U.S. Auto Sales By Brand – April 2011

The U.S. new vehicle market shrunk by 7% compared with March but rose 18% year-over-year as the leading Detroit brands posted above average gains. Ford was tops in American car sales once again, trailed by Chevrolet in second spot and Dodge in sixth. Ford F-Series sales were up 11% and formed 25% of all Blue Oval sales.

Over at General Motors, executives will once again be very excited to learn that Buick out-sold Lexus, as it did in February. Chrysler dealers found 882 Fiat 500 buyers (fewer than there were in the much smaller Canadian market in April). Chrysler itself was down 9%, but Jeep became America’s ninth-best-selling brand after a 64.8% leap. 

American Honda held off the Hyundai/Kia juggernaut with a 9.9% increase. Honda’s luxury brand, Acura, was up 8.3% but trailed Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Cadillac in the premium standings. Saab and Mitsubishi lay claim to the biggest year-over-year increases, up 223.7% and 123.8% respectively. Mercedes-Benz was America’s favourite luxury brand, but its smart city car brand posted a 31.3% decline, a feat no other automaker came close to matching. It’s worth noting that without the Sprinter, Mercedes-Benz would be trailing BMW by 759 units.

Here’s the complete rundown of U.S. Auto Sales By Brand for April 2011 and 2011 year to date.