Spring is here, the snow is melting and the birds are singing. If you’re itching for a new car or truck, you’re not alone. Every year, light vehicle sales increase sharply from February to March, and this year, sales skyrocketed by 60%. Quite a jump.
General Motors posted a 26.4% rise in sales compared to the same period last year, thanks to strong-selling models like the Chevrolet Cruze, the Buick Regal, the Equinox and Terrain twins as well as the Silverado/Sierra full-size pickups.
Kia sales rose 21.6%, sparked by the rising popularity of their Sportage and Sorento SUVs. Porsche also recorded an increase of 28.8%, as sales of the Cayenne have more than doubled in March compared to the same month last year.
Struggling brands include smart (-45%), Suzuki (-40%), Mazda (-30%) and Acura (-24%). We’ll see how the recent events in Japan will affect dealer supply in April.
Source : Desrosiers Automotive Report
General Motors posted a 26.4% rise in sales compared to the same period last year, thanks to strong-selling models like the Chevrolet Cruze, the Buick Regal, the Equinox and Terrain twins as well as the Silverado/Sierra full-size pickups.
Kia sales rose 21.6%, sparked by the rising popularity of their Sportage and Sorento SUVs. Porsche also recorded an increase of 28.8%, as sales of the Cayenne have more than doubled in March compared to the same month last year.
Struggling brands include smart (-45%), Suzuki (-40%), Mazda (-30%) and Acura (-24%). We’ll see how the recent events in Japan will affect dealer supply in April.
| March | Current Month | YTD | ||||
| 2011 | 2010 | 11/10 | 2011 | 2010 | 11/10 | |
| Acura | 1389 | 1824 | -23.8% | 2870 | 3398 | -15.5% |
| Audi | 1568 | 1480 | 5.9% | 3913 | 3230 | 1.2% |
| BMW | 2309 | 2455 | -5.9% | 5327 | 4916 | 8.4% |
| Chrysler | 20337 | 19402 | 5.0% | 49055 | 45219 | 8.5% |
| Fiat | 417 | - | n.a. | 426 | - | n.a. |
| Ford | 25511 | 21996 | 16.0% | 55891 | 51446 | 8.6% |
| General Motors | 24505 | 19383 | 26.4% | 51348 | 48046 | 6.9% |
| Honda | 13804 | 12565 | 9.9% | 24173 | 26301 | -8.1% |
| Hyundai | 11668 | 11012 | 6.0% | 27052 | 25598 | 5.7% |
| Infiniti | 827 | 888 | -6.9% | 1607 | 1756 | -8.5% |
| Jaguar | 84 | 78 | 7.7% | 166 | 148 | 12.2% |
| Kia | 5394 | 4437 | 21.6% | 12313 | 9854 | 25.0% |
| Land Rover | 295 | 249 | 18.5% | 683 | 604 | 13.1% |
| Lexus | 1412 | 1303 | 8.4% | 2977 | 3158 | -5.7% |
| Mazda | 5787 | 8152 | -29.0% | 13645 | 17252 | 5.3% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 3162 | 2762 | 14.5% | 6619 | 6259 | 5.8% |
| MINI | 370 | 324 | 14.2% | 760 | 674 | 12.8% |
| Mitsubishi | 1895 | 2167 | -12.6% | 4866 | 4812 | 1.1% |
| Nissan | 7726 | 7729 | 0.0% | 16292 | 16282 | 5.0% |
| Porsche | 219 | 170 | 28.8% | 522 | 374 | 39.6% |
| Saab | 7 | - | n.a. | 20 | - | n.a. |
| smart | 126 | 230 | -45.2% | 282 | 437 | -35.5% |
| Subaru | 2700 | 2503 | 7.9% | 6218 | 5956 | 4.4% |
| Suzuki | 577 | 954 | -39.5% | 1336 | 2170 | -38.4% |
| Toyota | 16257 | 18489 | -12.1% | 33223 | 38526 | -13.8% |
| Volkswagen | 4536 | 4272 | 6.2% | 10634 | 9425 | 12.8% |
| Volvo | 563 | 604 | -6.8% | 1382 | 1411 | -2.1% |
| Light Vehicle Sales | 153485 | 145428 | 5.5% | 334000 | 327252 | 2.1% |
| Passenger Car | 69163 | 69569 | -0.6% | 140729 | 149879 | -6.1% |
| Light Truck | 84322 | 75859 | 11.2% | 193271 | 177373 | 9.0% |
| GM/Ford/Chrysler | 70393 | 60781 | 15.8% | 156294 | 144711 | 8.0% |
| Import Nameplates | 83092 | 84647 | -1.8% | 177706 | 182541 | -2.6% |
| Sales History | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 11/10 |
| January | 91.2 | 102.8 | 76.9 | 81.6 | 84.5 | 3.6% |
| February | 97.0 | 111.0 | 80.2 | 100.2 | 96.0 | -4.2% |
| March | 150.7 | 150.0 | 127.5 | 145.4 | 153.5 | 5.5% |
| April | 169.0 | 175.2 | 143.9 | 149.7 | ||
| May | 185.5 | 184.5 | 154.0 | 154.3 | ||
| June | 169.2 | 159.5 | 138.5 | 154.6 | ||
| July | 142.4 | 149.5 | 139.9 | 148.8 | ||
| August | 158.4 | 147.0 | 135.4 | 136.1 | ||
| September | 131.8 | 134.1 | 129.5 | 135.1 | ||
| October | 120.9 | 122.7 | 121.5 | 123.2 | ||
| November | 117.3 | 105.2 | 102.1 | 116.0 | ||
| December | 119.9 | 94.4 | 111.2 | 111.0 | ||
| Full Year | 1614.7 | 1653.4 | 1636.0 | 1460.6 | 1556.5 | |
| Note: Sales figures above are in thousands. | ||||||