April Sales Up 13% on Tariff Discounts, Concerns
All seven manufacturers and 11 brands reporting new vehicle sales to the Automotive News Data Center say they enjoyed year-over-year increases last month, mostly in the double digits, as many Americans took advantage of incentives and many others rushed to beat expected price hikes related to tariffs on imported units.
Mazda led all factories with a 21% increase over April 2024, led by sales of its CX-9 SUV. Lincoln led all brands with a 40% improvement, helping drive parent company Ford Motor Co. to a 16.3% year-over-year gain; sales of Ford models increased by 15.1%.
Other double digit-gaining marques include Acura (33%), Lexus (23.5%), Hyundai (18.8%), Honda (16.6%) and Genesis (14.5%). Toyota (7.9%) and Volvo (5.2%) also improved while Subaru (0.3%) brought up the rear, just barely registering a 33rd straight monthly increase.
Citing J.D. Power and GlobalData data, AN’s David Phillips and Larry P. Vellequette report average incentives increased by 8% to $2,808 in April, led by a $228-per-vehicle increase for light trucks.
“Automakers and dealers continued to offer sweeter discounts last month compared with a year earlier, but deals fell from March levels as pricing held up in the wake of strong demand and tariffs,” they write. “Ford this week extended through July 6 an incentive program that offers employee discounts to all shoppers, and said the promotion helped drive double-digit sales gains in April.”
