Several automakers are capping off a strong first quarter with historic March sales in the U.S.
Hyundai Motor America, Toyota Motor North America and Kia America highlighted increased electric vehicle sales as a contributing factor to their success last month, while Honda and Mazda continued the brisk sales pace from earlier in the quarter, according to recently released sales figures.
General Motors Co. and Stellantis both reported a sales decline during the first quarter.
Here’s a roundup of each company’s reported U.S. sales:
Hyundai
Hyundai’s EV sales soared 100% last month. The automaker reported total sales of 76,920 units during the month, a 2% increase compared with March 2023, marking its best March sales on record.
In the first quarter, Hyundai sold 184,804 vehicles, setting a new Q1 sales record. EV sales for the quarter were up 62% compared to Q1 last year, influenced by the double-digit sales growth of its Ioniq and Kona models.
Toyota
March sales of Toyota’s electrified vehicles were 78,157, a jump of nearly 61% year over year on a daily selling rate basis. Those sales represented about 36% of the company’s total sales volume. It sold a total of 214,894 vehicles last month, up nearly 22% over March 2023.
Jack Hollis, executive vice president of sales at Toyota Motor North America, credited growing consumer demand to the company’s portfolio of 27 electrified vehicles.
Kia
Coming off lackluster sales in February, Kia managed 69,472 unit sales in March, its second-highest Q1 sales total in company history. Kia’s Forte, Sportage and Telluride models drove overall sales, with the automaker delivering more than 10,000 units of each model last month.
Additionally, Kia EV sales saw 9% growth in March compared to the previous year.
Ford
Ford Motor Co. hybrid and EV models set sales records in the first quarter.
The automaker said it sold 20,223 EVs in Q1 — a jump of 86% from the same period in 2023 — making Ford the United States’ second best-selling EV brand behind Tesla for the quarter. Hybrid sales totaled 38,421 vehicles, an increase of 42% compared with Q1 last year.
The company did not disclose a total sales figure for all vehicles in Q1, but said Ford and Lincoln brand sales were up 7%.
Honda
American Honda Motor Co. had its best first quarter in three years.
Sales were up almost 12% in March to 130,504 units after a record-setting February.
"Our March sales momentum came in like a lion and went out like a lion with both the Honda and Acura brands continuing to post strong gains driven by balanced sales of cars and SUVs," said Mamadou Diallo, senior vice president of Auto Sales at American Honda Motor Co., in a news release. "Nearly all models across our lineup posted increases, demonstrating the true strength of the Honda and Acura lineup when we finally have supply to meet customer demand."
Mazda
Mazda North American Operations reported total sales of 37,119 vehicles last month, an increase of nearly 7% compared with the same period last year. That growth was driven by its best-ever sales of the CX-30 (10,697 vehicles), and the best March sales of the CX-50 and CX-90.
The company has sold 100,103 vehicles year to date, an increase of more than 13% over the same period in 2023.
Stellantis
FCA US reported total sales of 332,540 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, down 10% from Q1 last year. Sales of its plug-in hybrid models, however, were up 82%. Jeep and Chrysler also posted year-over-year brand sales increases of 2% and 9% in Q1, respectively.
Notably, Stellantis is set to launch eight fully battery-electric vehicles in the U.S. by the end of the year: the Jeep Recon, Ram 1500 REV, Wagoneer S, Dodge Charger Daytona and the Fiat 500e.
GM
Citing lower fleet deliveries, General Motors Co.’s Q1 sales of 594,233 vehicles in the U.S. were down 1.5% year over year.
The company saw a 6% retail sales increase, however, and its best quarterly sales of Buick Envista, according to a news release.
