March Sales Pace at 15.27 Million-Unit Annual Rate
The majority of manufacturers reported an increase in sales over last March, with the exception of Mazda and Hyundai. March’s SAAR stood at 15.27 million units, up from 14.14 million units one year ago.
Both Mazda and Hyundai reported a dip in overall sales in the month of March compared to last year, while Nissan North America experienced the best month in its history.
According to Autodata Corp., March sales paced at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.27 million units, up from 14.14 million units in the same period in 2012. The following is a review of March sales by manufacturer:
BMW: The BMW Group reported March sales of 33,149 units, an increase of 11.2 percent from the 29,806 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year to date, the BMW Group (BMW and MINI combined) is up 4.3 percent on sales of 78,957 in the first three months of 2013 compared to 75,729 in the same period in 2012.
Chrysler: The manufacturer extended its streak of year-over-year sales gains to 36 consecutive months in March, and also experienced its best monthly sales since December 2007 with 171,606 units sold. That marked a 5 percent increase vs. sales in March 2012 (163,381 units).
Ford: Ford Motor Co.’s overall sales in March were up 6 percent with 236,160 vehicles sold. Cars sales were even with a year ago, utilities sales were up 14 percent and trucks sales were up 6 percent.
General Motors: The manufacturer sold 245,950 vehicles in the United States in March, up 6 percent over last year’s numbers. Retail sales increased 4 percent, fleet sales were up 12 percent and the fleet mix was 27 percent of total sales.
Honda: American Honda reported U.S. sales of 136,038 units in March, an increase of 7.1 percent compared with March 2012 (up 11.1 percent based on the Daily Selling Rate). The Honda brand posted March 2013 sales of 121,938 units, an increase of 5.3 percent compared with March 2012. Acura U.S. March sales of 14,100 units represented a 26.3 percent increase from last year.
Hyundai: Hyundai Motor America was down two percent (68,306 units) from last March, which was the best volume month recorded by the company in 2012. The Elantra led the pack with an all-time monthly sales record of 26,153 units, up 33 percent year over year. The Sonata Hybrid also set a new all-time sales record with 2,006 sales, up 13 percent versus last year.
Mazda: Mazda North American Operations reported March U.S. sales of 32,028 vehicles, representing a decrease of 1.1 percent vs. last year. Year-to-date sales through March are down 4.6 percent vs. last year, with 78,283 vehicles sold.
Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz USA experienced its highest first quarter sales volume ever, with March sales at 24,646 units — a 6.5 percent increase over March 2012. This resulted in year-to-date sales of
69,187, up 12.5 percent. Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, smart and Sprinter vehicles for the month totaled 27,104, up 6.3 percent from the same month last year and up 12.4 percent on a year-to-date basis at 75,214.
Nissan: U.S. March sales for Nissan North America were at 137,726 units, up 1 percent from last year's total of 136,317. The performance marked the best month in NNA history. Nissan Division also posted its highest volume month ever with 126,623 deliveries, up 0.4 percent. Infiniti deliveries totaled 11,103, up 9 percent from last March.
Toyota: Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. reported sales of 205,342 units in March, an increase of 4.8 percent on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis. Unadjusted for 27 selling days in March 2013 vs. 28 in March 2012, TMS sales were up 1 percent over the year-ago month.
Volkswagen: Volkswagen of America, Inc. experienced a 3.1 percent increase in March sales vs. the year-ago period, with 37,704 units sold. Sales of the Jetta sedan, the volume leader for Volkswagen, totaled 12,872 units. Sales of the Jetta SportWagen closed the month with 2,133 units delivered, up 5.6 percent vs. the prior year.
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