April 2016 Auto Sales: Ford and FCA Post Gains, GM Drops 4 Percent

General Motors lagged behind its Detroit rivals in terms of sales growth last month. While Ford and Fiat Chrysler saw gains of 4 and 6 percent respectively, GM deliveries dropped off 3.5 percent compared to April 2015.

Overall, GM sold 259,557 vehicles, making it the best-selling of all three automakers last month. But sales for each of GM’s brands declined from a year ago. Ford sold a total of 231,316 units thanks in part to the strong performance of its F-Series models and its Lincoln brand. FCA saw sales of 199,631 units and benefited from gains in its Jeep, Ram, and Alfa brands. Meanwhile, sales for Fiat, Dodge, and Chrysler slid back.

Check out the winners and losers for April 2016 auto sales:

GM

Winner: Chevrolet Volt (+119.1 percent, 1,983 units sold)

 

The second-generation Chevrolet Volt is here, and it’s selling like hotcakes compared to the previous model a year ago. Other strong performers from GM include the Chevrolet Colorado (up almost 48 percent) and the Chevrolet SS (up 98 percent).

Loser: Buick LaCrosse (-49.4 percent, 1,813 units sold)

Unfortunately, Buick’s full-size sedan didn’t fare so well. Sales were down almost 50 percent last month, dropping from 3,585 sales to just 1,813 sales. Fortunately, a new 2017 Buick LaCrosse is on the way. Another loser last month was the Chevrolet Sonic, which fell 41.4 percent compared to the same time last year.

Ford

Winner: Lincoln MKX (+93.9 percent, 2,631 units sold)

Lincoln saw its sales skyrocket 20 percent during the month of April. But no one model performed better in terms of sales growth than the MKX midsize crossover, which has been revamped for the 2016 model year. Another big winner for Ford was the Expedition, which increased its numbers 46.7 percent.

Loser: Ford Fiesta (-25.4 percent, 4,462 units sold)

The Fiesta was a party-pooper for Ford last month. Sales dropped from 5,982 units last April to 4,462 units this April. Ford also saw double-digit declines for the Focus and Fusion.

FCA

Winner: Dodge Caravan (+116 percent, 13,203 units sold)

The automaker has just started rolling out its all-new Pacifica minivan to dealerships. But its older minivans, including the Town & Country and Dodge Caravan, performed quite well last month. Perhaps due to heavy incentives, the Caravan was up 116 percent, while the Town & Country jumped 82 percent.

Loser: Chrysler 200 (-60 percent, 18,850 units sold)

The Chrysler brand was down a whopping 19 percent last month, and its 200 sedan performed the worst of all the models. We’ve heard FCA will likely contract out the building of this car so it can focus on making crossovers, pickups, and other large vehicles that command much higher margins.

Source: The Automakers

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