Detroit brands excel as housing recovery drives pickup sales

Detroit brands excel as housing recovery drives pickup sales[/CENTER

April was a good month for the industry overall and a stellar month for the Detroit Three. Each saw double digit sales gains, thanks in large part to a boost in pickup sales propelled by the housing recovery. Overall, sales rose 8.5 percent, but pickup sales jumped 27 percent(!)

Were seeing continued strength of full-size pickup sales, particularly supported by the housing recovery and also the boom in the energy sector, said Jenny Lin, Ford Motor Co.s senior U.S. analyst.

Among foreign-owned automakers, Toyota sales dropped 1.1 percent. Its market share decreased to 13.7 percent from 15 percent last April. The company attributed the decline to a cutback in fleet sales.

The weakening yen is giving the Japanese a lot of room to boost incentives, cut prices, pack vehicles with more content at lower prices, and increase marketing, said Edmunds.com analyst Michelle Krebs in a report. This will challenge Korean automakers the most.

April wasnt a story of unalloyed success. It saw the lowest seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) since last October. Automakers say the reasons were fewer fleet sales and concern about sequestration.

In addition to trucks, crossover sales were strong, in many cases displacing formerly strong sales of mid-sized sedans. Mid-sized cars have gotten smaller and more expensive because of a variety of factors, said General Motors chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem. People are switching to crossovers because they satisfy the family needs very well.

Still, car sales were helped by a plethora of new product. Honda Accord took the Toyota Camrys place as the best-selling passenger car. Luxury brands also did well, with Infiniti, Cadillac, BMW, Acura, Porsche, Lincoln and Audi all posting sales gains of 10 percent or more.

The 10 best selling vehicles in April were: Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Ram pickup, Ford Fusion, Honda CR-V, Honda Civic, Ford Escape and Hyundai Elantra.