AIADA - March 2017 US Auto Sale Lose Momentum Heading Into Spring
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March U.S. auto sales leveled off from the strong, rapid growth they experienced in recent months. The average length of time a car sat on a dealer’s lot hit 70 days in March—the longest stretch of time since July 2009. For all automakers, car sales were down 10.6 percent from a year ago while light truck sales were up 5.2 percent. Honda’s sales were up 1.8 percent from last March, Nissan’s sales rose 0.5 percent, and Subaru experienced an impressive 11.3 percent sales improvement—its 64th month of consecutive gains. Toyota’s sales were down 1.2 percent while its Lexus division slipped 7.5 percent.
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International Brands Capture Majority Share of U.S. Market
Despite the sales slowdown, international brands captured 56.2 percent of the March U.S. auto market, an increase over the 54 percent they held in February. In March 2016 they held 55.5 percent of the market. Overall sales for Asian and European brands totaled 874,130 vehicles, up from 719,503 in February, but down from the 877,458 units they sold in March of last year.
Asian brands finished the month with the largest chunk of the U.S. market at 47 percent, up from 45.5 percent in February and 46.7 percent a year ago. Overall sales of 731,163 vehicles were up from 606,706 in February, but edged down 1.1 percent from the 738,970 vehicles they sold in March 2016. European brands occupied 9.2 percent of the market, up from 8.5 percent in February and 8.8 percent last March. In addition to capturing a bigger share of the market in March, overall unit sales for European brands also improved. Sales figures of 142,967 units were up over February when they sold 112,797 vehicles, and were also up 3.2 percent over last March when they sold 138,488 vehicles.
Domestic brands captured 43.8 percent of the March auto market, down from 46 percent last month and 44.5 percent last March. Overall, they sold 681,729 units, up from 614,134 vehicles in February, but still a decline from 704,306 vehicles in March 2016. This resulted in a sales decrease of 3.2 percent from last March.
American Car Shoppers Continue to Prefer Trucks and SUVs
Trucks and SUVs remain top options for American car shoppers. Six of the top ten selling vehicles for the month were held by vehicles falling into this category. The Ford F-Series, Ram, and Chevrolet Silverado pickups captured the top three spots, respectively, with the Nissan Rogue—in fourth place—maintaining its status as the top selling crossover for the month. Sales of the Rogue are up 42.6 percent over last March. The recently-redesigned Honda CR-V logged a sixth place finish for the month with sales up 23 percent over March 2016, while the Toyota RAV4 finished the month in seventh place with a sales jump of 10.3 percent.
Although trucks and SUVs are currently top options with U.S. buyers, cars remain strong contenders with three models making the month’s list of best-sellers. The Toyota Camry finished the month in fifth place as the top selling car in the U.S., although sales were down 3.6 percent from last March. The Honda Civic finished in eighth place and a sales decline of 4.1 percent, while fellow compact car—the Toyota Corolla—finished in ninth place with sales down 6.1 percent. The Nissan Altima slid into tenth place for the month with sales down 18.2 percent.
International Brands Take Advantage of North American Production Units
North American manufacturing units—many of which are located in the U.S.—play an undeniably large role in supplying vehicles for U.S. dealer lots. In March, they supplied 564,211 international nameplate vehicles, including 292,103 cars and 272,108 trucks. Asian brands sourced 269,673 cars from North America in March, which represented 44.1 percent of all cars sold in the U.S. in that timeframe. Additionally, they sourced 251,471 trucks—representing 26.6 percent of all trucks sold in the U.S.—from these same facilities. European brands relied on their North American manufacturing facilities for 22,430 cars—representing 3.7 percent of all cars sold in the U.S.—and 20,637 trucks—representing 2.2 percent of all trucks sold in the U.S.
Outlook
AutoData Corp. reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in March 2017 is 16.62 million units, falling below 17 million for the first time since last August. Industrywide, 1,555,859 light vehicles were sold in March, up from 1,333,637 in February, but down from 1,581,764 units in March 2016. Unadjusted for business days, sales for all brands were down 1.6 percent from a year ago. International brands as a group were slightly better off, falling just 0.4 percent from a year ago.
