March sales: Koreans hot, Ford unseats GM

Ford saw solid numbers across the board, enabling it to outsell General Motors for only the second time since 1998. That’s an impressive figure, especially when you consider that Ford did it with one major brand (Ford division) and one small player (Lincoln). GM has four brands. That’s not to say that GM is struggling – it just didn’t perform quite as well last month as Ford did.

But the biggest news came from South Korean brands, where Kia and Hyundai both had their best months ever – a recurring theme for the two growing automakers.

Fleet sales showed a noticeable increase over last year’s numbers, a sign that commercial buyers are finally stepping back into showrooms. Fleet heavy cars like the Ford Crown Victoria (up 92 percent), Chevrolet Impala (up 16 percent) and big trucks like the Chevrolet Express (up 46 percent) and Ford Transit Connect (up 47 percent) were in high demand last month.

Please note that we are still waiting for a few more automakers to report their numbers

March’s Numbers
Acura – Up 4 percent to 12,611
Audi – Up 14 percent to 9,818
BMW – Up 12 percent to 20,295
Buick – Up 21 percent to 15,663
Cadillac – Up 5 percent to 12,164
Chevrolet – Up 11 percent to 148,197
Chrysler – Up 3 percent to 20,463
Dodge – Up 49 percent to 44,102
Ford – Up 28 percent to 204,276
GMC – Up 11 percent to 30,597
Honda – Up 21 percent to 121,039
Hyundai – Up 32 percent to 61,873
Infiniti – Up 14 percent to 11,287.
Jaguar – Down 11 percent to 874
Jeep – Up 36 percent to 33,155
Kia – Up 45 percent to 44,179
Land Rover – Up 26 percent to 3,441
Lexus – Down 2 percent to 20,682
Lincoln - Down 2 percent to 8,501
Maserati – Up 6 percent to 200
Mazda – Up 33 percent to 30,905
Mercedes-Benz – Up 13 percent to 22,976
Mitsubishi – Up 39 percent to 7,560
MINI – Up 69 percent to 6,087
Nissan – Up 28 percent to 109,854
Porsche – Up 36 percent to 2,588
Ram – Up 24 percent to 23,510
Saab – Up 624 percent to 830
Smart – Down 37 percent to 425
Subaru – Up 13 percent to 26,916
Suzuki – Up 11 percent to 2,497
Toyota (Includes Scion) – Down 10 percent to 155,540
Volkswagen – Up
Volvo – Up 22 percent to 6,369

BMW Group – Up 22 percent to 26,426
Chrysler – Up 31 percent to 121,730
Daimler – Up 11 percent to 22,976
Ford Motor Company – Up 19 percent to 212,777
General Motors – Up 10 percent to 206,621
American Honda – Up 19 percent to 133,650
Hyundai Group – Up 37 percent to 106,052
Jaguar Land Rover – Up 16 percent to 4,315
Nissan North America – Up 27 percent to 121,141
Toyota USA – Down 9 percent to 176,222

2010 YTD Numbers
Acura – Up 11 percent to 31,368
Audi – Up 19 percent to 25,383
BMW – Up 14 percent to 52,617
Buick – Up 40 percent to 44,739
Cadillac – Up 38 percent to 40,512
Chevrolet – Up 23 percent to 416,505
Chrysler – Down 9 percent to 42,796
Dodge – Up 24 percent to 101,977
Ford – Up 25 percent to 476,465
GMC – Up 31 percent to 90,789
Honda – Up 19 percent to 276,610
Hyundai – Up 28 percent to 142,620
Infiniti – Up 18 percent to 27,836
Jaguar – Up 5 percent to 2,501
Jeep – Up 34 percent to 84,853
Kia – Up 37 percent to 104,774
Land Rover – Up 18 percent to 10,768
Lexus – Down 6 percent to 47,356
Lincoln - Down 11 percent to 20,007
Maserati – Up 20 percent to 473
Mazda – Up 15 percent to 64,559
Mercedes-Benz – Up 11 percent to 55,995
Mitsubishi – Up 48 percent to 20,167
MINI – Up 41 percent to 12,341
Nissan – Up 26 percent to 257,522
Porsche – Up 34 percent to 7,007
Ram – Up 38 percent to 56,824
Saab – Up 280 percent to 2,069
Smart – Down 9 percent to 1,267
Subaru – Up 17 percent to 67,457
Suzuki – Up 18 percent to 6,702
Toyota (Includes Scion) – Up 14 percent to 386,568
Volkswagen – Up
Volvo – Up 10 percent to 15,440

