• by Karl Greenberg , May 3, 2011

It used to be a given that when auto sales numbers came out every month, Honda and Toyota had "best ever" superlatives. Now it's becoming axiomatic that the Korean brands will more likely have those kinds of superlatives in their headlines for month-end sales numbers. That was especially true in April, as Japanese brands -- facing supply issues because of the earthquake and tsunami -- may have lost volume to Korean and domestic brands.

Also, with gasoline prices above $4 and breaking records in different states, automakers migrated into smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. The American Automobile Association says that on Tuesday, gasoline prices broke records in Michigan. The AAA's fuel report said an unleaded gallon of gasoline reached $4.217, besting the last record price of $4.21, set on July 17, 2008.

In April, Kia posted all-time sales records while older sibling Hyundai posted best-ever April and second-best month of all time.

Hyundai sales were up 40% versus April last year, driven by vehicles that are both new and smaller. Even the Accent, which is toward the end of its product cycle, saw big sales gains last month, while the Elantra gained from around 9,650 to 22,100, although the massive increase is reflected by the complete redesign last fall.

Toyota, meanwhile, posted a 2.4% decline versus the month last year, based on the number of selling days in the month. Toyota Division passenger cars recorded combined sales of 77,512 units, down 5.1% from April last year.

Other Japanese brands posted increases: Subaru posted its best April ever, while Nissan saw a 12.2% gain last month, driven by big increases in sales of the Rogue compact crossover, the new Juke crossover and the Sentra compact car. Honda said sales of its vehicles improved 5.7%.

Volkswagen posted its best sales month in eight years with gains on smaller vehicles, with a 23% increase versus last year driven by Jetta and Golf vehicles.

General Motors reported a 27% increase in sales versus the month last year, with the retail portion of that -- versus fleet sales -- up by 25%. The company says sales were led by the best month to date for Chevrolet Cruze, and by Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers.

The company also says that in the first quarter this year GM's retail share of small, compact and compact crossover segments improved by an estimated 3.4 share points. "Recently, rising fuel prices have led many to rethink their vehicle choice," said Don Johnson, VP, U.S. sales operations.

Because of growing demand for fuel sippers, Ford's April sales grew 16% versus a year ago. The automaker's smallest vehicle, the Fiesta, accounted for sales of over 9,000 units last month, as was the case in March. The company says sales of its Focus car totaled 17,265, up 22% versus a year ago, while Ford says the Fusion set a new April record with sales of 21,189 -- up 12% versus a year ago.