USA March 2013: Nissan Altima finds its groove UPDATED

Nissan Altima

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 260 All-models ranking! Click on title to see *

The US new car market slows down its growth in March, up just 3% to 1,452,946 registrations which brings the year-to-date total to 3,688,662 units, up 6% on 2012. The Ford F-Series continues to impress, delivering its 20th straight month of year-on-year growth, up 16% on March 2012 to 67,513 sales, which is also its 2nd best monthly volume in the last 12 months below just last December. The Chevrolet Silverado is far behind at 39,561 units, while the best-selling Passenger Car this month is a surprise: almost a year after its launch the new generation Nissan Altima seems to finally have found its groove: in spite of sales down 8% year-on-year it is up 3 spots on February to land on the third step of the podium at 37,763 units – only 100 above the Toyota Camry.

Chrysler 200S

The Honda Accord keeps on roaring, up 36% year-on-year to 36,504 sales at #5 and still #4 year-to-date with sales up 45% on 2012. The Dodge Ram gets a kick this month, up 3 ranks on February and 25% year-on-year to #6 at 33,831 units. The Ford Fusion is down 3 to #8 but breaks the 30,000 monthly unit milestone for the very first time at a record 30,284 sales while the Ford Escape also reaches its strongest ever monthly volume at 28,934 units, up 28% to #9. The Hyundai Elantra is up 33% to #12, its highest ranking in over a year, the Ford Explorer up 40% to #17 and the Chrysler 200 up 8 spots on February to break into the Top 20 for the very first time at #19.

Chevrolet Traverse

Further down, notice the Dodge Avenger up 33% year-on-year to #32, the Chevrolet Traverse up 54% to #41, GMC Acadia up 77% to #45 and the Nissan Pathfinder up 177% to #51. As far as newcomers are concerned, the Dodge Dart is back out of the Top 50, down 8 ranks on last month to #57, the Subaru XV Crosstrek is up 15 spots to #84, the Cadillac XTS up 11 to #118 and Buick Encore up 21 to #120.

Previous month: USA February 2013: Is it the end of the tunnel for US sedans?

One year ago: USA March 2012: Nissan Altima and Honda CR-V deliver record month

Full March 2013 Top 260 All-models Ranking Table below.