World Vehicle Sales Down 3.2% in April

Worldwide vehicle sales totaled 7.30 million in April, falling 3.2% year-over-year, marking the first decline in 20 months. The weak demand around the globe may be partially explained by the Easter holiday bringing fewer selling days and was celebrated in March last year.

Europe sales dropped 6.1% to 1.63 million, with losses in most large markets. France fell 5.0% to 213,000, Germany was down 8.3% to 319,000 and the U.K. tumbled 18.9% to 180,000.

Russia was a rare bright spot with sales increasing 6.6% to 138,000 units, though year-ago’s 129,000 was the lowest April total since at least 2005.

Spain sales inched up 0.8% to 119,000 units, Portugal sales soared 17.9% to 22,000, and Norway was down 17.8% to 15,000.

Through April, Europe sales were 3.7% above same-period 2016 with 7.02 million.

Sales slowed across the board in North America, decreasing 4.4% to 1.77 million for the month. Demand in Mexico was down 3.5% to 118,000 units and fell 1.6% in Canada to 200,000, though both countries’ year-to-date totals are still ahead of like-2016.

U.S. sales shrank 4.9% to 1.45 million units, with sluggish sales even in the popular light-truck market. Sales through April were 2.7% behind year-ago with 5.55 million vehicles.

Year-to-date North America sales dipped 1.6% below like-2016, totaling 6.68 million going into the second quarter.

Sales were flat in the Asia-Pacific region overall with 3.32 million deliveries. India saw 7.9% growth to 323,000 units and Japan improved 9.2% to 355,000, while China sales decreased for the first time in more than a year, slipping 2.2% to 2.08 million.

South Korea witnessed a 3.6% decline in sales to 153,000 amid political unrest, though year-to-date sales were on track with last year.

The Asia-Pacific region’s total through April outpaced like-2016 by 5.3% with 14.69 million sales.

Results in South America were mixed, slipping 1.1% to 281,000 for the month. Sales were strong in Chile (+10.0%) and Uruguay (+16.4%), while auto dealers in Colombia (-15.7%) and Brazil (-3.6%) saw decreased demand.

South America’s 4-month total was 6.4% ahead of same-period 2016 with 1.18 million sales.

Global sales through April outpaced year-ago by 3.2% at 31.23 million, with CUV and SUV models claiming much of the growth.

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