Strong April auto sales on demand for trucks, SUVs - Detroit Free Press
Story Highlights GM's increase was fueled by a 20% increase at GMC and Cadillac's 14% gain, reflecting Americans' renewed love affair with large SUVs. Sales of Cadillac Escalade soared 144% from April 2014. Ford had a record month for SUV sales but F-Series was down 1% Fiat Chrysler sales increase was led by demand for the Chrysler 200 and Jeep Cherokee, Wrangler Americans' appetite for bigger... General Motors and Fiat Chrysler posted 6% increases, while Ford was up 5%. Honda sales fell 1. 8%. Toyota saw its sales increase 1. 8% and Nissan sales rose 5. 7% while Volkswagen sales were down almost 3%. Hyundai was up 3% while sister Kia was... Pickup trucks, SUVs, vans and crossover utilities outsold passenger cars for the 20th month in a row -- 54% to 46% -- a trend that likely will continue as long as gas prices remain near current levels. Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle said small utility vehicles now constitute 18. 5% of industry sales, up 2 points from a year ago. Among those losing sales are small cars, hybrids and electric vehicles. "The average new car loan issued in April was 67. 8 months -- the longest average new car loan term in history," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds senior analyst. Source: www.freep.com
