In April, most manufacturers experienced a sales increase over last year, with the exception of Mazda, Toyota and Volkswagen.  Sales paced at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.92 million units, up from 14.12 million SAAR the previous year, according to Autodata Corp.  

BMW: The manufacturer reported April sales of 29,011 vehicles, an increase of 8.3 percent from a year ago. First-quarter sales for the BMW Group were up 5.3 percent vs. the same period last year on sales of 107,968 units.

Chrysler: The Chrysler Group’s U.S. dealer network sold 156,698 vehicles in April 2013, an 11 percent year-over-year increase and the manufacturer’s best April sales in six years. It was also its 37^th straight month of year-over-year sales growth.

Ford: The manufacturer’s April sales were up 18 percent, its best April sales since 2007. Car sales were up 21 percent, utilities up 16 percent, and trucks up 16 percent, while retail sales increased by 27 percent. Fusion and Escape both establish April sales records, with sales increases of 24 and 52 percent, respectively.

General Motors: General Motors Co. sold 237,646 vehicles in the United States in April, up 11 percent compared with a year ago. It was the best April in five years. Retail sales increased 10 percent, fleet sales were up 16 percent and the fleet mix was 28 percent of total sales.

Honda: American Honda reported April 2013 U.S. sales of 130,999 units, an increase of 7.4 percent compared with April 2012 (up 3.1 percent based on the Daily Selling Rate). The Honda brand posted April 2013 sales of 117,100 units, an increase of 6.6 percent compared with April 2012. Acura U.S. April sales totaled 13,899 units, up 14.2 percent compared with April 2012.

Hyundai: Hyundai Motor America sold 63,315 units in April, up two percent vs. the same period in 2012. Elantra sales for the month were 24,445 units, up 45 percent over last April and up 29 percent year to date. The Santa Fe had sales of 6,940 units for the month, up 10 percent over April 2012 and 27 percent for the year.

Mazda: Mazda North American Operations reported April U.S. sales of 19,894 vehicles, representing a decrease of 7.5 percent vs. last year. Year-to-date sales through April were down 5.2 percent vs. last year, with 98,177 vehicles sold.

Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz USA experienced record sales in April, realizing a 4.4 percent increase over April 2012. It was the best start to the second quarter in the company’s history. Mercedes-Benz models alone saw a 5.8 percent increase in sales with 23,635 vehicles sold, bringing year-to-date totals for the brand to 92,822. Sales for Sprinter vans totaled 1,855 for the month, while 667 Smart cars were sold.

Nissan: The manufacturer sold 87,847 units in April, up 23.2 percent from the 71,329 units sold a year earlier. Nissan Division sales rose 24.6 percent for the month at 80,003 units, driven by retail sales gains by top-selling models like the Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and Rogue. Sales of Infiniti vehicles were up 10 percent over the prior year, with 7,844 units sold.

Toyota: Toyota Motor Sales reported April 2013 sales results of 176,160 units, a decrease of 5 percent on a daily selling rate basis compared to the same period last year. Unadjusted for 25 selling days in April 2013 vs. 24 in April 2012, sales were down 1.1 percent over the year-ago month. 

Volkswagen: Volkswagen of America Inc. reported 33,644 units delivered in April, a 10.3 percent decrease over prior year sales. Jetta sedan, the volume leader for Volkswagen, delivered 11,110 units. Jetta SportWagen closed the month with 1,968 units sold.