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U.S. auto makers report mixed sales in April

Xinhua, May 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ford Motor Company reported their best April sales in a decade, while General Motors Company's April sales dropped slightly, the Detroit News reported on Tuesday.

Fiat Chrysler sold 199,631 cars and trucks in April, up 5.6 percent from 189,027 sales in April 2015, and also the strongest April sales of the automaker in 11 years. Its Jeep and Ram Truck brands reported double-digit sales growth of 17.5 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively; but Dodge sales declined three percent, and Chrysler and Fiat sales declined 17.5 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively.

Fiat Chrysler's U.S. sales grew 18 percent year on year in the first four months of this year.

Ford's sales grew four percent in April to reach 231,316 vehicles, thanks to continued strong consumer demand for its F-Series trucks, which rose 12.6 percent. Ford's truck sales rose 14.8 percent, SUV sales rose 7.7 percent, and car sales dropped 12 percent.

Ford saw strong consumer demand in April, especially for pickups, the Detroit News quoted Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, as saying, "F-Series has moved past the quarter million sales mark year to date, the strongest start for F-Series in a decade, while Ford brand SUVs are having their best year ever."

GM reported a 3.5-percent loss in sales year on year in April, with daily rentals down 39 percent. The automaker sold 259,557 cars and trucks in April, with its retail sales up about 3 percent year on year, but daily rental sales down nearly 18,000 vehicles.

Buick, Chevrolet and GMC all experienced a 3.5 percent or smaller decline in sales in April this year, while Cadillac's sales dropped 28.9 percent.

Sales of the three U.S. automakers were in line with analyst expectations.

Nissan North America is set to maintain momentum with an 11.1 percent increase in sales in April; Honda is expected to report double-digit gains from a year ago; only Volkswagen Group is expected to lose sales, with the losses being single digit.

Led by sales of pickups, sport utility vehicles and crossovers, automakers sold 17.47 million vehicles in 2015, a 5.7-percent increase from 2014 and better than the previous record of 17.41 million set in 2000, according to Autodata Corp. Enditem