VW April 2012 Sales up 31.5%, Leads Industry
 

While the few VW dealerships I have recently dealt with are plagued with unqualified sales personnel, their cars are proving to be very desirable and are selling well because of it.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - May 1, 2012

2012 VW Passat - $19,995 to start and a 31/43 city/highway rating when equipped with 2.0L TDI and 6-speed MT. Unfortunately the Passat will set you back just under $29,000 when equipped with the 6-speed dual-clutch AT.

The 2012 Passat, Best Family Car from a number of outlets, Car of the Year, built at the most energy efficient auto manufacturing plant in the world and one of the best sedans money can buy today.

Read the preview to find out why: CleanMPG Previews the All-New 2012 VW Passat TDI - A true "American" fuel saver for the open road.

VW April Sales

VW this morning reported sales of 37,525 vehicles in April, a 31.5 percent increase over prior year sales, a 38 percent increase year-to-date and the best April since 1971.

Last month, the company announced expansion plans for the VW Credit Inc. facility just down the street in Libertyville, IL. The ground breaking took place on April 20 for a 30,000-square-foot facility expansion and will add another 150 local jobs. This comes on top of the additional 1,000 jobs that the company announced it would add at its manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, TN to meet growing demand of the 2012 Passat.

While the Jetta sedan remains the volume leader for VW with sales totaling 15,658 including the Jetta SportWagen, it’s the 12 Passat that is making the company $’s. Sales of the Chattanooga-built Passat rose yet again and broke though the 10,000 mark vehicles sales mark (10,096 vehicles were sold in April) for the second time.


Top 10 Sales Leaders - Items of note: Camry and a fast charging Accord are neck and neck. Corolla and Civic both jumped 3 places. CR-V and Fusion fell 3 places. Malibu with tons of cash on the hood climbs back into the top 10 and Sonata edges out RAM to take the final spot.

B-Segment Sales Rank

1. Nissan Versa - 8,335
2. Chevrolet Sonic - 6,387
3. Hyundai Accent - 6,160
4. Ford Fiesta - 5,135
5. Toyota Yaris - 4,274
6. Kia Rio - 4,006
7. Honda Fit - 3,202
8. Mazda 2 - 1,048

C-Segment Sales Rank

1. Toyota Corolla - 24,804
2. Honda Civic - 24,423
3. Ford Focus - 19,425
4. Chevrolet Cruze - 18,205
5. Hyundai Elantra - 16,836
6. VW Jetta - 15,658
7. Mazda3 - 8,508
8. Nissan Sentra - 7,410

D-Segment Sales Rank

1. Toyota Camry - 36,820
2. Honda Accord - 35,385
3. Chevrolet Malibu - 21,906
4. Ford Fusion - 21,610
5. Hyundai Sonata - 20,521
6. Nissan Altima - 16,239
7. Kia Optima - 11,021
8. Chrysler 200 - 13,343
9. VW Passat - 10,096

April segment ranking items of note: Versa still leads the B-Segment with Sonic and Accent closing. Yaris passed the Fit and Rio while Rio outsold the Fit.

In the C-Segment, the ancient Corolla took hold of the lead with the much maligned Civic grabbing second place. Focus fell from first to third yet still outsold the Cruze.

The Camry leads everyone in the car segment and we mean all segments with the Accord jumping way up to second place with Malibu, Fusion and Sonata battling for third, fourth and fifth.

Automobile Manufacturer's US Sales Rank - April 2012 vs. April 2011 Comparison and Total Sales

1. GM April Sales down 8.2% with 213,387 vehicles sold.
2. Ford April Sales down 5.0% with 180,350 vehicles sold.
3. Toyota April Sales up11.6% with 178,044 vehicles sold.
4. Chrysler April Sales up 20.4% with 141,165 vehicles sold.
5. Honda April Sales down 2.2% with 122,012 vehicles sold.
6. Nissan April Sales down 0.3% with 71,329 vehicles sold.
7. Hyundai April Sales up 0.8% with 62,264 vehicles sold.
8. Kia April Sales up 1.0% with 47,550 vehicles sold.
9. VW April Sales up 31.5% with 37,525 vehicles sold.
10. BMW April Sales up 6.1% with 26,793 vehicles sold.
11. Subaru April Sales up 6.3% with 26,310 vehicles sold.
12. Mercedes-Benz April Sales up with 22,336 vehicles sold.
13. Mazda April Sales up 4.2% with 21,506 vehicles sold.
14. Audi April Sales up 15.0% with 11,521 vehicles sold.

March manufacturer sales rank items of note: Toyota just misses topping Ford, Nissan falls well behind Honda and Hyundai/Kia combined, Mercedes-Benz tops Mazda and BMW outsells Subaru.

SAAR is running at approximately 14.5 Million units.

Re: VW April Sales up 31.5%, Leads Industry
 

wonder if they'll launch a Passat Wagon again? That would be an awesome ride at 43mpg hwy