Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: April 2013

Nissan and Ford led a strong month for the auto industry, with sales up 23.2% at Nissan and 17.9% at Ford thanks to big gains among both carmakers' strongest sellers. Nissan Altima sales gained 35.4% while Ford Escape sales spiked 52% — despite similar year-over-year incentives on both and lower dealership supply for the Escape.

It may seem bizarre that the Altima, then, isn't among the top 10 best-sellers. It's been there for ninth months straight, and in March it was the best-selling car (not truck) in America. But a year ago, sales were dismal — less than 17,000 in April 2012 — so even a healthy spike kept Nissan off April 2013's top 10.

The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord had higher-profile struggles. The Camry's sales drop could signal plateauing demand for Toyota's seventh-generation family sedan, whose year-over-year sales have declined for three straight months. The new Accord, meanwhile, is just 7 months old, and shoppers found significantly lower discounts versus the 2012 Accord a year ago. It's a factor that could affect Accord sales through autumn. Still, Ford didn't seem to have a problem with that. Anyone considering the new Fusion found a similar situation — lower discounts versus year-ago levels — but it didn't stop shoppers from flocking toward the popular sedan, whose sales boomed 23.7%.

America's 11th Best-Seller Was World's No. 1

The Ford Focus may not have made America's top 10 best-selling cars of 2012 list — it ranked 11th — but Ford says its compact car was No. 1 globally last year. Citing registration data from industry forecaster R.L. Polk, the automaker said it sold 1.02 million Focuses worldwide. One in four were sold in China, the world's largest passenger-car market since 2010. The Focus became China's best-selling passenger car for the first time in 2012, Ford says.

Another quarter of sales came from the U.S., where Focus sales rocketed 40%. Ford adds that among global sellers, the F-Series pickup — America's perennial best-seller — ranks third. The Fiesta subcompact, meanwhile, ranks sixth.

But the Focus stole the show. And, we should note, it's the same car worldwide. That wasn't the case with the prior Focus, which Ford reworked twice to keep in U.S. showrooms through the 2000s while Europe got a bona fide second-gen car. What are the other 2012 global best-sellers? USA Today reports the list:

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: March 2013

With the top seven automakers reporting numbers — which account for the vast majority of new-car sales — March sales have crept up around 3.2% over year-ago levels. Honda, GM and Ford saw the largest gains, but no major automaker saw a double-digit increase.

The top sellers are a reshuffle from February's list; all 10 are back. The Nissan Altima jumped three spots from February, and despite an 8% sales drop, it's the best-selling sedan by just 100 cars in March. Madness? Not really. Look back at March 2012 and the Altima even beat out the Chevrolet Silverado for a podium finish in monthly sales.

Lower year-over-year incentives played against Nissan's redesigned sedan as surging competitors — the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion — saw larger gains. Ford says the Fusion had its best sales month in the nameplate's 7 1/2-year history, and this happened with fewer incentives than on last year’s outgoing model. The Escape hit its highest monthly total in its 12-plus-year history. Those two cars — and rising Explorer and F-Series sales — overcame falling Focus, Edge and Mustang sales to drive Ford to a 5.7% year-over-year increase.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: February 2013

All the talk these days seems to be on spending cuts and frugality, but you wouldn't know it from looking at February sales. Overall, the market was up more than 4%, with only half of the top automakers posting gains over February 2012. Growth was solid, but not breakneck like we've seen in the last couple of years, indicating the auto industry may be slowing down. Declines for Nissan, Hyundai and Honda indicate some possible softening of the market.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: January 2013

Automakers should party like it's … 2012. Sales kicked off the new year at the same pace as they ended the last, with figures from the top seven largest automakers up a combined 15.6% versus January 2012. Ford and Toyota led the way with gains of 20% or better, but Nissan and Hyundai-Kia both saw a roughly flat month. None of the six automakers saw a sales decrease, however.

Ford's banner month shifted the top 10 best-sellers. The Focus compact dropped from the list, but the Fusion sedan and Escape SUV reprised their standings; both were absent in December 2012. Despite two recalls following its launch early last fall, the redesigned Fusion shot up 64.5%, and this came with lighter incentives than the outgoing Fusion a year ago. The redesigned Honda Accord — winner of our recent Cars.com $26,000 Midsize Family Sedan Showdown — picked up even better speed, packing on 75.2% to stay 1,525 cars ahead of the Fusion. Keep an eye out: That race could end the year in a photo finish.

