February 2013 Auto Sales: GM, Ford Lead as Industry Reports 4% Percent Growth

Today is the 1st of March and that only means one thing… February is rapidly fading into the rear-view mirror. How well did automakers fare in the second month of the year? Here’s a look at some of the big sales stories from the last 28 days.

Looking at overall sales in the United States last month automakers moved nearly 1.2 million new cars and trucks, a 4 percent increase compared to 2012.

Among major automakers Ford and GM did pretty well. The General’s sales grew by 7 percent with each of its four divisions posting gains. All together they moved nearly 225,000 Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC vehicles. The housing market is slowly improving, a factor that’s helping boost sales of money-making pickup trucks.

The Blue Oval’s total sales were up 9 percent year-over-year, and the Ford division was solely responsible for that growth. Lincoln, the company’s besieged luxury brand saw its sales drop 29 percent in February! This is the division’s sixth straight month of declining sales. How they’re going to turn Lincoln around is a mystery. Maybe the new MKZ midsize luxury sedan will come to the rescue.

Ford’s SUV deliveries grew by 21 percent while car volume increased by 6 percent. One particularly bright area was the Explorer, which posted a 59 percent gain.

Surprisingly Honda and Hyundai sales dropped, if only a little bit. In February they declined by 2 and 3 percent respectively. Acura’s sales were up 1 percent but the luxury brand’s volume wasn’t enough to offset Honda’s losses.

Chrysler grew by 4 percent as did Toyota, and just like GM all of its divisions posted gains. Subaru was also up with a healthy 11 percent increase, but only 28,163 vehicles were delivered.

Daimler’s sales grew by 22 percent, buoyed by the Mercedes-Benz brand, which was up 23 percent. The smart division was no help to that total. Only 783 smart cars found new homes in February.

Interestingly Mitsubishi, a brand clinging to life in North America, saw its sales grow by an impressive 28 percent. Regrettably their total was only 6,051.

[Source: Automotive News]