March 2016 Auto Sales: Ford and FCA Jump 8 Percent, GM Plateaus

Despite the usual April Fool’s Day shenanigans, automakers took the time today to publish sales numbers for March, and for Detroit’s Big Three automakers it was business as usual this past month.

Ford Motor Company ended the month on a high note with sales up 8 percent, thanks to the strong performance of its crossovers and SUVs. Car sales remained in a slump, down 1.6 percent in March compared to the same month a year ago.

FCA also saw gains of 8 percent in March. While the Chrysler and Fiat brands dropped off, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram saved the day with each boasting double-digit gains.

At General Motors, total sales increased just 0.9 percent in March. Still, the automaker boasts its retail sales were up 6 percent year over year, while rental deliveries were down significantly for the quarter.

Here were the winning and losing cars from each automaker:

Ford

Winner: Ford F-Series (9.1-percent increase, 73,884 sales)

 

Not surprisingly, the F-Series line of pickup trucks led sales volume for Ford at 73,884 units sold. That’s up 9.1 percent from the same period last year and surpasses the totals for both Ford cars (72,289 units) and SUVs and crossovers (72,872 units). Another surprise performer was the new-for-2016 Lincoln MKX midsize crossover, which saw a huge jump in sales last month. Overall, the Lincoln brand performed well, up more than 11 percent compared to March 2015.

Loser: Ford Transit Connect (26-percent decrease, 3,619 sales)

Perhaps small vans haven’t yet caught on as the official vehicles of the Maker movement. Ford saw sales of its Transit Connect dive 26 percent last month, and 11.3 percent for the entire year so far. At least its sales were ahead of the Nissan NV200, which despite increasing 71.5 percent last month, only sold 2,416 copies.

GM

Winner: Chevrolet Volt (192-percent increase, 1,865 sales)

No, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke: Chevy Volt sales increased a whopping 192 percent compared to March 2015. The second-generation model boasts a more upscale interior, a sedan-like silhouette, and up to 53 miles of EV range.

Loser: Chevrolet Cruze (58-percent decrease, 9,881 sales)

The compact Cruze was revamped for 2016, but sales were down dramatically in March. Its smaller siblings, including the Sonic and Spark, also fared poorly, down 3.8 and 30.3 percent, respectively. Their poor performance is part of a trend that’s seen small cars take a backseat to crossovers and SUVs.

FCA

Winner: Jeep Compass (53-percent increase, 8,282 sales)

 

In a surprise twist, the Jeep Compass that’s due to be replaced soon saw a huge jump in sales last month. Though it was the lowest in terms of volume, sales picked up by 53 percent compared to the same period last year. Consumers also loved the Jeep Renegade mini-SUV last month. In March 2015, the vehicle’s first month on sale, only 943 copies were sold. The Jeep brand performed better than any of FCA’s brands last month, up 15 percent from a year ago.

Loser: Chrysler 200 (68-percent decrease, 6,176 sales)

On the other end of the spectrum, the Chrysler brand dropped off 13 percent in March 2016 auto sales. The brand carries a lot of the automaker’s small cars, which don’t boast the same profit margins as FCA’s larger vehicles. FCA is likely to contract out the building of this lower-margin small car so it can focus on making larger vehicles.

Source: The automakers

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