April 2014 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers

After one of the worst winters in recent memory America’s northern extremities are finally starting to thaw out. In addition to longer days, spring is also bringing warmer temperatures as the sun wakes up from hibernation. But were April car sales as nice? Did better weather get more people in the mood… to buy a car, that is?

All told automakers sold nearly 1.4 million new vehicles in April, an increase of about 8 percent compared to the same month last year. The change was modest but headed in the right direction, and that’s what matters.

For the first four months of 2014 deliveries have topped 5.1 million units. That’s approximately a 3 percent increase compared to the same time period last year. Again that’s small but really there’s nothing to complain about. Here’s a list of top-performing brands along with the companies that didn’t do as well.

Toyota’s Lexus luxury division had a pretty stellar April. The brand delivered more than 23,000 cars and trucks to well-heeled customers. That performance represents a 28 percent increase compared to the same month last year. And what more is there to say? If you consistently build a high-quality product that checks the right boxes people will notice, and probably throw money at you.

Curiously, it’s the sales same story with Land Rover. The British builder of luxury SUV also posted a 28 percent increase. However, unlike Lexus its overall total is pretty modest, clocking in at just 4,533 units.

Mitsubishi is continuing to beat the odds. This downtrodden brand’s sales increased 47 percent last month compared to April 2013. Dealers sold more than 6,500 vehicles. But for a little context, Toyota sold some 38,000 Camrys in the same time period. Wowzers! That highlights how weak the three-diamond brand really is, but at least things are getting better; the patient has improved from doomed to just terminally ill.

It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand. Chrysler’s off road-ready division sold just shy of 60,000 vehicles last month, which resulted in a 52 percent year-over-year increase. The compact Compass logged its best performance ever while the Wrangler and Patriot each set new monthly records. The brand-new Cherokee is still performing well with sales up 9 percent compared to March.

The “people’s car” compay continues to decline in America. Total sales in April fell just short of 31,000, but that still represents a year-over-year decline of 8 percent. When you look at the brand’s performance for the entire year things don’t get any better, in fact they get quite a bit worse. So far for 2014 Volkswagen’s delivers are down 10 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Ford’s troubled Lincoln luxury brand had been doing pretty well for the past few months, posting not-insignificant gains. But the party may be over now that spring is here. Honest Abe’s sales deflated 11 percent in April compared to the same time period a year ago. Deliveries clocked in at 6,803. Despite its poor showing last month the brand’s sales are still up 21 percent for all of 2014.