Toyota gets another boost from light trucks

Toyota Motor Sales posted a 3.8 percent sales increase in April, moving 211,125 vehicles for the month, the automaker reported Tuesday.

Sales at the Toyota division, including Scion, rose 5 percent to 186,243 vehicles.

The gains were largely buoyed by the strength of Toyota’s light trucks, which set a record for April volume, rising 16 percent for the month to 96,033 vehicles. The RAV4, 4Runner and Highlander all posted record April sales.

Tacoma sales were also robust. Among Toyota’s light trucks, only the Sienna minivan and Tundra full-size pickup posted declines.

Light-truck deliveries compensated for a decline in Toyota’s car sales, which slipped 7.3 percent in April.

Unlike rival Honda, which saw big leaps in its Civic and Accord sales, Toyota’s core Corolla and Camry sedans were essentially flat, rising 0.4 percent and falling 0.1 percent respectively.

The Prius -- despite being an all-new iteration that wasn’t on sale this time last year -- continued to be battered by low gas prices. Sales were down 22 percent vs. April 2015.

Sales at Lexus took a hit from declining demand for its cars. Overall Lexus sales were down 3.8 percent in April to 24,882 vehicles.

Lexus’ cars slipped 26 percent, with every model except the ES sedan seeing double-digit declines.

Demand for Lexus crossovers and SUVs made up some ground, rising 21 percent in April to 14,998.

“Not surprisingly, the industry’s strong sales results in April are powered by consumer demand for luxury utility vehicles,” Jeff Bracken, Lexus general manager, said in a statement.

Through April, Lexus sits in second place in the closely fought luxury sales race. Mercedes has the lead with 105,005 luxury car and light-truck deliveries, with Lexus counting 99,103 sales and BMW reporting 95,564.

Toyota’s Scion brand -- which will be folded into its parent company later this year -- continued to see an appetite for its latest offerings. Sales were up 54 percent in April thanks to continued demand for the subcompact iA sedan and the subcompact iM hatchback.