US light vehicle sales continue to grow last month. Automakers delivered better than 1.4m cars and trucks, a 3.5% improvement over March 2012. This translated into a seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of 15.27m sales, slightly below analysts’ expectation of 15.4m, but more than 1m sales higher than the mark from last March. March 2013 was the fifth consecutive month the SAAR was above 15m.
The Fusion sedan [Europe’s upcoming 2014 Mondeo] was the star at Ford last month. Building on a huge sales jump in February, the model set an all-time sales record in March, outselling every passenger car except the Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla. The Escape (Kuga] small crossover also posted all time best numbers.
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General Motors led the Detroit automakers with a 6.4% improvement. Jumps in sales of Buick and Cadillac made the difference. The new ATS sedan looks to be a winner and the XTS sold well, fueling a 49.5% improvement for the brand. The new Encore subcompact crossover help push Buick brand vehicle deliveries up 37.4%.
Despite a warning about March sales from CEO Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler notched its 36th consecutive month of year over year sales improvements. Sales were up 5.0% as the Dodge Avenger, Challenger and Ram pickup set sales records. The Dart also had its best sales month since its introduction about a year ago.
A big jump in sales of the Accord and strong Acura deliveries helped drive Honda sales up 7.1%. The Accord came within 1,159 sales of unseating the perennial bestseller Camry for the month.
Nissan said March was its best sales month ever in the US and moved up to fifth in the standings, passing Honda. The Altima was the best-selling car for the month, beating the Toyota Camry by exactly 100 sales, while the Leaf electric car – now made locally in Smyrna, Tennessee, outsold the Chevrolet Volt.
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By GlobalDataToyota managed to stay in the black by a scant 2,160 units as Toyota brand car sales came up short with deficits reported for the Camry, Prius and Yaris as well as a continuing decline in Scion sales. Lexus came through with a 15.1% gain driven almost entirely by the ES and RX models.
Subaru celebrated a new all-time record month delivered by the Forester and the new BRZ. Most other models missed their 2012 marks led by the Impreza, which came in 37.7% short of its year-ago numbers.
Mazda and Mitsubishi were in the red last month, but Suzuki, which is in the process of shutting down its US car business, saw sales improve by 2.4%: Suzuki are probably thinking they should have posted the ‘going out of business’ sign sooner.
It was another good month to be a German automaker. Audi set yet another monthly sales record as it reported its second-best sales month in its US history. The BMW brand set a new March sales record, beating rival Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz for the month and trimming Mercedes’ YTD lead to just over 4,000 units. Mercedes wasn’t slacking, though; it set an all-time record for first-quarter sales. Porsche reported a record first quarter as March sales soared 41.7% thanks to the huge jump in sales of its 911 and Boxster. Volkswagen pushed new Beetles out the door at a rapid pace and racked up its 31st consecutive month of sales gains.
British marques were popular in March. BMW’s Mini sales were up with a small contribution from the new Paceman while Jaguar and Land Rover both had good months, giving Jaguar Land Rover North America its best March since 2006. Jaguar XF sales rose 30% while the Land Rover Evoque came through with its best-ever March sales.
Overall, US and European automakers took a bit larger piece of the pie in March. The Korean automakers were the big losers, but Toyota lost 0.4 points of share, as well.
Fuel prices are enjoying their annual spring romp and Washington’s dithering is still a factor, especially as Americans confront their tax bills this month. Still, the US markets are strong; pickup sales are up, indicating that businesses are comfortable with renewing their fleets, so it appears 2013 is still on track to be a 15m unit year.
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