April auto sales in Orange County saw some surprises and more of the same,sales were down 10% from a year earlier.
The sales figures, from the Costa Mesa-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association, are based on new auto registrations, a barometer of sales.
Perhaps the harshest decline in April was at Toyota/Scion, down nearly 20% to 2,867 autos.
Not all brands were down in April, which may have something to do with an increase in small, economy car sales.
Hyundai was up 5% to 319 autos, while sister company Kia was up 254% to 85 autos.
The South Korean brands were up as a whole, compared to European, domestic and Japanese makes, which were all down.
A couple of European exceptions: Volkswagen was up 31% to 307 autos, and BMW Mini was up 26% to 91 autos.
On the gas guzzler front, Hummer was up,not by much,but is holding its ground with 32 autos sold.
Nearly all of the top local luxury brands saw declines in April, with Lexus having the biggest percent decline. Mercedes-Benz was down 3% to 798 autos; Lexus was down 15% to 687 autos; and BMW was down 9% to 636 autos.
Jaguar,surprise,was up 57% to 58 autos.
