles were sold nationwide last month, the company’s best April since 2005. Seven Fiat Chrysler vehicles also had record sales, including the Jeep Renegade and Jeep Compass, which had their highest monthly sales ever with 9,730 and 9,421 delivered, respectively. Overall, Jeep sales rose 17% to 84,298.

Along with Jeep, the Ram truck line was the only other Fiat Chrysler brand to post a sales increase. In April, 45,810 trucks were sold, a 12% gain.

Chrysler sales totaled 22,843 for the month, an 18% decrease from April 2015, with the Town & Country minivan topping the brand’s deliveries with 9,195 sold. For Dodge, sales were down 3% to 43,575 cars and vans, topped by the Caravan with 13,203 sold.

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