Nissan sales rise, Infiniti drops in April

Sales of Nissan brand cars rose in April, but the Infiniti luxury division posted a decline for the month.

Nissan-division sales were 64,765 units in April, up 14.5 percent compared with a year ago. For the year to date, Nissan sales are up 23.4 percent.

The hot sellers are Nissan's small cars and crossovers. Nissan sold 8,432 copies of the Rogue in April, up 28.1 percent from last year. Sentra sales increased 42.2 percent, with 9,367 copies sold.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf posted 573 sales in April, for a total of 1,044 since its December launch.

Infiniti's April sales totaled 6,761, down 6.2 percent from last April. But year-to-date sales are up 11.9 percent. The Infiniti QX56 SUV saw its best April sales month since 2005, up 73.7 percent from last year with 976 copies sold.

By Michelle Koueiter