Small Car Sales, Midsize Car Sales, Large Car Sales In America - April 2011

Sales of the Toyota Avalon, Nissan Maxima, Lincoln Town Car, Hyundai Azera, Dodge Charger, and Chrysler 300 declined in year-over-year Sales Stats last month. Perhaps this isn't the best time to be selling a 19-mpg full-size V8 sedan like the $38,170 2011 Chrysler 300C. Perhaps efficiency has nothing to do with its 21% sales drop. Perhaps... 864 missing Chrysler 300 buyers acquired a 2012 Fiat 500 instead - there were 882 of those sold in the U.S. 

The Chrysler brand sold one other car in April, the 200. There were no PT Cruiser sales, no leftover Sebrings, no New Yorkers, not a single LeBaron. Compared with the Sebring's April 2010 volume, Chrysler 200 sales shot up 104%. Its platform-mate, the Dodge Avenger, posted a 26% improvement. As a duo, the Avenger/200 would rank seventh in midsize car sales in April. The Good Car Guy wrote extensively on the subject of the Chrysler 200 sales for Cars.com's Kicking Tires blog back in early April.

If the Avenger/200 duo would've ranked seventh, that means there were many cars selling in vastly superior numbers. With 30,443 sales, the Toyota Camry beat the Honda Accord for top spot in the segment and best-selling car overall by just 133 units. After a strong March, the Nissan Altima fought for a 17% year-over-year bump but fell 47% month-to-month.

Among the smallest cars on sale in the United States, it's apparent that the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla no longer have a market monopoly. Cruze sales shot through the roof in April, up 84% on the Cobalt's April 2010 tally, as Chevrolet topped the Corolla/Matrix tandem and beat the Ford Focus by nearly 8000 units. 37 of those Cruze sales come from leftover Cobalts. Expect the 2012 Focus to come on stronger over the course of the summer. 

All the data you need can be found in the three charts below.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Small Car, Midsize Car & Large Car Sales In America - May 2011
Small, Midsize & Large Car Sales In America - March 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - April 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - April 2011
Small SUV, Midsize SUV & Large SUV Sales In America - April 2011

New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In The UK - April 2011

Ford just saw its UK market share fall from 14.4% in March to 13.4% in April 2011. That was still enough to rank Ford third behind the Volkswagen Group and General Motors. Plus, Ford had Britain's best-selling car. So it's not all bad news. But a market share drop of 6.9% isn't easy to swallow, particularly when Volkswagen's vast network improved its market share by 32%. Ford sold 18,411 vehicles in April, Vauxhall sold 18,306, Volkswagen sold 15,807, Audi sold 9318, and BMW sold 8014. Nissan, Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, and Hyundai round out the top ten, in that order.

As for smaller British brands, Mini sales reached 2335 (down 18.6%, no thanks to the comparison with scrappage scheme volumes from April 2010.) Land Rover sold 1712 sport-utility vehicles. Jaguar was down 58.2% to 516. Bentley was up 23.3% to 111. Up 53.9%, Aston Martin sales totalled a pleasantly round 100. Lotus fell 27.5% to 37. MG sold 11 cars.

If you like, add 32 Maseratis to the Fiat/Chrysler group's 4530 sales, 2941 of which came from the Fiat brand itself. Hyundai's 4612 sales were enough to beat Toyota by 30 and Honda by 1759. Hyundai was actually up 2.3% compared with the same period of 2010. Sales of Hummer, Dodge, Daihatsu, and Cadillac totalled zero... or do they say nil Across The Pond? Ssangyong sold two vehicles. Proton found 54 buyers. Perodua was down 40% to 51 sales. Infiniti added 45 sales to Renault/Nissan's total. In all, there were 137,746 new vehicle sales in the United Kingdom in April 2011.

Forget words, the market share pie chart below tells the story. Compare it with the March chart for greater clarity.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In The UK - May 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In The UK - March 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In The UK - February 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - April 2011

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - April 2011

Britain's new car market was mostly level in April 2011, though first impressions disagree with that statement. Remove scrappage scheme volumes from April 2010's tally and last month's results were better than expected. Overall, 137,746 new vehicles were sold in the homelands of Wills and Catherine of Cambridge, down 7.4% from the same period of the year before. The Ford Fiesta, America's 19th-best-selling model in April, made up 4.9% of those sales. Although the Fiesta's volume was greater in the United States, its U.S. market share was just 0.78%. 

