Brisk car sales in April

Small cars sold well in the US last month, as gas prices approached $4 a gallon and some buyers worried about shortages of Japanese-made vehicles.

Analysts expected overall industry sales in the US to increase 19 per cent from April of last year.

General Motors Company sold more than 25,000 Chevrolet Cruze compact models in April, the best performance for the 36-mile-per-gallon car since it was introduced in October.

Ford said sales of its new Focus compact rose 22 per cent from last year.

Don Johnson, GM's vice-president of sales and marketing, said consumers shifted into smaller cars starting in March and the trend continued in April. Unlike 2008, when a rise in gas prices caught the industry off-guard, GM and other companies now have good small cars and can quickly boost production of them, he said.

"We're probably the best prepared ever for this shift," he said.

The average price of a gallon of gas this week is US$3.96, up US$1.06 from last year. Gas is already over US$4 per gallon in New England, the Midwest and on the West Coast, according to federal statistics.

Widespread vehicle shortages related to the March 11 earthquake in Japan have yet to hit the US market, but are expected to by the end of May.

So far, GM said the earthquake won't affect its profit, although it has had to slow production because of a lack of parts from Japan.

Chrysler Group LLC said this week that the earthquake will cost it between 50,000 and 100,000 vehicles this year, but it won't have an impact on earnings.

GM said its US car and truck sales jumped 26 per cent in April, led by the shift to small cars.

Johnson said the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers posted big sales increases. Crossovers look like sport utility vehicles, but are more fuel efficient because they are built on car platforms.

People switched to more efficient engines, which use less gasolene.

Ford Motor Company said its US sales rose 13 per cent, largely because of a 26 per cent jump in car sales. But it wasn't only the most efficient cars like the Fiesta and Focus that buyers demanded. Sales of the Mustang sports car rose 59 per cent car as summer-driving season approached.

Ford said that the impact of gas prices could be felt in its largest vehicles. Half of all pickup buyers chose Ford's new V-6 engine instead of the less efficient V-8.