U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – March 2016 YTD

Forecasts called for the industry to set a March record and perhaps even challenge for the status as the highest-volume auto sales month in the history of the U.S. auto sales calendar. But March 2016 auto sales didn’t climb as high as expected, rising 3% in terms of outright volume and falling on a daily selling rate basis by 4.5%.

At Ford Motor Company, U.S. auto sales in March rose to the highest level since 2006, just as the first-quarter was Ford’s best start to a calendar year since 2006. At FCA’s Jeep brand, this was the best March ever. Total Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ volume rose to the highest March level in a decade. General Motors, typically America’s largest seller of automobiles, reported a narrow 1% increase as Buick plunged, Cadillac lost 5%, and Chevrolet sales grew by just 1%. Thus, the Ford Motor Company outsold GM in March 2016.

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model – March 2016 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model – March 2016 YTD
U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales By Model – March 2016 YTD

The first quarter of 2016 was hugely unimpressive at Toyota. Lexus sales are down 4% and the Toyota brand is down 2% on falling Corolla and Camry sales. Nissan set an all-time record U.S. sales record in March. Even combined, Honda and Acura aren’t selling as often as the fast-growing Nissan brand in the United States, even with Infiniti excluded and despite American Honda’s growth.

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With modest year-over-year growth, Hyundai USA nevertheless set an all-time U.S. monthly sales record with 75,310 units in March 2016. Audi’s leap to 18,392 sales similarly represented the brand’s best-ever March; Audi’s fifth-best month ever. Audi’s Volkswagen parent brand predictably tumbled 10%, a loss related to a 5% drop in Jetta sales, a 3% Golf decline, and a 22% Passat drop.

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With 30,198 sales, Lexus topped all premium brands in March. BMW was a scant 165 sales abaft; Mercedes-Benz was 1869 sales behind BMW.

If you don’t wish to see automakers arranged alphabetically, click column headers to sort automakers by March sales, year-over-year change, year-to-date totals, or any other order. Best seller lists for cars, trucks, and SUVs will be added later this afternoon. In the coming days, GCBC will also publish a complete list of year-to-date sales for every single vehicle line, a list which includes brand results. (Check out the 2015 version here.) You can always find historical monthly and yearly sales figures for any brand by clicking the brand name in the table below or by selecting a make (or model) at GCBC’s Sales Stats page.

Click column headers to sort by specific categories. Using the mobile version of GoodCarBadCar? Switch to the web version at the bottom of the page, at which point columns will be sortable.
March 2017 • April 2016 • February 2016 • March 2015 • Updated at 5:30 PM AT on 04.01.2016

Rank	Automaker	March 2016	% Change	2016 YTD	% Change	March 2016 Market Share	YTD Market Share
#21	Acura	14,852	1.2%	37,875	-4.5%	0.9%	0.9%
#36	Alfa Romeo	53	-27.4%	169	-22.1%	0.0%	0.0%
#19	Audi	18,392	7.5%	41,960	4.6%	1.2%	1.0%
#35	Bentley	119	-52.0%	262	-51.5%	0.0%	0.0%
#15	BMW	30,033	-12.5%	70,613	-10.0%	1.9%	1.7%
#20	Buick	18,207	-11.3%	54,287	7.5%	1.1%	1.3%
#23	Cadillac	13,053	-5.1%	35,633	-4.1%	0.8%	0.9%
#3	Chevrolet	176,283	1.4%	472,730	-0.8%	11.1%	11.6%
#17	Chrysler	26,236	-12.7%	65,506	-20.0%	1.6%	1.6%
#9	Dodge	51,149	11.1%	140,509	13.8%	3.2%	3.4%
#31	Fiat	3422	-23.9%	9009	-18.4%	0.2%	0.2%
#1	Ford	243,375	7.6%	616,682	8.1%	15.3%	15.1%
#12	GMC	44,585	6.9%	121,048	1.0%	2.8%	3.0%
#5	Honda	123,369	10.5%	319,828	8.7%	7.7%	7.9%
#7	Hyundai	75,310	0.4%	173,330	0.8%	4.7%	4.2%
#22	Infiniti	13,775	10.0%	32,660	-3.5%	0.9%	0.8%
#32	Jaguar	2133	28.5%	4997	15.2%	0.1%	0.1%
#6	Jeep	82,337	15.0%	209,597	17.3%	5.2%	5.1%
#8	Kia	58,279	-0.8%	146,321	3.7%	3.7%	3.6%
#26	Land Rover	8733	28.8%	20,805	22.6%	0.5%	0.5%
#14	Lexus	30,198	-2.8%	74,221	-3.8%	1.9%	1.8%
#25	Lincoln	9689	11.4%	24,905	16.0%	0.6%	0.6%
#33	Maserati	997	0.1%	2250	16.6%	0.1%	0.1%
#18	Mazda	23,396	-27.2%	64,643	-17.2%	1.5%	1.6%
#13	Mercedes-Benz ^	31,236	-3.3%	83,009	-0.8%	2.0%	2.0%
#29	Mini	4762	-18.3%	10,839	-15.2%	0.3%	0.3%
#24	Mitsubishi	11,078	13.5%	25,212	6.0%	0.7%	0.6%
#4	Nissan	149,784	13.0%	367,544	10.1%	9.4%	9.0%
#30	Porsche	4323	0.7%	12,238	7.1%	0.3%	0.3%
#10	Ram	49,990	11.0%	126,313	14.4%	3.1%	3.1%
#27	Scion	7261	64.1%	18,242	52.3%	0.5%	0.4%
#34	Smart	479	-17.8%	1300	-15.2%	0.0%	0.0%
#11	Subaru	49,285	0.4%	132,397	0.9%	3.1%	3.2%
#2	Toyota	182,383	-4.3%	476,616	-2.0%	11.4%	11.7%
#16	Volkswagen	26,914	-10.4%	69,314	-12.5%	1.7%	1.7%
#28	Volvo	6857	15.9%	16,361	19.2%	0.4%	0.4%
—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	Ford Motor Company	253,064	7.8%	641,587	8.4%	15.9%	15.7%
	General Motors	252,128	0.9%	683,698	-0.05%	15.8%	16.7%
	Toyota Motor Corporation	219,842	-2.7%	569,079	-1.1%	13.8%	13.9%
	FCA/Chrysler Group	213,187	8.1%	551,103	8.9%	13.3%	13.5%
	Nissan Motor Company	163,559	12.7%	400,204	8.9%	10.3%	9.8%
	Honda Motor Company	138,221	9.4%	357,703	7.1%	8.7%	8.8%
	Hyundai-Kia	133,589	-0.2%	319,651	2.1%	8.4%	7.8%
	Volkswagen Group *	49,748	-3.7%	123,774	-5.7%	3.1%	3.0%
	BMW-Mini	34,795	-13.3%	81,452	-10.8%	2.2%	2.0%
	Daimler	31,715	-3.6%	84,309	-1.1%	2.0%	2.1%
	Jaguar-Land Rover	10,866	28.8%	25,802	21.1%	0.7%	0.6%
—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
—	Total	1,595,065	3.1%	4,087,180	3.3%	—	—