Nevertheless, it's interesting to see that the U.S. market - in which Ford sells two Fiesta bodystyles and offers just one engine - is now more important for the Fiesta than its traditional bastion of prosperity. In Great Britain, you see, Ford sells the Fiesta in 3-door and 5-door configurations with eight different engine options and six trim lines. At first glance, it seems as though the profit centre for the Fiesta is now the U.S.A., based not only on volume but on build complexity.

There were popular cars in the UK in April not badged with a Blue Oval. Three members of this month's Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK list were Volkswagens, another three were Vauxhalls. BMW's 3-Series, Nissan's Rogue-like Qashqai, and the Ford Focus filled in the gaps. Ford was Britain's best-selling brand last month, just 105 units ahead of Vauxhall. The BMW 3-Series may have been the best-selling premium vehicle in the UK in April, but the Audi brand out-sold BMW by 1304 units.

Rank	Car	Status	April 2011	Last Month	April 2010
#1	Ford Fiesta	↔	6755	19,676	6808
#2	Volkswagen Golf	↑	4973	10,282	5828
#3	Vauxhall Astra	↑	4900	10,704	6440
#4	Vauxhall Corsa	↓	4888	13,556	5945
#5	Ford Focus	↓	4843	14,370	6279
#6	Volkswagen Polo	↑	4524	7634	3653
#7	Vauxhall Insignia	↓	3912	7826	n/a
#8	Nissan Qashqai	↑	3738	n/a	n/a
#9	BMW 3-Series	↑	3133	6103	2802
#10	Volkswagen Passat	↑	2720	n/a	n/a

Source: MTI, SMMT

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - May 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - March 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - February 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In The UK - April 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - April 2011

Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - April 2011

Vehicles which either sold not at all, weren't on sale at this time last year, have been killed off by their maker, or are badged with a defunct logo aren't included here. Also, we're not discussing total volume here, just percentage decreases. 

Is the Ford Flex losing sales because of the all-new 2012 Ford Explorer? That's a distinct possibility. In April 2010, Flex sales reached 3876; Explorer sales stood at 5295. Flex sales were chopped in half last month; Explorer sales jumped 137.8%. Flex sales had risen 21.5% in April 2010. All that said, of the Top 10 Worst-Selling Vehicles In America, the Flex posted larger volumes than all but the Yaris. 

One other model that may be losing out to an in-showroom rival is the dreadful Lexus HS250h. With the $29,120 2011 Lexus CT200h hatchback rightfully stealing the HS's limelight, sales of the HS sedan dropped 74.1% to 279. On another note, CT200h sales dropped off notably from March's 2199 to 875 in April.

Keep in mind, there are excuses automakers could present on behalf of the vehicles that have landed in this Worst Sellers table. Take the the CLS-Class Benz for example - it's presently undergoing a generational changeover. 

Rank	Vehicle	% Drop	March 2011
#1	Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class	-78.2	104
#2	Lexus HS250h	-74.1	279
#3	Mercedes-Benz R-Class	-62.4	195
#4	BMW 7-Series	-51.1	760
#5	Ford Flex	-50.3	1927
#6	Toyota Yaris	-48.5	1987
#7	Honda Ridgeline	-45.0	952
#8	Jaguar XK	-38.2	149
#9	Volkswagen Routan	-36.6	935
#10	Lincoln Navigator	-35.6	604

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - May 2011
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - March 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - April 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - April 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - April 2011

Popular Car Market Share In America - April 2011

Every single vehicle in this market share chart of America's 20 best-sellers was manufactured in North America. Some are Canadians, some are Mexicans, ten are badged as Detroit vehicles: Fords, Chevrolets, and Dodges. 

Together, they were responsible for 40% of all new vehicle sales in the United States in April 2011. To come up with the other 60% of new vehicle sales, you need to see the figures for more than ten times the number of models. You follow? More than 230 nameplates grabbed 60% of the market. 20 nameplates grabbed 40% of the market. The vehicles you see in the pie chart below are uber-popular. 

None more so than the Ford F-Series. With 3.92% of the overall market, the F-Series lost a few tenths of a percentage point compared with March, but still out-sold the Toyota Camry by about 15,000 units. Together, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra owned 3.44% of the market. Speaking of unity, the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan - if calculated as one minivan -  held 1.52% market share in April and would slot in  behind the Dodge Ram with 17,635 sales, just 45 units behind their pickup brother. General Motors sold one out of every five vehicles in April. The Chrysler Group sold one in ten.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Popular Car Market Share In America - May 2011
Popular Car Market Share In America - March 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - April 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand - April 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - April 2011

Luxury Auto Market Share In America - April 2011

Premium auto brands sold 119,405 vehicles in April 2011 in the United States. Obviously, as you can see from the chart below, that figure excludes vehicles like the Hyundai Equus, Chevrolet Corvette, and the $58,925 2011 GMC Yukon Denali Hybrid. 

