Inside the month of March is the beginning of Spring and with that, there is usually a resurgence positive spirits. This statement couldn’t be more true in regards to the United States automotive industry as within the 28 selling days of last month, the American people purchased a total of 1,404,774 light duty vehicles. Compared to March 2011, that figured jumped up 12.7 percent while in contrast to February 2012, the third month of the year sold nearly 300,000 extra cars and trucks. Clearly, the U.S. is not afraid to purchase a new, rolling investment but what they’re buying is beginning to change. In the battle for segment supremacy, the midsize car landed the knock-out punch with 389,566 units sold; an increase of 21.6 percent compared to 2011. Like February, March proved that the large car market is rapidly shrinking. Just 705 big sedans were purchased, a drastic fall of 91.7 percent from last year’s March. Even the large SUV took a hit with a drop of 10.3 percent as 18,614 fullsize haulers were sold.
We’ll be more shocked when Ford stops turning the F-Series Pickup truck into a top seller than anything else as March proved once again that the American public is utterly in love with the workhorse icon. With 58,061 trucks sold, the Blue Oval has unloaded 143,827 pickups since the start of 2012. It may be a best seller, but its increase of just 9 percent isn’t as impressive as the jump made by the number two Toyota Camry. The 2012 generation change has done the Japanese sedan remarkably well as an increase of 35.3 percent was seen compared to March 2011. In total, Toyota sold 42,567 Camry models during the month; more than 8,000 cars compared to February which brings the total number of 2012 editions sold to 105,405. Further down the scale but still substantial was the little Ford Focus which found 28,293 new buyers, an increase of 64.7 percent compared to last year or the most for any individual vehicle.
Ford may have the keys to best selling vehicle, but General Motors holds the best selling manufacture trophy once again. In March, the general sold 231,052 cars and trucks; 11.8 percent more compared to 2011. The Blue Oval wasn’t too far behind with 222,884 total vehicles sold while Toyota landed the number three spot with 203,282 units sold. The Japanese manufacture earned the majority of those sales from their cars while the Americans gathered more truck and SUV earnings. Even though they sold just 1,321 cars, Jaguar managed to witness the biggest increase when compared to March 2011 with a jump of 51.1 percent. Volkswagen wasn’t too far behind with an increase of 34.6 percent as the German automaker sold 36,588 vehicles in the U.S. during March. Saab’s parent-less and bankrupt status hasn’t done the currently (hopefully temporarily) defunct company any good. In 28 days, 159 new Saabs found American buyers, a 80.3 percent drop from last year. Maybach managed to see one of its most successful months yet as a total of 8 luxury yachts were sold. Since 2012 started, the company has found 23 new owners.
Source: WSJ
