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March 2010 U.S. Auto Sales Up 40 Percent

by Automotive News & Auto Blog

Saturday, April 03, 2010 at 06:48 AM EDT

The U.S. auto market may just have just got its mojo back. Four major automakers and 10 individual brands recorded sales jumps of more than 40 percent this March over the same period last year. Such spikes aren't unheard of, but given the present economic climate, it appears to be nothing short of remarkable. 

The biggest news this month, without question, is Toyota's continuing rollercoaster ride. Despite lawsuits, Congressional inquiries and unceasing media coverage, Toyota's corporate sales and sales of the Toyota brand were both up over 40 percent in March. Then there's Saab and Volvo, both of which have been sold and are out of limbo status now. And have you heard about Buick?

The Domestics

Biggest Winner - Manufacturer: GM

When GM cut half of its brands, the pressure on the "core brands" increased considerably, and they're pulling through. Altogether, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick pulled down 185,406 sales in March -- putting GM up 43.3 percent versus a year ago. While all four core brands were up over 40 percent, Buick really brought home the bacon with sales up a stupendous 76 percent.

Ford was also a big winner. The Blue Oval, now free of Volvo, increased overall sales by 42.7 percent, to 178,546. The Ford brand was, as always, the big winner with sales up over 45 percent, though Lincoln and Mercury both pulled their weight with sales up 19 percent and 26 percent respectively.

Biggest Loser - Manufacturer: Chrysler

Fiat or not, Chrysler can't catch a break. Totaled together, its four brands saw sales fall 8.3 percent. On the brand level, it was a 50/50 split with both Chrysler and Jeep eeking out minor gains of 1 percent and 3 percent respectively. Dodge and Ram, however, fell 19 percent and 11 percent respectively.

Biggest Winner - Brand: Buick

We told you Buick was back, didn't we? As mentioned above, the tri-shield brand's sales shot up by a stupendous 76 percent over March 2009 to 12,954 units. For those keeping score, that's 1,315 more vehicles than Cadillac -- which was up 42 percent -- sold in March. Buick's secret? The new LaCrosse, whose sales blew up by 236 percent in March. Enclave was up an impressive 41.5 percent, and even the old Lucerne managed to pull off a 0.4-percent increase. With the new Regal on the way, Buick's only headed up.

Biggest Loser - Brand: Dodge

Here's an interesting fact: the perennially low-volume Challenger was the only vehicle in Dodge's line-up to actually increase its sales in March, growing them an impressive 36 percent. Every other car, van and SUV was down, with the brand's biggest sellers taking the biggest hits. Caravan, the brand's top seller, was also its biggest loser with sales down 32 percent. Right behind it was the Avenger, down 31 percent, and the Journey, down 22 percent.

Biggest Winner - Model: Cadillac SRX

Many questioned Cadillac moving the SRX  from a big, V-8 powered RWD SUV to a more compact and V-6 powered FWD or AWD crossover, but apparently not Cadillac customers. SRX has been featured as our Biggest Winner in the Domestic Model category several times now and takes the crown again in March. Bolstered heavily by absolutely dismal March 2009 sales numbers (a whopping 629 sold), the SRX sales soared 550 percent in March 2010 to 4,090 copies. It's worth noting, though, that the aforementioned Buick LaCrosse and Enclave both outsold the SRX in absolute numbers. Chevy Equinox sales were also up 193 percent, making the three biggest domestic winners in March all GM vehicles. Any way you slice it, GM had a great month.

Biggest Loser - Model: Dodge Caravan

As you already know, assuming you've been reading everything and not just skimming the headlines, the Dodge Caravan lost 32 percent of its sales in March 2010. Despite the struggle, it remained Dodge's unquestioned sales leader with 7,749 copies moved, which unfortunately doesn't bode well for the Dodge brand. Things are only going to get harder as well, as Toyota just recently unveiled a thoroughly updated Sienna and Nissan just released a teaser of the updated Quest.

The Feuds

Yes, the new 5.0-powered 2011 Ford Mustang is finally here, but it isn't on sale yet. How many potential 4.6 Mustang buyers are holding out for it? There's no way to know right now, but it's undoubtedly a factor. Enough of them were ready to buy now for Mustang sales to climb a solid 57 percent in March, but with only 5,829 copies sold, it was no match for the ever-hot Camaro, which moved 8,904 copies. The slower-selling Challenger pulled off a healthy 36-percent sales gain as noted earlier, but stays solidly in third place with 3,211 sales.

Over at the opposite end of the automotive spectrum, it's much the same story with the trucks. The Ford F-Series remains the best-seller by a large margin, up 30 percent to 42,514. As always, Chevy's Silverado is second with sales up 27 percent to 29,886, and Ram follows in third with 17,818, down eight percent.

Asian Automakers

Biggest Winner: Subaru

Toyota may have had a stellar month in March, but Subaru's was better. The quirky, all-things-AWD automaker had its best March ever and its best first quarter ever with sales booming up 46 percent. Nearly every model, save the troubled Tribeca, was up with the revamped Legacy leading the way with a 124-percent increase in sales. The Subaru Outback, our 2010 Sport/Utility of the Year, made a strong showing as well with sales up 111 percent, but a former SUOTY winner, the Forester, was the volume model recording 8,467 sales. Subaru had best keep a weather eye on the horizon, though, because Hyundai also had its best March and best first quarter ever, though strong 2009 sales kept the Korean automaker from posting bigger gains.

Biggest Loser: Suzuki

Suzuki is off to a rocky start in 2010. Though the company continues to post month-to-month improvements, its year-over-year sales are faring poorly. In March, they were down a painful 72 percent from March 2009. Discontinuation of the top-selling Forenza/Reno and XL7 had a lot to do with this, as did plunging SX4 and Grand Vitara sales. The Kizashi, meanwhile, is off to a slow start as Suzuki works to ramp up production and distribution. The only Suzuki to actually post an improvement in sales in March was the Equator, up 225 percent.

European Automakers

Biggest Winner: Volkswagen

On the other side of the world, Volkswagen had a stellar March as well. Only one vehicle in the company's line lost sales in March, the CC sedan. Even the controversial Routan pulled off a 36-percent gain and everything else was up by double- or even triple-digit amounts. The biggest winner for VW was the GTI, which jumped 279 percent and helped give the Golf line a 152-percent increase, the best for the brand. Right behind it was the New Beetle, up 138 percent. There's more good news for the Volkswagen Auto Group as well, as Audi was the number-two European brand in March and Porsche posted sales gains as well.

Biggest Loser: Volvo

Now officially a part of Geely, Volvo is out of limbo and into the fire. Though the brand performed surprisingly well at the beginning of the year, March was not Volvo's month. With the S60 essentially off the market pending the release of the just-announced new model, the Swedish brand took a pretty good hit in March and saw sales tumble 17.6 percent. Big sales drops for the S40, V70, C30 and C70 also contributed to the poor showing, though the red-hot XC60 did its best to keep things going with the highest volume for the month and an increase of 97 percent over March 2009.

It's also worth noting that Volvo finds itself in the Biggest Loser category thanks to our 1,000-sale mercy rule. Without it, Smart would find its way in here with sales down 61 percent to just 677. The real Biggest Loser in the European category, though, would be Saab. Though GM officially reports that Saab sold exactly zero cars in March, we understand the brand actually moved 133, which makes for a staggering 90 percent sales drop. Now under the care of Spyker, Saab is out of limbo and should it poke its head above the 1,000-sale limit, it could find itself in this unenviable category. The new 9-5 can't get here fast enough.

This article originally appeared on Car News Gossip.