GM, Ford March U.S. Sales Down; FCA US, Toyota Up

(RTTNews) - General Motors Co. (GM) and Ford Motor Co. (F) on Wednesday reported lower U.S. vehicle sales for the month of March, due to the impact of one less selling day, tough year-over-year comparisons and continuing harsh winter weather. However, FCA US, LLC and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) maintained their growth momentum during the month.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said that its March U.S. sales fell 2.4% to 249,875 vehicles from 256,047 vehicles in the same month last year.

There were 25 selling days for March 2015, compared to 26 for last year.

For March, GM's retail sales were down 5%, while fleet sales were up 5% from a year earlier. For the month, trucks sales rose 14% and crossover sales climbed 6%, but sales of passenger car plunged 21% year-over-year.

Among GM's four brands, Chevrolet sales slumped 3.2% to 173,886 units and Cardillac sales fell 6.8% to 13,756 units, while GMC sales rose 1.3% to 41,706 units and Buick sales grew 0.5% to 20,526 units.

"As the economy gained steam throughout 2014, we knew 2015 would be a strong year for trucks," said Kurt McNeil, General Motors' U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. "Higher demand dovetailed perfectly with the launches of our new full-size pickups and large SUVs. Low fuel prices and the successful launches of the Chevrolet Colorado and Trax made us even more bullish.

"Our foresight and disciplined approach to incentives is being rewarded with very strong truck sales and record average transaction prices."

GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate for light vehicles in March was 16.9 million units.

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said it sold 235,929 vehicles in the U.S. in March, down 3.4% from 244,167 vehicles sold in the same month last year. For February, Ford had reported a 1.9% decline in U.S. vehicles sales.

For March, Ford's retail sales were up 1%, marking best performance since 2006, while fleet sales were down 13% based on fleet order timing.

Ford noted that it continues prioritizing retail sales to meet strong consumer demand, resulting in lower fleet and overall sales for the month

Ford's car sales fell 11.6% year-over-year to 76,765 units and utility vehicle sales slipped 2.1% to 69,994 units in March, while truck sales for the month rose 3.8% to 89,670 units.

Sales of Ford's F-Series truck, America's best-selling truck for the 38 straight years and best-selling vehicle for 33 consecutive years, fell 4.6% to 67,706 units.

"Our retail performance was driven by gains across our utility van and truck lineups with strong consumer acceptance of the all-new F-150." said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. "We are especially pleased to post our best retail March sales performance in nine years, despite tight supply across our F-Series lineup."

FCA US, LLC, which changed its name from Chrysler Group LLC in mid-December, said its U.S. vehicle sales for March rose 2% to 197,261 units from 193,915 units in March last year, marking the 60th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. The company also recorded its best March sales since 2007. Total car sales for March increased 12% to 52,644 units, while total truck sales for the month decreased 2% to 144,617.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), said its March sales rose 4.9% year-over-year to 225,959 vehicles. Toyota division sales climbed 4.4% to 194,905 units, while Lexus division sales increased 8.6% to 31,054 units.

"Strong March sales capped the auto industry's best first quarter in 13 years," said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. "Our pickups, SUVS and Sienna minivan all posted good gains in March and contributed to a record light truck first quarter. March was more than a truck story, however, as Camry and Corolla combined for sales of over 75,000."

Among other automakers reporting U.S. sales Wednesday, Nissan North America Inc., a unit of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NSANY.PK), said total U.S. sales for March fell 2.7% to 145,085 vehicles. Total car sales fell 12.1% to 83,412 units, while total truck sales rose 13.6% to 61,673 units. Nissan Division sales fell 3% year-over-year to 132,560 units, while Infiniti division sales grew 0.2% to 12,525 units.

GM shares are currently trading at $36.81, down 69 cents or 1.84%, while Ford shares are currently trading at $15.88, down 26 cents or 1.64%.