April new-car sales rise in region

May 20, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

New-car sales in Northeast Ohio rose substantially in April compared with last year, while used-car sales flatlined.

Dealers sold 377 more new vehicles than they did in April 2010, a 22 percent increase. Bob & Chuck Eddy Chrysler Dodge Jeep Group in Austintown sold 120, narrowly edging out Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown (118) for first place in new-car sales.

The Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze continued to be the hottest-selling new car. Dealers sold 165 units. Chevy made up the top four highest-selling new vehicles in April; the Malibu (119), Equinox (92), Silverado 1500 (85) and the Ford F-150 (67) rounded out the top five.

Nine of the top 10 best-selling new cars were American-made; the Honda Civic (eighth, 55 units) was the only foreign-produced vehicle on the list.

Also of note: Eight of the top 10 had combined fuel efficiencies of 20 miles per gallon or better, on par with national trends, which show an increased demand for cars with formidable gas mileage.

Used-car statistics, which showed essentially no change in total sales, trended similarly when it came to models bought.

American-made cars filled out the top 23 spots on the list, led by the Chevy Impala, which sold 96 units.