by Richard Russell

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












COMPACT
Honda Civic 7,066 -3.4%
Toyota Corolla 5,181 -2.1%
Mazda Protege 4,612 -17.4%












LARGE PICKUP
GM Silverado/Sierra 6,767 >-12.7%
Ford F-Series 5,960 -19.8%
Dodge Ram 3,313 6.6%












SMALL VAN
Chrysler Caravan 5,630 -29.4%
GM Venture/Montana 4,666 -17.1%
Ford Windstar 1,910 -38.9%












INTERMEDIATE
Honda Accord 3,185 16.2%
Chevy Impala 3,002 60.4%
Toyota Camry 2,523 -24.9%












SUBCOMPACT
Hyundai Accent 2,643 -3.5%
Toyota Echo 2,169 3.7%
Kia Rio 1,223 26.7%












COMPACT SUV
Honda CR-V 1,601 -17.5%
Ford Escape 1,527 17.3%
Hyundai Santa Fe 1,179 36.9%












LARGE VAN
Ford Econoline 1,443 -1.1%
GM Express/Savanna 1,278 50.2%
Chrysler Ram 270 34.2%












INTERMEDIATE SUV
Ford Explorer 1,363 -17.7%
GM Trailblazer/Envoy 1,280 -1.5%
Buick Rendezvous 828 -4.3%












LUXURY
BMW 3-series 966 -1.7%
Audi A4 563 7.9%
Infiniti G35 559 68.4%












SPORT
Ford Mustang 992 -2.4%
Chrysler Sebring 607 -3.0%
Mazda Miata 522 -8.7%












SMALL PICKUP
Ford Ranger 903 -27.1%
GM S10/Sonoma 818 -28.9%
Mazda B-Series 456 50%












LUXURY HIGH
Mercedes C-Class 759 -7.3%
Mercedes E-class 218 73%
Cadillac Deville 195 -38.3%












LUXURY SUV
Lexus RX300 531 178%
Acura MDX 328 -16.1%
BMW X5 302 20.3%












LARGE SUV
GM Tahoe/Yukon 458 -21.6%
GM Suburban/Yukon XL 393 -24.1%
Chrysler Durango 375 -23.5%












LUXURY SPORT
Nissan 350Z 205
Chevrolet Corvette 153 -8.4%
Mercedes SL 87 -16.3%

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  3. Feature: General Motors: What’s New for 2003
  4. Feature: Luxury SUVs: What’s New in 2003?
  5. Used Vehicle Review: Hyundai Santa Fe, 2001-2003