Seven luxury automakers held more than 7% market share in April. Mercedes-Benz led the way with 16%, down from 17% in March. Audi, BMW, and Cadillac all grew their portions of the premium market. Audi's British cousin, Bentley, narrowly improved its share despite falling sales. Audi's Italian cousin, Lamborghini, is estimated to have sold 27 cars, up from 24 in April 2010, enough for two-hundredths of a percent of the premium market.

Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin are all former Ford Premier Automotive Group partners and all (except for Land Rover's very negligible loss) held a greater share of the market in April than in March. Jaguar's growth was especially impressive as the Indo-British saloon car builder posted a year-over-year sales increase of 39% and a month-to-month increase of 43% from March. In those same periods, the overall new vehicle market in the USA grew 18% and slid 7% respectively, highlighting Jaguar's improvements.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Luxury Auto Market Share In America - May 2011
Luxury Auto Market Share In America - March 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - April 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - April 2011
U.S. New Vehicle Market Share By Brand - April 2011

Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - April 2011

For the fourth time in 2011, the Lexus RX was America's best-selling premium nameplate in April 2011. As the BMW 3-Series nears replacement, it'll be harder and harder for BMW dealers to sell the aging model. Nevertheless, put up against the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the 3-Series' closest rival, BMW still produced a 2220-unit gap last month. 3-Series sales fell 15% in April. Overall, BMW passenger car sales fell 3.5%, but BMW's SAVs were up 65%. The X3, ranked 18th on this list of America's best-selling luxury vehicles, jumped 253%.

Joining the RX in the Top 30 were seven other Japanese-branded luxury vehicles. There was one Korean vehicle, the Hyundai Genesis (sedan and coupe.) That leaves seven Detroit models and one Swedish car. Of the 13 German vehicles, a handful of are manufactured in America. 17 of the Top 30 were traditional passenger cars; the other 13 were SUVs or crossovers of some sort.

America's best-selling luxury brand in April was Mercedes-Benz. Without the Sprinter, that honour would have gone to BMW. Sales at Lexus, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Bentley all declined in April 2011. 

America's Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles in April 2011 are in the table below. You don't care to consider the Hyundai Genesis or Chevrolet Corvette premium models? Knocking the Genesis and Corvette off the list would allow room for the Land Rover Range Rover Sport and then the Volvo XC60.

Rank	Car	Status	April 2011	Last Month	April 2010
#1	Lexus RX	↔	7802	8600	7454
#2	BMW 3-Series	↔	7452	8503	8712
#3	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	↑	5342	6107	4530
#4	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	↔	5232	6542	4624
#5	Cadillac SRX	↑	4380	4221	3904
#6	Cadillac CTS	↑	4220	3904	3278
#7	Acura MDX	↑	3912	4113	3714
#8	Infiniti G	↓	3855	7009	4263
#9	BMW 5-Series	↓	3668	4491	2067
#10	Lexus ES	↑	3493	3732	4396
#11	Audi A4	↔	3328	3428	3177
#12	Acura TSX	↑	3105	2810	2607
#13	Acura TL	↓	2887	3995	2842
#14	Hyundai Genesis	↑	2648	2664	2265
#15	Lexus IS	↓	2640	2956	2701
#16	Lincoln MKZ	↓	2546	3138	1817
#17	BMW X5	↑	2360	2010	2098
#18	BMW X3	↔	2277	2648	645
#19	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	↓	1990	2792	2269
#20	Audi Q5	↑	1977	2083	1942
#21	Volvo S60	↑	1972	1952	0
#22	Mercedes-Benz GLK	↑	1927	1963	1799
#23	Cadillac DTS	↑	1906	1580	1785
#24	Lincoln MKX	↓	1859	2267	1596
#25	Cadillac Escalade	↓	1733	1982	2000
#26	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	↓	1623	1953	1840
#27	Porsche Cayenne	↑	1578	1049	326
#28	Chevrolet Corvette	↑	1454	1163	1089
#29	Audi A5	↓	1437	1388	1846
#30	Acura RDX	↑	1343	1297	1168

Source: Manufacturers And Automotive News Data Center

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - May 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - March 2011
Luxury Auto Market Share In America - April 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - April 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America - April 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - April 2011