Rising gasoline prices did little to cool the American love affair with light trucks in March as pickups and SUVs powered Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales to a record high for any month and helped General Motors Corp. offset a slump in car sales — though GM still fell short of forecasts.
The light-truck segment also fueled U.S. sales for three major Japanese automakers — Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. At the start of the spring selling season, the trio outpaced the sales growth of the domestic automakers, thanks to strong demand for their light-truck models.
"It's March madness," Jim Press, Toyota executive vice president, said in a statement. "Consumers closed out the first quarter with a fast-break buying spree, extending the industry's string of record-breaking months into overtime."
With U.S. consumer confidence and personal incomes showing little sign of weakening, the industry appears to be heading toward its strongest first quarter in history, Paul Ballew, GM's market analysis chief, said.
Cars and light trucks are on track to finish with a 17.9 million annual sales rate, the third-best pace, Burnham Securities Inc. analyst David Healy said.
Light trucks, which generally are less fuel-efficient than cars, were still hot sellers even though U.S. gasoline prices hit an average $1.51 a gallon last month, their highest since the U.S. government began tracking retail prices about 10 years ago. In addition, U.S. interest rates have climbed in recent months.
The sole exception among the major automakers was DaimlerChrysler AG, whose light trucks showed relatively modest 1.2 percent growth.
"The stuff people have been worried about — gas prices and interest rates — didn't seem to have much of an effect on March sales," Healy said.
GM, the world's largest automaker, said U.S. sales rose 1.1 percent, excluding its Saab unit, to 458,115 units, thanks mostly to a 16.2 percent rise in sales in light trucks. Even so, the results fell short of analysts' expectations of a 2 percent to 4 percent gain.
The disappointment for GM came after an 11.3 percent slump in U.S. car sales — or 11.6 percent when sales of GM's Saab luxury unit are included.
Ford, the world's No. 2 automaker, said total light-vehicle sales, including its upscale Jaguar and Volvo divisions, rose to 440,462 units from 410,782. That was a record for any month at Ford, topping the previous monthly sales record of 424,091 units set in June 1978.
"U.S. consumers are confirming that this is a great time to buy a new car or truck," Bob Rewey, Ford's North American sales chief, said in a statement.
Among individual models, March was a record sales month for the Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle and F-Series pickup, as well as the Focus small car and Lincoln LS sedan. Ford's truck sales, including heavy-duty vehicles, rose 5 percent while cars, including Jaguar and Volvo, rose 19.5 percent.
Jaguar sales rose 141.3 percent last month, while Volvo sales were up 9.9 percent, Ford said.