U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: March 2017 YTD

March 2017’s U.S. auto sales volume dropped nearly 2 percent compared with March 2016, failing to live up to forecasts that expected March to be the best end to the first-quarter in nearly two decades.

Despite record volume at Nissan and Infiniti, continued growth at Subaru, meaningful gains at Buick, GMC, Dodge, Mitsubishi, and Ram, a third consecutive month of improvement at Mazda, and minor improvements at numerous other brands, auto sales fell below March 2016 levels because of declines at Ford, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler. Hyundai and Kia combined for an 11-percent slide.

A third consecutive month of year-over-year decline for the industry suggests doom and gloom, as does the fact that inventories are ballooning and incentives are rising. Auto sales remain high, however, and only in comparison with 2016 — a banner year for the industry — do sales appear poor. Through the first-quarter of 2017, U.S. auto sales are down by less than 2 percent.

Auto BrandMarch 2017March 2016% Change2017 YTD2016 YTD% ChangeAcura 11,69614,852-21.2%31,76237,875-16.1%Alfa Romeo 555431,191%1,106158600%Audi 18,70518,3921.7%45,64741,9608.8%BMW 31,01530,0333.3%71,68270,6131.5%Buick 20,95718,20715.1%50,20554,287-7.5%Cadillac 12,86113,053-1.5%33,96235,633-4.6%Chevrolet 172,458176,283-2.2%471,723472,730-0.2%Chrysler 16,96925,373-33.1%47,07670,424-33.2%Dodge 50,07645,629 9.7%134,063140,916-4.9%Fiat 2,9223,085 -5.3%7,2318,115-10.9%Ford 225,341243,375-7.4%586,462616,682-4.9%Genesis 1,755——5,155——GMC 49,94844,58512.0%133,611121,04810.4%Honda 125,531123,3691.8%333,531319,9284.3%Hyundai 67,51075,310 -10.4%163,637173,330-5.6%Infiniti 18,26613,77532.6%43,56132,66033.4%Jaguar 4,9532,133 132%11,3764,997128%Jeep 67,98376,540 -11.2%188,743212,370-11.1%Kia 49,42958,279-15.2% 127,728146,321-12.7%Land Rover 7,9658,733 -8.8%19,87520,805-4.5%Lexus 27,93530,198-7.5%61,84574,221-16.7%Lincoln 9,5549,689-1.4%27,08324,9058.7%Maserati 1,31299731.6%3,2882,25046.1%Mazda 24,54923,3964.9%69,07164,6446.8%Mercedes-Benz ° 29,09228,164 3.3% 79,141 75,769 4.5% Mercedes-Benz Vans ° 2,8713,072 -6.5% 7,433 7,240 2.7% Total Mercedes-Benz ° 31,96331,2362.3% 86,57483,0094.3%Mini 4,9874,7624.7%10,25110,839-5.4%Mitsubishi 11,76611,078 6.2%29,14725,21215.6%Nissan 150,566149,7840.5%373,330217,76071.4%Porsche 4,4794,3233.6%12,71812,2383.9%Ram 51,74948,797 6.0%132,579126,1545.1%Smart 389479-18.9%1,0611,300-18.4%Subaru 54,87149,28511.3%144,250132,3979.0%Toyota †187,289189,644-1.2%470,766494,859-4.9%Volkswagen 27,63526,9142.7%76,29069,31410.1%Volvo 5,3566,857-21.9%13,47916,361-17.6%————— ——BMW-Mini 36,00234,7953.5%81,93381,4520.6%Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 190,254199,467-4.6%510,798558,137-8.5%DaimlerAG32,35231,7152.0%87,63584,3093.9%Ford Motor Co.234,895253,064-7.2%613,545641,587-4.4%General Motors 256,224252,1281.6%689,521683,6980.9%Honda Motor Co.137,227138,221-0.7%363,293 357,7032.1%Hyundai-Kia 118,694133,589-11.1%296,520 319,651-7.2%Jaguar-Land Rover 12,91810,86618.9%31,251 25,80221.1%Nissan Motor Co./Mitsubishi180,598174,6373.4%446,038425,4164.8%Toyota Motor Corp.215,224219,842-2.1%532,611 569,080-6.4%Volkswagen Group *51,06849,7482.7%135,207123,7749.2%———————Industry Total **1,554,9981,581,300 -1.7% 4,030,5934,094,065 -1.6%

Source: Manufacturers

* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands

° Mercedes-Benz USA releases sales figures for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the conventional sense, vans excluded, as well as totals for the Metris and Sprinter vans. The complete picture is included here.

† Toyota’s sales figures include those of Toyota’s discontinued Scion brand.

** Industry total takes into account Automotive News figures/estimates for brands such as Tesla (3,000 March units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.