Improvement in Auto Sales Continues During March; GM Regains Top Spot

General Motors took back the top spot in sales from rival Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) in March although both companies showed strong growth in year-over-year sales.

Incentives were the driving force in March as automakers attempted to counteract the deep discounts given by Toyota (NYSE: TM) following a massive safety recalls that tarnished its reputation of quality. Automakers have tried for years to reduce incentives and sell strictly on the strength of their products, but the heavy level of competition has not allowed this to take place.

For March, GM reported a 21 percent increase in new vehicle sales and a 43 percent jump in sales from its four core brands. Strong performance in the latter category was led by the Chevrolet Equinox midsize crossover and the Buick LaCrosse sedan. Total units sold came in at 188,546 for the month of March.

Ford, which is planning to sell its Volvo brand to China’s Geely, dropped back behind GM this month after temporarily leaping to the top of the February sales chart. March marked the 17th in the last 18 months that Ford increased its US market share.

Ford saw sales jump 43 percent this month to 178,546 new vehicles, which accounted for the highest monthly sales increase for the company since February 1984. The Fusion model sales increased 79 percent from the same month last year.

Also on the US automaker front, Chrysler reported an 8% drop in March sales.

Toyota saw sales increase 35.3 percent from March of last year. Total units came to 186,863 autos as the company's incentives were effective in luring customers into showrooms with incentives averaging $3,500 per vehicle. The Japanese company had to recall over 8 million units due to safety issues with many of its most popular models.

“Toyota’s strong sales performance in March reflects our customers’ continued confidence in the safety and reliability of our vehicles and their trust in the brand,” said Don Esmond, senior vice president ot Toyota Motor sales in the U.S. “We are standing by our cars, and we’re grateful that our customers are standing by Toyota.”

Nissan Motor Co. reported Wednesday that its sales increased by 35 percent, while Hyundai Motor Co showed sales were up 15.4 percent in March from a year earlier.

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