Of the Big Three Detroit vehicle manufacturers, only Chrysler posted an increase in sales in March, of 2%.
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GM saw its sales fall a staggering 14.6%, and Ford sales fell 4.5%. This was despite offering hefty incentives.
Total US sales fell 2.7%, according to Reuters, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.07m units.
GM’s market share fell to 22.8% from 26.9% a year ago, and Ford’s share fell one percentage point to 18.4%. Chrysler’s market share was 13.7% in March, just behind Toyota at 13.8%, reported Reuters.
Toyota posted record monthly sales in March, up 6.9% over a year earlier to 217,286 units.
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By GlobalData“March was no slam dunk for the industry, but sales bounced back from February’s ho-hum pace, despite the erratic weather,” said TMS president and COO Jim Press.
“With a near four-year high for consumer confidence, improved labour market outlooks and a bevy of new products, the outlook remains bullish.”
Honda also reported record March sales, although they were up just 0.2%.
Hyundai sales rose 4.3%, while Nissan sales fell 2.6%.
Ford reported some success in its car business, with sales for its new mid-size sedans, the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr, up 28% from a month earlier to 17,157 units.
In its truck business F-Series sales were up 5% from a year ago to 84,168.
According to GM, its 14% decline in sales was in line with expectations.
“March sales were solidly in line with the targets established in our US turnaround plan,” said North America vice president, vehicle sales, service and marketing, Mark LaNeve.
“We knew that comparisons to a year ago would be difficult because of high daily rental sales and expensive incentives last March.”
GM said its retail selling rate in March was 3.0m units, a level consistent with GM North American operations’ turnaround strategy.
The retail selling rate has stabilised in recent months, improving from just above 2.7m units in the fourth quarter of 2005.
GM had some success with new models including the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, which sold 10,126 sales, up 20% on a year earlier. Escalade sales were up 45% on a year ago to 2,761 units, and GMC Yukon sales were also up.
