Early Sales Reports for April Confirm Predictions of Big Decline

Sales figures from the handful of carmakers reporting April results reflected the expected sharp decline in new vehicle sales last month as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the U.S. economy.

Subaru of America Inc. reported 30,620 vehicle sales for April 2020, a 47% decrease compared with April 2019. These results reflect the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the resulting retailer shutdowns that have impacted the entire automobile industry.

Following 11 consecutive years of sales records, Subaru reported year-to-date sales of 161,211, a 25% decrease compared to the same period in 2019.

(Sales may be slumping, but zero-percent deals are at all-time high.)

“While this pandemic has been difficult for the auto industry, April sales for Subaru were better than expected,” said Thomas Doll, president and CEO, Subaru of America.

“April sales are reflective of the current state of the automotive industry during an unprecedented time, but our customer’s confidence in the quality and capability of Subaru vehicles remains as strong as ever.

Hyundai reported its declined 38.7% in April with fleet sales slumping about 74% over the month. Nonetheless, compared to March of this year, the automaker’s sales were up 6%. Genesis saw all of its luxury sedans drop sales in April, with sales totals declining 49.8% in the month.

(U.S. new car market showing signs of recovery – but faces a long slog, big losses for makers.)

Mazda saw auto sales drop 44.5% in April, yet only has seen a year to date drop in sales of 13.2% down to 78,610 vehicles.

Kia sales also dropped 38.2% during April, the South Korean automaker reported.

“Despite these uncertain times, Kia continued to outperform the industry in April and consumer demand for key products like Telluride and Seltos remained extremely high,” said Bill Peffer, vice president, sales operations, Kia Motors America.

(U.S. new vehicle sales expected to drop by half in April.)

“Kia’s Accelerate the Good program will continue to provide valuable incentives, support initiatives and charitable giving to those affected by this pandemic and those that need it most,” he added.