U.S. Light-vehicle sales fell another 3.1% in March, as Volkswagen Honda rebounded

According to Automotive News, the auto industry is now entering a critical spring sales season, but the downturn in the auto market has not improved much. But last month's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) was 17.42 million, well above expectations of 16.8 million and even 17.3 million for the same period last year. Among the major carmakers, only Honda, Hyundai Kia, Volkswagen Group and Subaru posted sales increases last month, largely due to continued strong consumer demand for light trucks. Reid Bigland, FCA's regional head of U.S. Sales, said, "The U.S. Auto industry was struggling in the first quarter, but with the onset of the spring sales season and continued strong economic indicators such as buoyant home sales, lower lending rates and a stronger labor market, we believe demand for new car sales will pick up in the future." U.S. Sales of Fiat Chrysler AG (FCA), the Big Three, fell 7.3 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month of declines after 11 months of growth. Although pickup truck sales remain strong, weak demand for jeeps, cars and minivans weighed on overall sales last month. Only Ram sales at FCA's brands grew, up 15% from a year earlier, thanks to new Ram pickup trucks and plenty of incentives; Jeep brand sales fell for the third consecutive month, further down to 11%; Dodge also fell 5.7 percent year-on-year, while Alfa Romeo, Chris, Sales of brands such as Le and Fiat fell by double digits, by 31.1%, 38% and 45%, respectively. Ford Motor Co. 's U.S. Sales fell 5.2% in March from a year earlier, with car sales plummeting 27%, according to Automotive News. Sales at its Ford brand fell 5.5%, but sales at Lincoln edged up 1.9% from a year earlier. GM no longer publishes monthly results publicly, but sales in the U.S. Fell 8.3% last month from a year earlier, according to the Automotive News data center. GM's US sales fell 7 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, with Chevrolet sales down 7.8 per cent, GM 4.4 per cent, Buick 8.7 per cent and Cadillac 2 per cent. Toyota Motor Corp. 's sales in the U.S. Fell 3.5% in March from a year earlier, the fifth straight monthly decline, with car sales plunging 13% and light truck sales up 3.3%. Deliveries at its Toyota brand fell 5.1 per cent, while Lexus still grew 8.2 per cent. Nissan Motor Co. Delivered 150,768 vehicles in the U.S. Last month, down 7.2% from a year earlier. Sales of both cars and trucks declined, with its Nissan brand down 5.3% and Infiniti down 23%. Contrary to the downturn in the US auto industry, Honda Motor Corp. said it delivered record numbers of cars and light trucks under its Honda brand last month. Overall, Honda brand sales Acura achieved 4.1 per cent growth and 6.4 per cent growth in brand sales. Hyundai Motor Corp. edged up 1.7% in the U.S. In March, while Kia Motor Corp. climbed 10% in the region and Subaru Motor Corp. grew 6%, thanks to an expanded light-truck lineup. It is worth noting that the Mitsubishi brand recorded its best U.S. Sales since 2004 last month, with strong demand for its Outlander (Outlander), Outlander Sport and Eclipse models driving 37% sales growth. Subaru's U.S. Sales rose 6% in March from a year earlier, marking its 88th consecutive month of sales growth. That compares with a 19 per cent drop in Mazda deliveries in the US last month. Volkswagen, a European car group, did well in the US last month, boosting sales under all its brands. Thanks to strong growth (20 per cent) in cross-border vehicle sales, mainly driven by Tiguan and Atlas, Volkswagen brand deliveries climbed 14 per cent, with Volkswagen sedan sales up 8 per cent from a year earlier, driven mainly by strong demand for Jetta models. In addition, Lamborghini brand sales surged 85.6%. Sales of other major car brands, such as the Mini and Smart brands, fell 17% and 18%, respectively, in the U.S. Last month. Among luxury brands, BMW (up 2.9% year-on-year) and Audi (up 2.9% year-on-year 1.1%), Porsche (up 0.5% year-on-year), Jaguar (up 13% year-on-year) and Volvo (up 16% year-on-year), while Mercedes-Benz recorded a 2.7% decline and Land Rover a 14% drop. The average incentive for new cars in the U.S. Was $3,689 in March, down from $3,903 a year earlier, according to J. D. Power. The average incentive spending per car in the US was $3,604 last month, down $191, or 5 per cent, from a year earlier and up 0.1 per cent from February 2019, according to ALG. In addition, the Detroit Big Three and Nissan Motor Co. Remained among the companies that spent the most on car incentives last month. Many analysts expect total US car sales to fall below 17m in 2019 for the first time since 2014. Rising interest rates and rising prices for new cars are weakening consumer demand in the retail sector; In addition, the advantage of tax cuts in 2018 is diminishing, and the broader US economy has lost some of its momentum. Things are getting tougher for new car buyers, says Jessica Caldwell, an industry analyst at Edmunds. "Interest rates have been climbing every month this year, and new car prices continue to hover near record highs. We are at the cusp of a potentially dramatic shift in the market, simply because a lot of consumers are being driven out of the market by overpriced cars."