US automakers face diminishing March sales as consumers ditch passenger vehicles

US automakers reported widespread sales declines in March as Americans continued to eschew passenger vehicles. Industry consultants JD Power and LMC Automotive predicted a 2.1% decline in US auto sales In March, pinning the drop on bad weather, mixed economic data and lower tax refunds, Reuters reported.

Changing preferences helped offset some of the losses, as consumers frequently opted for SUVs and trucks, which are more profitable for companies.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), the top-selling automaker in the US, saw sales fall 7% in its first quarter to 655,840 vehicles year over year. The average transaction price increased by $8,040, indicating that even as consumers bought fewer cars, they chose more expensive ones when they did.

Shares increased by 0.2% to $37.82 on Tuesday.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) posted a 7% drop in sales for March to 200,307 vehicles from 216,063, per MarketWatch. The company’s Jeep brand dropped 11% to 87,328 vehicles and the Chrysler brand plummeted 38% to 12,169. Ram was the lone bright spot, growing 15% to 51,822. Within Ram, pickup sales increased 9%.

Its stock jumped 1.3% to $15.43.

The competition for space in the lucrative pickup market is heating up as both automakers recently launched redesigned pickup trucks. This quarter, Fiat Chrysler’s Ram trucks beat out GM’s Chevy.

Ford (NYSE:T), which has held the top spot among truck sales for decades, reports quarterly results on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Detroit automaker unveiled its latest Escape SUV.

Shares of the automaker edged up 0.4% to $9.02.

Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) sold 214,947 vehicles in North America in March, a 3.5% decrease from last year.  Sales of the Tacoma, Toyota’s truck model, were up 12.6%, posting their best ever March and 17th consecutive month of increased sales.

The Japanese automaker saw its stock grow 0.7% to $120.70.

Contact Andrew Kessel at [email protected]

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Story by ProactiveInvestors