USA March/Q1 2024: Market up 5%, Toyota (+21.3%), Honda (+20.9%) shine

Toyota RAV4 sales are up 47.4% year-on-year in Q1.

New light vehicle sales in the US edge up 5.1% in March to an estimated 1,455,000 units. Passenger cars are stable at 294,000 sales and 20.2% share while light trucks (pickups+SUVs) climb 6.5% to 1,161,000 and 79.8% share. The Seasonally Adjusted Annualised Rate of sales (SAAR) is up to 15.56 million vs. 15.02 million in March 2023. This means the Q1 volume is also up 5.1% to an estimated 3.77 million units. Passenger cars are up 1.3% to 755,000 and light trucks up 6.1% to 3.02 million.

Over Q1, General Motors (-1.5%) remains the most popular group in the country with just over 590,000 sales but drops year-on-year. Toyota Motor (+20.3%) soars to 2nd place, overtaking Ford Motor (+7%), both manufacturers outrunning the market. Hyundai-Kia (-0.8%) and Stellantis (-9.6%) disappoint wares American Honda (+17.3%) and Nissan Motor/Mitsubishi (+9.5%) post solid scores. The Volkswagen Group (+1.1%) is up but trails the market growth.

Brand-wise, Toyota (+21.3%) reclaims the top spot it held over the Full Year 2023 with 487,000 sales, distancing Ford (+6%) and Chevrolet (-2.2%). Honda (+20.9%) catches up on a drab year-ago performance with Nissan (+8.5%) also beating the market. Subaru (+6.7%) also impresses at #9 but Tesla (-13.2%) endures the steepest fall in the Top 12. Volkswagen (+21%), Buick (+16.4%), Lexus (+15%) and Mazda (+13.3%) also shine below. In contrast Ram (-26%), Audi (-16.2%) and Dodge (-15.7%) are all hit hard. Rivian (+70.1%) ranks #31 and Ineos lands at #36.

Over in the models ranking, the Ford F-Series continues to dominate but drops a worrying -10.2% year-on-year. The Chevrolet Silverado (+2.9%) follows but is threatened by the Toyota RAV4 (+47.4%) surging to #3 overall. The Tesla Model Y (-4.1%) ranks 4th despite a year-on-year loss, ahead of the Honda CR-V (+41.3%) back in great shape. Below the Nissan Rogue (+18.7%) also strong at #6, we find the Ram Pickup (-15.1%) freefalling from its traditional third place to #7. The Toyota Camry (+18.6%) and Honda Civic (+36%) are the only two passenger cars in the Top 10, ranking #8 and #10 respectively.  The Tesla Cybertruck is estimated to sell over 4,000 units over the period.

Previous month: USA February 2024: Honda, Lincoln stand out in market up 6.3%

One year ago: USA March/Q1 2023: General Motors, Ford Motor overtake Toyota Motor, Q1 market up 7.8%

Full Q1 2024 Top 15 groups, Top 50 All brands and Top 305 All models below.