General Motors finished its best-selling March in five years, amassing over a six percent growth from March 2012. A good portion of GM’s growth can be attributed to a nearly 50-percent increase in Cadillac sales and a 37-percent increase in Buick sales compared to March 2012. GMC also chipped in with an 11-percent increase.
Cadillac and Buick ranked first and third, respectively, in sales percentage growth from March 2012 thanks to a combined 10,116 additional vehicles sold. When you add in the 3,996 additional GMC vehicles sold, it’s easy to pinpoint how GM increased from 231,052 vehicles sold in March 2012 to 245,950 last month — for a difference of 14,898 vehicles.
Cadillac’s sales increase can be attributed to the release of two all-new models — the full-size XTS and the entry-level ATS. The release of the latter model is even more crucial for the brand as its sole purpose was to bring a new, younger car buyer into the brand. So far, it looks like this strategy has worked as the 2013 North American Car of the Year now accounts for 39 percent of Cadillac sales in 2013. The ATS is now also one of the 15 best-selling luxury vehicles in the country.
As for Buick, the lineup has been updated across the board since the 2012 model year. Coupled with a brand-new, celebrity-driven marketing campaign, the brand is starting to pay dividends. In fact, on the list of the 15 best-selling luxury vehicles, Buick has three models on it — the LaCrosse, Enclave and Verano. The latter two models have also seen sales increases of 55 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
Nissan and Subaru have also had impressive sales numbers, as both manufacturers had their best sales month of all-time. Audi almost hit that mark, as well, instead settling for its second-best sales month ever. BMW Group, which includes MINI and Rolls-Royce, had the highest percentage increase of any other auto group, with 11.22 percent. Honda America came in at second with a 7.21-percent increase, largely due in part to a 26-percent sales increase for the Acura brand.
Another interesting aspect of the March 2013 sales numbers is the emergence of a highly competitive midsize sedan segment. The Nissan Altima led the way with 37,763 vehicles sold, followed very closely by the Toyota Camry (37,663) and the Honda Accord (36,504). And not that far behind them is the Ford Fusion, which also had its all-time best sales month thanks to 30,284 vehicles sold.
[Sources: Autoblog, Good Car Bad Car]