BMW Group – Up 18 percent to 64,958 
Chrysler – Up 23 percent to 286,950
Daimler – Up 10 percent to 57,277
Ford Motor Company – Up 16 percent to 496,720
General Motors – Up 24 percent to 592,545
American Honda – Up 19 percent to 307,978
Hyundai Group – Up 31 percent to 247,394
Jaguar Land Rover – Up 18 percent to 10,768
Nissan North America – Up 25 percent to 285,358
Toyota USA – Up 11 percent to 433,924

Let’s analyze some of the numbers in more detail.

Domestics
At GM, the biggest news was a significant uptick for the Chevrolet Cruze to 18,018 units. That didn’t quite surpass the fleet-darling Chevrolet Impala (18,063), but it was well ahead of the Chevrolet Malibu (15,551). Chevrolet sold 608 Volts last month.

From Ford, buyers fueled a big jump in demand for the Ford Fusion (up 21 percent to 27,566) and the Ford Mustang (up 47 percent to 8,557) and especially the Ford Explorer (up 111 percent to 12,482). Yet Lincoln continues to suffer, with sales slightly down for the entire lineup.

Chrysler had its best March in three years, although that’s not saying that much. Still, sales were way up for its marketing-laden 200 (6,750 delivered, compared to 3,783 Sebrings last March). In fact, nearly all of the automaker’s refreshed models saw at least double digit increases. Some of the best news came from Jeep, where the Compass and Patriot more than doubled sales. Chrysler still has a long way to go, though, since none of its models sold more than 10,000 units aside from the Ram pickup line.

Asians
Toyota might have been off to a pretty solid start earlier this year, but its sales tapered off, dropping 10 percent. Among volume models, only the Prius (up 52 percent to 18,605) and Tacoma (up 4 percent to 10,144) showed good news.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Hyundai celebrated its best month ever. Only the Azera and Santa Fe saw sales taper off. The biggest reason for celebration came from the Elantra – sales more than doubled to 19,255 units. Hyundai also says that fleet sales are down to just 11 percent overall.

Sister brand Kia had no less reason for smiles. The brand also had its best ever month with big jumps for all volume models, including the Soul, which nearly doubled (to 10,028 units).

Things also look good at Nissan, where the only recent introduction to see slipping sales is the Cube (down 28 percent to 3,035). Nissan sold 298 Leafs in March.

And Mazda was also way up with big increases for all of its volume models, especially the Mazda5 van (up 139 percent to 3,866).

At Honda, the company’s mainstream models mostly increased, although sales dropped off a bit for the Pilot and Odyssey. Oddly, Honda is seeing some of its best numbers from models that are up for replacement, like the Civic (up 34 percent to 31,213) and CR-V (up 43 percent to 21,998).

Subaru says that May was its best month since the Cash for Clunkers campaign – only the Forester saw a slide in demand. The Outback saw its best ever month (up 40 percent to 10,498).

Europeans
Audi posted its best ever March, fueled in part by huge increases for its premium models – the A8, R8 and Q7.

Mercedes-Benz also saw its best-ever March, thanks in part to increased demand for the M-Class and E-Class.

With its expanded lineup, MINI is seeing huge sales increases. Things are finally looking up for Saab, but the brand is in dire need of its upcoming 9-4X crossover.

Jaguar Land Rover continues to depend on its SUVs, although its Jaguar XJ outsold the smaller XF last month.

Leftlane’s bottom line
March showed some leveling off among automakers compared to an unusually brisk February last month. Perhaps the best news overall is the increase in fleet and commercial vehicles, which show a return to confidence in the economy as businesses buy up new vehicles.

Hyundai, Kia and Ford had the biggest reasons to celebrate, while the picture at Toyota wasn’t very rosy.