U.S. automakers recorded stronger-than-expected March sales thanks to a strong economy, rising employment and the fact companies are taking advantage of the changes in U.S. tax laws. In addition to the rising demand for trucks and SUVs, the March sales growth was also attributed to new product launches.
Performance of U.S. automakers
General Motors Co.'s (GM, Financial) sales surged 16% on a year-over-year basis to 296,341 vehicles. Sales of the company's major brands, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac, spiked 15.6%, 11.4%, 28% and 12.7% respectively. Retail sales climbed 14%, which brought the company's retail market share to 17.7%. While commercial deliveries jumped 19%, crossover deliveries soared 41%. This is the last time the company will report monthly sales figures as management is switching to quarterly reports.
Ford Motor Co.'s (F, Financial) March sales improved 3.4% year over year to 244,306 vehicles. The highlight of the month was, once again, its F-Series pickup trucks, which were the company's top-selling model with sales over 87,000 units (up 7% year over year). In addition, the average transaction price reached $36,300, which is the highest among its peers. The company also established a new sales record for SUVs.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's (FCAU, Financial) sales increased 13.6% to 216,063 vehicles. While Jeep sales increased 44.7%, sales of Wrangler, Cherokee and Compass also rose significantly. Chrysler sales jumped 15%. By contrast, Fiat, Ram and Dodge witnessed sales decline, down 47%, 13% and 2% respectively. Poor performnace in the trucks and light commercial vehicle segment was offset by gains at utility vehicles, cars and multi-purpose vehicles.
Performance of other automakers
The world's largest automaker, Toyota (TM, Financial), witnessed sales growth of 3.5% in March, led by robust sales of crossovers, SUVs and pickups, the combined sales of which spiked 13.9%. While Lexus sales declined 6.7%, Toyota brand sales increased 4.5%.
Nissan's (NSANY, Financial) sales plummeted 3.7%. While passenger car sales declined 8%, sales of crossovers, pickups and SUVs increased a mere 0.1%. Nissan Rogue sales reached an all-time high of 42,151 units. However, sales decline of the namesake Nissan brand (down 3.6%) and Infinite luxury lineup (down 4.6%) brought the company's overall sales down.
Honda Motor Co. (HMC, Financial) saw a 3.8% sales increase, boosted by impressive sales of the Honda brand and luxury Acura lineup .
Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stocks mentioned in this article.
