Long Island car sales up 1% in June

Long Island's new vehicle sales strengthened a little in June from a year earlier, led by Honda and Toyota.

Long Islanders registered 16,242 new cars, SUVs, pickups and vans in June, up 1 percent from a year earlier, according to new figures from the auto data firm R.L. Polk and Co.

Nationally in June, new car and truck sales rose by 22 percent from a year earlier to 1.3 million, a figure that includes deliveries to fleets.

Their tsunami-related supply problems long behind them, Honda and Toyota showed the largest increases on Long Island -- 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively, to 2,237 vehicles and 1,616, respectively.

At Nardy Honda in St. James, owner Lee Certilman said a major factor was deep discounting by Honda of its Accord, his best-selling model, to be replaced late next month by a redesigned version. "Honda has been very aggressive with incentives on that car," he said.

Nissan, the Island's third most popular brand in June after Honda and Toyota, saw an increase of 1 percent from a year earlier.

Among domestic makes, Jeep was a standout, with 1,082 registered in June -- a 1 percent increase from a year earlier. Hyundai, Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge were flat with a year earlier, at 1,292, 1,035, 785 and 342 vehicles, respectively. There were small declines by Buick, Cadillac and Chrysler during the month.

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Among major European makes, Volkswagen showed the biggest percentage gain -- 2 percent -- to 666 vehicles, while Mercedes-Benz registrations rose by 1 percent to 979 vehicles and BMW slid by 1 percent to 548 vehicles.

The picture had been similar, though the gains more dramatic, in May as Toyota registrations jumped by almost 43 percent in Nassau and Suffolk from a year earlier and Honda's rose by 37 percent. With those gains almost offset by competitors' losses, the Island's new vehicle market gained 4 percent from a year earlier.

In April, registrations of new vehicles on Long Island rose by 12.5 percent from April 2011 to 16,163 vehicles, led by Toyota and Nissan. In March, Long Islanders had registered 8.5 percent fewer new cars and trucks than a year earlier. February's figures were flat with a year earlier, but in January the total was up 6.5 percent from a year earlier.