USA April 2022: Market down -17%, Genesis (+53%), Mazda (-3.3%), Volvo (-9.2%) resist best

The new Mazda CX-50 helps the brand contain its fall in April.

The U.S. new light vehicle market is estimated to fall -17% year-on-year in April to 1.16 million units as the ship shortage continues to bite. The Seasonally Adjusted Annualised sales Rate (SAAR) is down 20.5% to just 14.7 million. Year-to-date volumes are now down to 4.48 million units, off -15.7% over the same period a year ago. In the groups ranking and among carmakers still sharing monthly data, Toyota Motor (-22.7%) falls faster than the market unlike Ford Motor (-10.7%) while Hyundai-Kia (-16.7%) matches the overall evolution and American Honda (-40.4%) implodes.

Brand-wise, Ford (-10.7%) reclaims the top spot off Toyota (-23.4%), with Honda (-41.2%), Subaru (-25.5%) and Hyundai (-20.5%) returning weak results. Kia (-15.8%) fares a little better while Lexus (-17.5%) matches the market. Genesis (+53%) defies the market gloom while Mazda (-3.3%) and Volvo (-9.2%) are the only brands containing their drop to the single-digits. Lincoln (-11.6%) also resists well but Acura (-33.3%) dives.

Among the models still reporting monthly sales, the Ford F-Series (-22.3%) and Toyota RAV4 (-17.8%) lose share year-on-year whereas the Toyota Camry (-12.1%) gains some. The rest of the Top 9 models endure steeper falls than the market: the Toyota Corolla (-21.5%), Ford Explorer (-23.1%), Toyota Highlander (-28.5%), Honda CR-V (-55.9%), Toyota Tacoma (-27%) and Honda Accord (-20.2%) all struggle. Reversely, the Subaru Outback (+5%) and Mazda CX-5 (+10.2%) show positive results. The best performers below include the Toyota 86 (+300.6%), Subaru BRZ (+152.5%), Volvo S90 (+114%), Ford Mustang Mach E (+95%), Volvo V90 (+59%), Genesis G70 (+57.8%), Kia Niro (+51.9%), Kia Sportage (+40.6%), Ford Edge (+40.4%), Lexus ES (+23.2%) and Subaru Ascent (+18.9%).

Previous month: USA March 2022: Market down -23.8%, Q1 off -15.7%, Jeep, Mazda, Tesla defy gloom

One year ago: USA April 2021: Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia break records in market above pre-pandemic levels

Full April 2022 sales for selected groups, brands and models below.