Local auto sales slightly up from last April

May 9, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Local auto sales in April were just slightly up from the same month last year with 26 more new and used-car sales.

A total of 6,666 new and used vehicles were sold last month compared with 6,640 last April, according to data released Friday by the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio.

The sales numbers are compiled from titles processed at county title departments by the final business day of each month.

Local top dealers for new and used vehicles were Greenwood Chevrolet with 286 sold compared with 258 last April; Taylor Kia of Boardman in second for most sales with 249, which is drop from last year’s 263 sales; and Sweeney Chevrolet of Boardman in third for most new- and used-car sales with 226 sold for a 15.9 percent increase from last year’s 195 sales.

Taylor Kia’s people and product both helped the dealership hit the 249 sales mark, said Matt Taylor of Taylor Kia. “That was right around where our goal was,” he said. “Traffic has been steady.”

The dealership’s top sellers are the Kia Optima, Sorento and Soul.

Greenwood Chevrolet, Taylor Kia and Sweeney Chevrolet also led in just new-vehicle sales. For used sales, Greenwood Chevrolet was first; Stadium GM Superstore of Salem was second; and Taylor Kia was third.

The Chevrolet Equinox led new- and used-vehicle sales with 272 sold compared with 194 last April — a 40.2 percent increase. The second-best seller was the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with 210 sold compared with 199 sold last April. The Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze was the third-best local seller among new and used cars with 190 sold in April 2015 compared with 213 in April 2014.

For just new sales, the first, second and third best-selling vehicles in April were the Equinox, Silverado and Cruze, respectively. The top-three used models were the Malibu, Impala and Silverado.

“The Equinox is just hot,” said John Enlow, sales manager at Spitzer Chevrolet in Lordstown. “Now that the yard work is done, people are starting to come back out.”

Nationwide, analysts expect to see auto sales hit 17 million or more this year. So far in 2015, local new- and used-auto sales have hit 24,634, which is down by 0.6 percent from the same time last year.