THE JAPANESE
Toyota
Toyota's decline in April was mostly the result of the Toyota division, both car and truck, as Lexus and Scion held steady. Emblematic of Toyota's slide, the Camry was knocked out of its spot as the number-one-selling passenger car by a resurgent Honda, which outsold the Camry with both the Accord and Civic.
The good:
Tundra +11%
Yaris +38%
The bad:
Sequoia -45%
FJ Cruiser -22%
Sienna -21%
Honda
Honda surged in April, almost entirely on the strength of the car side (including the Odyssey), and by the addition of the new Insight hybrid (which gained 1527 over its intro month). Some of those Insight sales, however, might have come at the expense of the Fit, which was looking a bit flabby. The big gainers were the Civic, which zipped past the Toyota Camry to claim the number two spot in passenger-car sales, and the Accord, which powered ahead to number one. Acura did little to help; its sales were flat.
The good:
Accord +29%
Civic +27%
Odyssey+17%
The bad:
Fit -22%
Nissan
Nissan suffered a big decline in April, with sales off nearly a third compared to March.
The good:
Armada +31%
Maxima +14%
The bad:
Quest -42%
Murano -39%
Altima -38%
Infiniti -32%
Versa -32%
Pathfinder -32%
Rogue -32%
Sentra -31%
Xterra -29%
Mazda
Mazda hit the skids in April, with sales slipping 27 percent below March levels. The brand's crossovers continued to fall, and its once-hot Mazda5 minivan cooled considerably. The car side was no better, with the Miata's gains overwhelmed by declines in Mazda's mainstream models.
The good:
Miata +30%
The bad:
Mazda6 -41%
CX-9 -34%
Mazda5 -33%
Mazda3 -25%
Subaru
Subaru slid a bit in April, as the white-hot Forester cooled a bit (although it's still running ahead of last year) and the Impreza declined as well. Against those declines was an increase in Legacy sales, ahead of a new version coming later this year.
The good:
Legacy +13%
The bad:
Forester -12%
Impreza -12%
THE KOREANS
Hyundai/Kia
Despite major incentive spending and the innovative (and now copied) program to buy back a new car in the event of a buyer's job loss, Hyundai/Kia saw sales fall 9 percent in April compared with March.
The good:
Kia Soul +159%
Kia Rio +128%
Hyundai Tiburon +77%
Hyundai Genesis +28%
The bad:
Hyundai Veracruz -24%
Kia Rondo -33%
Hyundai Santa Fe -36%
Kia Sedona -44%
Hyundai Elantra -51%
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