NASHVILLE -- Nissan Division's sales rose 15 percent in April, but Infiniti's slipped 6 percent as the two brands came down from torrid March sales events.

Nissan's sales also reflected the shift to more fuel-efficient models, in a trend that is expected to gain further ground as gasoline prices rise around the country.

Nissan Division closed April with 64,765 car and truck sales, up from 56,558 in April 2010. The luxury Infiniti brand sold 6,761 for the month, down from 7,211 in April 2010.

Sales of a number of Nissan-brand models declined as consumer interest turned to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Maxima sales fell more than 30 percent to 3,397, and sales of the Murano crossover declined 17 percent to 3,329. By contrast, the line's aging Sentra small car saw a 42 percent rise in sales, leaving Nissan with only a 20-day supply going into May.

"We have been keeping an eye on this for several months, and you can now see that there's clearly a shift to fuel-efficient vehicles," said Al Castignetti, Nissan Division's vice president of sales.

The brand's body-on-frame trucks also were hit by the market shift. Titan pickup sales fell 30 percent, and sales of the Xterra SUV fell 34 percent.

Ben Poore, vice president of the Infiniti Business Unit, said manufacturing and supply disruptions from the March 11 earthquake in Japan were not a factor in Infiniti's April sales decline. He said the larger issue was the month's comparison to unusually strong April 2010 sales.

Most Infiniti models declined from a year ago, except for the QX56 SUV, which rose 74 percent to 976 units.

Poore said Infiniti currently has an 80-day supply in the United States and will not be hurt by factory interruptions in Japan, where all the brand's products are built.

"For the next few months, it's going to be a story of availability for the industry," Poore said. "The winners are going to be the people with good inventories, and Infiniti is in very good shape."

BMW leads Mercedes in U.S. luxury sales race in April

Automotive News -- May 4, 2011 - 12:01 am ET
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DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- BMW AG's namesake brand outsold Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz in April to be the month's top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. and to take the lead for the year by just 29 vehicles.

BMW's U.S. deliveries, boosted by sales of the new 5-series sedan and X3 SUV, rose 8.9 percent to 18,801 compared to the same month last year, the automaker said in a statement.

Deliveries for the first four months of the year rose to 71,417 vehicles, to lead Mercedes's 71,388 sales and the 64,932 deliveries by Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus.

"It's going to be more or less the same for the rest of the year, a horse race," said Jesse Toprak, an industry analyst with TrueCar.com, a Web site that tracks auto sales trends. "It's going to be a photo finish."

Lexus has been the top-selling luxury auto brand in the U.S. on an annual basis for the past 11 years. Its lead over BMW narrowed to 9,216 last year, less than half the 19,473 gap in 2009. Mercedes finished in third place last year.

Mark Templin, head of U.S. Lexus sales, said last month that the brand doesn't expect to retain its volume lead in the U.S. this year because of supply disruptions following the March 11 earthquake. All but one Lexus model is made only in Japan.

U.S. sales of BMW's 5 series rose 77 percent last month and the X3 more than tripled its deliveries, the company said.

April sales

U.S. dealers sold 18,042 Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs last month, 2.3 percent more than a year earlier, Daimler said in a statement. The results exclude Daimler's Sprinter vans and Smart cars and BMW's Mini brand, which aren't luxury vehicles.

Lexus sales last month slipped 4.3 percent to 17,576, the company said in a statement. While Lexus has stumbled, German luxury makers also are benefiting from improved credit markets that make it less expensive to offer low lease payments, Toprak said in a telephone interview.

U.S. deliveries of Volkswagen AG's Audi brand rose 7.5 percent to 10,018 vehicles last month, the brand's best April on record, the company said in an e-mail.

Ernst Lieb, head of Mercedes's U.S. unit, said the race to be the year's top-selling luxury carmaker in the U.S. isn't his sole mission. "My instructions are to find a balance between market share and profitability," Lieb said in an interview last month at the New York auto show.

BMW's aim

BMW's goal is to be the No. 1 German brand, said Jim O'Donnell, head of the company's U.S. sales operations. "We've got more new product coming," he said at the New York show. "I think we will outsell them this year."

O'Donnell and Mercedes' Lieb have said they may not benefit from production disruptions in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. "We can't produce any more" than we are making already, O'Donnell said. His comments echoed those Lieb made in an interview last month when he said that Mercedes production plans are set in advance and there's limited ability to take advantage of any Lexus shortages in the short-term.

"There's probably some way for them to increase production and you'll see them, perhaps, ever so quietly," Toprak said. "And you're going to also see domestics trying to get into the race as well," he said.

Supply 'hiccup'

The luxury market may experience a "hiccup" in the second quarter because of production disruptions following the Japanese earthquake, O'Donnell said. "All that will lead to is a stronger third and fourth quarter," he said. "Assuming that the Japanese get whatever difficulty they have sorted out."

General Motors Co., poised to regain global sales leadership from Toyota this year, has boosted some production and hopes to sell more CTS and SRX models, Kurt McNeil, Cadillac's vice president of sales, said in a telephone interview today.

"There's not unlimited upside but there's certainly some opportunity," he said of the earthquake disruption. The automaker is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings May 5. Sales for GM's Cadillac luxury division rose 16 percent to 13,127 last month, as CTS sales rose 29 percent aided by the new coupe version.

Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti sold 6,761 vehicles, a 6.2 percent decline from a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Honda Motor Co. said in a statement that sales for its Acura brand rose 8.3 percent to 11,604 last month.

Ford Motor Co. sold 7,236 Lincoln luxury vehicles in April, 43 fewer than a year earlier, according to a statement from the automaker. Land Rover deliveries rose 8.4 percent to 2,982, while Jaguar sales gained 39 percent to 1,249, Tata Motors Ltd. said in an e-mailed statement. Industrywide U.S. auto sales may have exceeded a 13 million vehicle seasonally adjusted annual pace for the third straight month.



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13% sales increase for Toyota Motor Europe in first quarter


• 233,336 Toyota and Lexus vehicle sales, ahead of target • European sales share rose to 4.71% • March sales rose above 100,000 for the first time since March 2009 • Strong performances by Toyota Verso-S and Lexus CT 200h on debut • Lexus in Europe breaks all-time customer contracts in March with 6,519 • Hybrid vehicles represent 11% of Toyota and Lexus sales in Europe

Toyota Canada had a strong April thanks in part to the annual Red Tag Day sales event. Sales records were achieved across all of Toyota’s brands in Canada. In fact Toyota trucks, Lexus and Scion enjoyed a record sales month.

More informaiton after the jump.

In Canada, Toyota sales were up 8.6% over April 2010 with 17,704 units sold, including 487 Scion vehicles. The Scion tC led Scion sales with 208 units rolling over the curb, followed by the xB (181 units) and xD (98 units).

Highlights for Toyota include:
Best month for Toyota trucks which rose 26.6%, including a 9.4% increase for Tacoma
Best month for Venza which was up 59%
Best month for the Canadian built Rav-4 which saw sales increase 31.8%
Lexus also had its best April on record, moving 1,623 vehicles. Sales of the new Lexus CT200h tallied 185 units in its first full month of availability.

Highlights for Lexus include the following:
Best month for Lexus IS-C, up 7.4%
A 29.5% increase of SUV sales
A sales increase of 7.7% of Lexus cars
GX 460 saw sales increase 55.6%
Sales of the Canadian built RX 350 rose 37.6%
With the recent cuts to production, we'll see if Toyota can maintain the momentum throughout May.