Heavy incentives drove U.S. auto sales to a 24 percent gain last month as the industry continued its comeback.
Subaru, Nissan, Toyota and Ford paced the gains, and all but two automakers advanced as the industry tallied 1,066,339 light vehicles sales for the month. Led by Toyota Motor Corp., manufacturers boosted incentive spending in March to levels approaching their all-time peak a year ago. This time, consumers responded.
| March 2010 | March 2009 | March % Chng | 3 mos. 2010 | 3 mos. 2009 | 3 mos. % chng | March (+/-) | 3 mos. (+/-) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors**** | 188,011 | 155,334 | 21% | 475,861 | 409,702 | 16% | 32,677 | 66,159 |
| Toyota³³ | 186,863 | 132,801 | 41% | 385,670 | 359,670 | 7% | 54,062 | 26,016 |
| Ford*** | 183,425 | 131,102 | 40% | 441,708 | 323,193 | 37% | 52,323 | 118,515 |
| American Honda¶ | 108,262 | 88,379 | 23% | 256,412 | 230,985 | 11% | 19,883 | 25,427 |
| Nissan¶¶¶ | 95,468 | 66,634 | 43% | 228,229 | 174,767 | 31% | 28,834 | 53,462 |
| Chrysler Group | 92,623 | 101,001 | -8% | 234,215 | 247,208 | -5% | (8,378) | (12,993) |
| Hyundai Group¶¶ | 77,524 | 65,445 | 19% | 188,205 | 164,747 | 14% | 12,079 | 23,458 |
| VW³³³ | 30,868 | 22,254 | 39% | 79,909 | 58,195 | 37% | 8,614 | 21,714 |
| Subaru | 23,768 | 16,249 | 46% | 57,494 | 41,532 | 38% | 7,536 | 15,962 |
| Mazda | 23,193 | 21,974 | 6% | 55,941 | 53,795 | 4% | 1,219 | 2,146 |
| BMW Group* | 21,696 | 21,152 | 3% | 55,129 | 51,325 | 7% | 544 | 3,804 |
| Daimler AG** | 20,711 | 17,362 | 19% | 51,996 | 45,213 | 15% | 3,349 | 6,783 |
| Mitsubishi | 5,434 | 4,620 | 18% | 13,623 | 13,834 | -2% | 814 | (211) |
| Jaguar Land Rover | 3,709 | 3,422 | 8% | 9,091 | 8,596 | 6% | 287 | 495 |
| Suzuki | 2,246 | 7,981 | -72% | 5,661 | 15,131 | -63% | (5,735) | (9,470) |
| Porsche | 1,905 | 1,749 | 9% | 5,222 | 4,925 | 6% | 156 | 297 |
| Maserati | 189 | 119 | 59% | 394 | 274 | 44% | 70 | 120 |
| Saab Spyker Automobile³ | 133 | - | - | 133 | - | - | 133 | 133 |
| Isuzu | - | - | - | - | 165 | -100% | - | (165) |
| Other | 294 | 306 | -4% | 882 | 918 | -4% | (12) | (36) |
| TOTAL | 1,066,339 | 857,884 | 24% | 2,545,791 | 2,204,175 | 16% | 208,455 | 341,616 |
| Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere. Source: Automotive News Data Center Note: Other includes estimates for Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus *Includes Mini and Rolls-Royce **Includes Maybach, Mercedes-Benz and Smart ***Includes Volvo ****Includes Saab through February 2010 ¶Includes Honda Division and Acura ¶¶Includes Hyundai and Kia ¶¶¶Includes Nissan Division and Infiniti ³The sale of Saab was final on February 23, 2010 ³³Includes Toyota Division, Lexus and Scion ³³³Includes VW, Audi and Bentley | ||||||||
Top selling light vehicles March 2010
| March | 3 mos. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ford F Series | 42,514 | Ford F Series | 103,039 |
| 2. Toyota Camry | 36,251 | Chevrolet Silvarado | 72,480 |
| 3. Chevrolet Silverado | 29,886 | Honda Accord | 72,335 |
| 4. Toyota Corolla/Matrix | 29,623 | Toyota Camry | 68,595 |
| 5. Honda Accord | 29,120 | Toyota Corolla/Matrix | 63,740 |
| 6. Toyota RAV4 | 25,781 | Nissan Altima | 59,483 |
| 7. Nissan Altima | 24,649 | Honda Civic | 53,627 |
| 8. Ford Fusion | 22,773 | Ford Fusion | 51,411 |
| 9. Honda Civic | 22,463 | Chevrolet Malibu | 49,339 |
| 10. Ford Focus | 19,500 | Ford Escape | 45,091 |
