Honda surges; Toyota edges up; Hyundai, Kia post double-digit gains

Honda Motor Co surged and Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales edged up in April, while Hyundai and Kia racked up gains for the ninth-straight month, signaling pent-up demand remains healthy even as rising interest rates cool the U.S. economy and consumer confidence.

Strong light-truck deliveries offset weaker car volume at Toyota Motor last month, with the automaker’s overall sales rising 0.7 percent to 186,310 on very tight supplies. Deliveries dipped 2.2 percent at the Toyota division but jumped 22 percent at Lexus.

April was the fourth straight monthly decline for the Toyota brand. Toyota’s core models posted mixed results in April: Corolla, down 32 percent; Camry, up 6.1 percent; Prius, down 29 percent; RAV4, off 9.6 percent, Highlander, down 2.2 percent and Tacoma, up 20 percent.

Toyota said it ended April with 146,703 cars and light trucks in stock, with most of it at ports or in transit, up from 137,067 a year earlier.

Honda Motor Co. posted its biggest gain since June 2021 with a 25 percent increase in April, with the Honda division up 25 percent and Acura advancing 21 percent. Honda’s biggest sellers all posted double-digit gains: Accord, up 15 percent; Civic, up 16 percent and CR-V, up 77 percent, on what the company called “stronger inventory of new and refreshed models.”  

Volume rose 15 percent at Hyundai and 16 percent at Kia last month, the companies said Tuesday.

Hyundai’s retail sales rose 5 percent to 64,895 in April, with fleet volume of 5,917, or 8 percent of total deliveries in the month.

Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, cited “high demand for Hyundai product” and “a diverse lineup” of crossovers, trucks and electrified vehicles for the latest results.

Hyundai said it had 49,045 cars and light trucks in U.S. stock at the end of April, down slightly from 53,119 at the close of March but up sharply from 15,809 at the end of April 2022.

Sales of Kia’s electrified vehicles rose 74 percent to 11,798 last month, while utility vehicles accounted for 71 percent of April deliveries.

Kia, with one of the industry’s lowest days supply of new vehicle, as well as a hot streak with retail buyers, continues to prioritize production for dealers while keeping fleet volumes “very modest.

Sales rose 7.5 percent to 32,351 last month at Mazda, giving the automaker its seventh straight monthly gain and best April since 1994.

Genesis also saw sales rise by double digits with April volume of 5,857, up 16 percent and a record for the month, behind higher deliveries of the GV70 and GV80, as well as the new GV60 EV. Genesis sales have now advanced six consecutive months.

Subaru will report April sales tallies later Tuesday. Ford Motor Co. and Volvo are scheduled to release their results Wednesday. The rest of the industry reports U.S. sales on a quarterly basis.

Analysts estimate that the market expanded up to 5.7 percent in April, with fleet driving most of the gain, as inventories continue to recover. U.S. auto sales rose 8.4 percent in the first quarter behind healthy retail demand and robust fleet volume as automakers tackled a backlog of orders from commercial, government and rental customers.