J.P. Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman pegged sales right around December's annualized rate, Automotive News reports, meaning January would tie for the second best sales month since February 2008. Shoppers kept buying despite fewer deals. Total dealer and automaker discounts now combine for $5,223, according to CNW Marketing Research. That's down more than $500 versus January 2012, and combined with rising MSRPs, it's driven the average new car to $32,163 in January — up 6.6% versus a year ago.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars of 2012

When the dust settles, 2012 will mark the third consecutive year of automotive sales gains, and the best sales year since 2007. (Remember back then? Here's a refresher.) Sales for the top seven automakers increased 12.9%, suggesting new-car sales will end in the mid-14 million range. That would be the third year in a row of sales gains, with totals up some 40% over a recession-ravaged 2008. It's the best sales year since 2007, but it still falls below sales totals through much of the 2000s.

Which cars fared best? The top sellers for 2012 include a lot of regulars, with six of the 10 cars redesigned for 2012 or 2013. The Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Cruze, both on this list a year ago, are gone; both had a relatively flat sales year.

Check out the list below.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: December 2012

Cliff, shmiff. Holiday shoppers brushed aside concerns about impending fiscal doom (which Congress averted, sort of) to drive new-car sales to their best December since 2007. Pickups trucks remained atop December's sales pyramid, with Chrysler's Ram trucks moving up a notch. That's typical for the month, especially amid a sustained recovery for the truck-reliant construction industry.

On the car side, Santa left Honda a nice present under the tree. A substantially restyled 2013 Honda Civic sedan hit dealerships in November and sales for the nameplate shot up 61.2% in December; it secured Honda's workhorse compact the title of America's best-selling car for the second month in a row. The Toyota Camry held the spot for the first 10 months of the year.

In fact, Honda sales overall shot up 26.2% over an inventory-strapped December 2011, thanks to strong demand for the Civic and redesigned Accord — two models that regularly account for nearly half of the automaker's sales. Toyota gained 9% while Nissan fell 1.6% as its redesigned Altima dropped 7.7%. The Altima boasts impressive EPA mileage, but drivability and cabin issues left the car in last place in Cars.com's $26,000 Midsize Sedan Showdown.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: November 2012

The impact of Superstorm Sandy on the automotive industry will be felt for some time, but in terms of sales, November was a good month for most brands.

With most brands reporting their sales numbers, almost all of them were on the positive side. Chrysler led U.S. automakers with sales up 14%, while Ford and GM saw improvements of 6.5% and 3.4%, respectively.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: October 2012

We reported Wednesday on Hurricane Sandy's impact to October car sales, with car shoppers across 13 states potentially delaying a purchase in the final week of the month while they assessed damage. One analyst noted that while some drivers would have to replace storm-damaged cars, others would end up keeping their clunkers because they had to spend money instead on damaged roofs or flooded basements. That wasn't the only impediment to auto sales: Rising MSRPs and lower discounts sent the average transaction price for a new car to $32,299 in October, according to CNW Marketing Research. That's $2,974 — 10.1%! — more than a year ago.

Did all of these factors stymie an automotive recovery 16 months in the making?

It appears so. Sales rose just 5.8% for the top seven automakers — the Detroit Three plus Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai/Kia — which represents the slowest growth in six months. Ford stayed flat. Nissan, noting that the storm-ravaged Northeast is its largest market, fell 3.2%. Hyundai dropped 4.1%.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: September 2012

September was another strong month of car sales, making the automotive industry one of the sole bright spots of the economic recovery. With most major carmakers reporting, sales are up 13% year-over-year with 1.118 million vehicles sold, according to Automotive News. 

That gain is healthy, especially considering that the average vehicle transaction price has also increased to $32,243 as compared to August’s $32,181, according to CNW Marketing Research. Total incentives and discounts weren’t appreciably higher as compared with last month, either. In fact, the only major seller to see significant incentive increases for the month was the 2012-13 Ford Focus, which has up to $2,000 cash-back offers currently. The Focus was up an astounding 91.4% year-over-year, which made it the 12th best-selling vehicle for the month.