The North American auto industry was firing on all cylinders in April, sales data from most major car companies showed Monday. Ford Motor Co. saw its U.S. sales increase by 25 per cent compared to last year. Canadian sales data showed a similar trend, up 24.5 per cent. Within that, car sales were up 14 per cent while truck sales jumped by 28 per cent.
It was the fifth straight month of better-than 20 per cent sales increases at Ford.
General Motors Co. sales rose 6.4 per cent. But excluding sales of lines GM has announced it is phasing out, sales were up 20 per cent compared to April of 2009, the automaker said.
Chrysler Canada Inc. had its strongest sales month since June 2008, with April sales up 35 per cent over the same month in 2009 on 20,630 units.
"No question 2009 was a difficult year for Detroit … but this year is different," Chrysler Canada president Reid Bigland said.
Car sales were 29 per cent higher, while truck sales rose by 26 per cent. Like Ford, it was the fifth straight month of 20 per cent or better sales increases at Chrysler.
Some of the smaller automakers also made large sales gains during the month. Subaru Canada posted an all-time sales record of 2,640 units during the month, a 28.8 per cent increase over April 2009. It was the fourth straight monthly sales increase for the Japanese carmaker.
Subaru's U.S. sales soared 48 per cent based largely on the crossover Outback wagon, which doubled its sales from April of last year. Crossovers are SUVs built on sedan bodies and combine elements of both vehicles .
Korean car seller Kia Canada reported 5,057 sales in April, an increase of 18.3 per cent versus April of 2009. The figure represents the 16th consecutive month of sales gains, and was also Kia's best April ever.
Kia's U.S. sales rose 17 per cent on strong demand for its newly released Sorento crossover and Forte sedan.
Hyundai Canada also posted record-breaking April numbers, with sales up 15.6 per cent to 12,495 vehicles. That bested the previous record of 11,200 set in May 2009. In the U.S., Hyundai's sales increased 30 per cent on rising demand for the new Sonata midsize sedan, the company said.
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