Car Sales Keep Up Their Streak

DETROIT – Automakers reported that March sales of new cars and trucks were the highest monthly total in five years, providing more evidence of a sustained turnaround in the industry.

An estimated 1.5 million vehicles were sold during the month, about a 4 percent improvement over last year, as a strengthening housing market and low interest rates spurred consumers and businesses to replace aging models.

It was the best monthly performance since 2007, executive and analysts said, and reinforced their sales forecasts for the full year at more than 15 million vehicles.

“Even though consumer confidence has been up and down this year, there are ‘wealth effects’ that are making Americans feel comfortable finally buying new cars they’ve been waiting for,” said Lacey Plache, an economist for the auto-research site Edmunds.com.

General Motors, the largest American automaker, said it sold 245,000 new vehicles during March, a 6.4-percent increase over the same period last year.

While sales of its biggest brand, Chevrolet, were flat, G.M. said its Cadillac brand increased by almost 50 percent and Buick sales rose 37 percent.

G.M. benefited from the steadily growing demand from the construction industry for new pickup trucks. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado increased 8 percent, and the company expects even better results when it begins delivering a newer model truck to showrooms over the next few months.

“Trucks have improved in lockstep with the housing market,” said Kurt McNeil, head of the company’s United States sales operations.

The Ford Motor Company said it sold 236,000 new vehicles during the month, which was a 5.7-percent improvement over a year go and the company’s best monthly performance since May 2007.

The results were driven by the heart of the Ford lineup. Sales of the midsize Fusion sedan topped 30,000 for the first time, and demand for the Escape SUV was up 27 percent.

Ford also posted a 16-percent gain in sales of its F-series pickup, the best-selling vehicle in America. “Full-size pickup demand continues to gaining momentum, outperforming the industry for the third consecutive month,” said Ken Czubay, Ford’s United States marketing and sales chief.

Chrysler sold 171,000 vehicles in March. Its 5-percent improvement over a year ago was smaller than in some recent months, and underscored the company’s need to keep refreshing its showrooms with new models.

The company said sales of its Ram pickup truck increased 25 percent over the previous year, and the new Dodge Dart compact car had its best month since being introduced last summer.

Chrysler is in the midst of revamping its cornerstone Jeep brand with a new version of the Cherokee SUV and other models. Analysts said broadening the Jeep lineup is crucial to Chrysler’s chances of returning to the double-digit monthly growth it had in 2012.

“Chrysler’s March sales story is one of old and new,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Edmunds.com. “Jeep desperately needs the Cherokee to get back into positive territory.”

Japanese auto companies are expected to report increases in March as well. Both Toyota and Honda are back at full strength from lingering inventory problems caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and are aggressively updating their showrooms with new products.

All the automakers are advertising heavily to bolster spring sales. One of the busiest has been Volkswagen, the German automaker that is rapidly expanding its American operations.

Volkswagen said it sold 37,000 vehicles during the month, a 3.1-percent increase from a year ago. The company said it was its best March since 1973, when it was one of the only import brands available in the United States.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/business/car-sales-keep-up-their-streak.html?partner=rss&emc=rss