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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Panza
Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association
440.746.1500

Northern Ohio Market Turns In Double-Digit
Growth on Heels of Cleveland Auto Show

Cleveland, OH (May 13, 2014) – Franchised new vehicle dealers rang up double-digit growth in new vehicle sales in April selling 23,181 vehicles for an increase of 10.61 percent over April of last year, according to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association. Warmer weather and demand created by the Cleveland Auto Show caused the jump in sales.

“Coming out of a nasty winter and the success of the Cleveland Auto Show, we continue to see growth throughout the first quarter and double digit increases in April,” said Louis A. Vitantonio, president of the GCADA. “The demand for new motor vehicles will continue to rise as we move through 2014, which bodes well for our market and the auto manufacturing presence in Northern Ohio.”

For the year to date, new vehicle sales are up almost five percent, with dealers selling 76,990 vehicles this year compared to 73,331 last year at this time. Ford continued to be Northern Ohio’s best-selling brand, selling 3,935 vehicles in the month compared to 2,971 for second place Chevrolet. Third place Toyota’s sales grew by 10.3 percent in the month, with the brand selling 2,014 in the month compared to 1,826 in April of 2013. Honda also saw double-digit growth in the month, but still came in fourth, selling 1,949 vehicles for an increase of 10.24 percent.

Several brands grew at a pace faster than the rest of the industry. Lincoln continued its resurgence ringing up an increase of over 36 percent for the month. Audi, which has introduced several new models and is promoting its brand heavily, saw an increase of more than 40 percent.

The warmer weather did not cause sales of SUVs and all-wheel drive vehicles to slow at all, with Jeep ringing up an increase of over 72 percent and Land Rover sales increasing by more than 100 percent in the month. GMC also saw a sales increase of more than 30 percent in the month.

26 Brands Up in April (‘14 v. ‘13)

The following brands posted sales increases in April of 2014 versus April of 2013: Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Fiat, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Smart, Subaru, Toyota and Volvo.

24 Brands Up Year-to-Date Through April of 2014

The following brands posted sales increases for the year-to-date:  Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Fiat, GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini,  Mitsubishi, Nissan, Smart, Subaru and Toyota.

New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio
April ‘14 / April ‘13 & YTD

Retail sales figures are based on vehicle registration reports from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.  Vehicle sales data includes the counties of: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Wayne.

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