I guess this one falls under the category of “I’ve heard that before…” March’s car sales figures have just been released and it’s not good news for anyone.
Overall car sales for GM were down 44.7% in March 2009 compared to last years numbers. Looking at the year to date GM has slipped by 48.8% and are facing bankruptcy.
Chrysler is not doing any better with a decline of 39.9% for March. There was a bright spot in the month however, the men from Mopar sold 100,000 units for the first time since September of ‘08.
Ford posted a 42.1% decline in sales for March, but that is an improvement over their Feburary loses which tallied 49.5%. Out of the Big 3 U.S. automakers, Ford is the most solvent and their retail share is increasing as news from Chrysler and GM seems gloomy.
Japan’s Big 3 have all seen loses as well. Toyota dropped 39% overall, Honda’s sales numbers slid 36.3% and Nissan dipped by 37.7%.
Hybrid sales figures for March
Toyota has hit in the U.S. with the Prius, it is the flagship of their hybrid line, but March sales numbers are weak with loses of 55%. 8,924 cars were sold in March with 24,277 copies of the Prius crossing showroom floors for the year. Although that is a nice number it is down from 42,970 at this point in 2008.
Honda sold 2,869 copies of their Civic Hybrid in March with a total decline in sales of 20.8% from the 3,769 versions they sold in ‘08. Their new entry into the hybrid race is the Insight and in just 7 days of sales Honda moved 569 units.
Keep in mind that these numbers represent sales in the U.S. and not a worldwide total. Somehow we don’t seem to get the same coverage for sales in Europe or Japan.
Just so you know, Italian cars are selling well…Ferrari and Maserati are moving their stylish iron to the rich and famous. 2008 sales for Maserati were up 22%, but that was only selling 7,700 cars total for the season. I guess when it comes down to it the monied elite will always need a new red car in the garage this year.
