Kia April 2012 Sales up 1.0%

[xcel]

Optima and Rio sales are up while Sorento fades.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - May 1, 2012

2013 Kia Rio - $13,400 to start and a 30/40 mpgUS city/highway rating all but guarantee less pain at the pump and an extremely low total cost of ownership.

With class-leading design, the 2013 Rio continue to provide style, value and technology for the first time buyer. All-new last year, the award-winning subcompacts are Kia's smallest and most affordable vehicles.

Available in three trims – LX, EX and SX – the 2013 Rio is equipped with the excellent direct injected 1.6L I4 mated to either a six-speed MT (LX only) or AT.

For 2013, the Rio is offers ISG (Start/Stop) technology to reduce fuel consumption by turning the engine off when the vehicle is not in motion and automatically restarting when the driver releases the brake pedal.

You can read more about the 2012 and 2013 Kia Rio in the Preview.

CleanMPG Previews the 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door Hatch - A heck of a car for a heck of a bargain.

Kia April 2012 Sales Highlights

Kia reported April 2012 Sales were its best ever, up 1.0% to 47,550 units. Kia has achieved 20 consecutive monthly sales records thanks in part to the continued high demand for the brand's U.S.-built Optima. Sales of the fuel-efficient 2012 Rio increased 55.6 percent over the same period in 2011 highlighting the fact it is one of the best yet to be discovered B-Segment vehicles available in all of North America.

Kia April 2012 Highlights and Overall Sales

Model	Apr-12	Apr-11	Apr-DSR % change	Apr-12 YTD	Apr-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
Rio	4,006	2,575	+75.0%	14,709	7,460	+99.1%
Soul	10,716	10,459	+15.3%	43,290	32,516	+34.5%
Optima	11,021	6,533	+89.8%	46,401	22,087	+112.2%
Kia Totals	47,550	47,074	+13.6%	185,610	151,848	+23.4%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 24 selling days in April of 2012 and 27 selling days during April of 2011.
Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 101 days for 2012 and 102 days for 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 – April 2012 US Automobile Sales Leaders

Sales Rank	Make	Model	Apr-12	Apr-11	Apr-DSR % change	Apr-12 YTD	Apr-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
1	Ford	F-Series	47,453	45,435	+17.5%	191,280	172,062	+12.3%
2	Toyota	Camry	36,820	30,443	+36.1%	142,225	107,264	+33.9%
3	Honda	Accord	35,385	28,180	+41.3%	96,517	94,375	+3.3%
4	Chevrolet	Silverado	30,749	29,342	+17.9%	126,387	121,797	+4.8%
5	Toyota	Corolla	24,804	24,215	+15.2%	93,232	100,890	-6.7%
6	Honda	Civic	24,423	26,777	+2.6%	101,592	91,745	+11.8%
7	Honda	CR-V	23,627	21,683	+22.6%	98,214	79,116	+25.4%
8	Chevrolet	Malibu	21,906	24,701	-0.2%	80,456	73,446	+10.6%
9	Ford	Fusion	21,610	21,189	+14.7%	85,559	86,212	+0.2%
10	Hyundai	Sonata	20,521	21,738	+6.2%	75,716	73,616	+3.9%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 24 selling days in April of 2012 and 27 selling days during April of 2011.
Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 101 days for 2012 and 102 days for 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.
Prius sales combined reached 25,168 but within the sales breakout, none were in the top 10.

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.

[50 mpg by 2012]

It would be interesting to see what the Rio would do in the US with the 1.1D ISG 1 Air diesel [78 mpg(imp) combined with NEDC test cycle and 15.5 seconds 0-60].
http://www.autocar.co.uk/SpecsPrices...G-1-Air/63957/

Or maybe the 1.4D ISG 3 diesel [70.6 mpg(imp) combined with NEDC test cycle and 13.7 seconds 0-60].
http://www.autocar.co.uk/SpecsPrices...D-ISG-3/63961/

[xcel]

Hi Colin:

I have formally requested a drive of the "Super" Rio with the 1.1L in Europe a number of times already

Wayne

[atlaw4u]

If I were shopping for a new car Kia/Hyundai would definitely be on my short list.