FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — AutoNation Inc., America's largest automotive retailer, announced Monday that its retail new-vehicle unit sales in March 2011 totaled 22,246, an increase of 19 percent compared to March 2010.

Retail new-vehicle unit sales in March 2011 for AutoNation's operating segments were as follows:

• 6,320 for Domestic, up 21 percent versus March 2010

• 12,194 for Import, up 19 percent versus March 2010

• 3,732 for Premium Luxury, up 13 percent versus March 2010

For the first quarter of 2011, AutoNation's retail new-vehicle unit sales totaled 54,198, an increase of 23 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010.

Japan Earthquake Impact

"We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of the earthquake in Japan," said Mike Jackson, AutoNation's chairman and chief executive officer.

Commenting on the earthquake's impact on the auto industry, Jackson said, "Based on current information from the manufacturers, we expect production disruptions will significantly impact product availability from Japanese auto manufacturers in the second and third quarters of 2011. However, we believe that the auto retail market and underlying consumer demand will continue to recover throughout 2011. Our planning assumption for 2011 industry new unit sales remains 12.8 million units, and we believe that we will manage through these production shortfalls."

While 52 percent of AutoNation's total new unit sales in 2010 were produced by Japanese manufacturers, approximately two-thirds of those units are assembled in North America.

"The situation is still developing, and therefore at this time it is difficult to fully predict the impact of the production disruption on the industry and our business," Jackson concluded.