March 2014 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers

Spring is here and the U.S. automotive market saw its overall sales rise six percent in March, shaking off the slow start to 2014.

Compared to 2013, the seasonally adjusted sales rate has grown from 15.3-million units in 2013 to 16.4-million units and is the best showing since November 2013, and among the highest in the past seven years. But the big question is, who were the winners and losers for March 2014 compared to the year past? You might be surprised to see which automakers have grown in sales and which have taken a significant hit in comparison to the same period 12 months ago.

Luxury American automaker Lincoln saw its sales increase from 6,825 units in March 2013 to 8,969 units last month, signaling a 31-percent increase. For the year, Lincoln has sold 21,603 vehicles which also marks a 36-percent increase compared to the first three months of 2013’s sales, which was 15,899 units. Leading the way for the brand was the MKZ model, which saw its sales jump 72 percent to 4,052 and accounting for nearly half of all Lincoln sales last month.

Despite the fact that the new Jeep Cherokee’s styling was controversial, the model helped the American automaker see significant growth compared to last year’s March. In total, Jeep moved 57,983 vehicles last month, a 47-percent increase over March 2013’s number of 39,469. Compared to February sales, the Jeep Cherokee rose 17 percent to 13,796 units, its second-best monthly sales performance since it arrived dealerships last October. Both the Compass and Patriot experienced their best sales month ever while the Wrangler set a new March record.

Perhaps the biggest winner on the list is Mitsubishi, with the Japanese automaker experiencing a monumental 70-percent increase in sales compared to March 2013. Last year, the brand moved just 5,286 vehicles in March but this year saw 8,996 leave dealership lots in the U.S.

For the year, it has seen its sales increase 24 percent, a promising sign for an automaker that has been struggling for the past few years in the U.S. market. While it’s not a huge impact on Mitsubishi’s sales, it’s worth noting that the automaker’s i-MiEV saw 24 units moved last month, a significant increase to the three that sold in February.

The biggest winner for March 2014 was Italian luxury automaker Maserati, which saw 963 vehicles sold in the U.S. compared to 218 in March 2013. The brand continues to grow its presence in the U.S. on the strength of its new models, including the more affordable Ghibli sedan. Even more telling is its sales figures compared to the first three months of 2013, when Maserati only moved 549 units. Through three months this year, the automaker has sold 2,368 vehicles, an increase of 331 percent.

Now comes March 2014’s biggest losers, with Cadillac seeing its sales dip ever so slightly by six percent. In March 2013, the American luxury automaker had sold 15,751 vehicles while this year it only moved 14,765 units. Perhaps even more telling for the brand is that its sales has dropped seven percent overall for the year compared to last, but it does have some new models on the horizon. Don’t be surprised to see the brand finish off the year strong.

Scion has become a stagnant brand over recent years, with only the FR-S being its major new offering. Even then, the sports car’s sales have been surprisingly slow, attributing to the brand’s decrease of eight percent compared to last year’s March. In total, Scion moved 26 percent fewer FR-S models in March 2014, than in March 2013.

In total, Scion sold 5,917 vehicles last month compared to March 2013’s value of 6,432. Even worse, for the year Scion has seen its sales dip 12 percent from 16,377 units to 14,457 units.

It’s probably no surprise to see that the Smart brand continues to struggle in the U.S., with sales continuing to drop throughout the year. Last month, only 775 new Smart owners drove off dealership lots compared to 929 last year, marking a 17-percent decrease. There’s a little bit of a bright light however as the brand has seen its sales increase two percent compared to last year (2,193 units vs. 2,237 units) but it’s likely to falter as the months go on.

As an automotive conglomerate, the Chrysler Group saw an overall increase in sales of 13 percent, but the Chrysler brand continues to struggle. Last month, the American automaker saw its sales drop 23 percent year-over-year to 26,140 units and is down nine percent for the year. Luckily, the Chrysler Group had strong demand for its Jeep and Ram divisions, with Ram deliveries up 29 percent while Jeep was a noted winner, climbing 47 percent. Even Fiat saw its sales rise 24 percent compared to last year.

With the new 2015 Chrysler 200 on sale soon, the brand could certainly use the boost.

SEE ALSO: 2015 Chrysler 200 Review

Yikes! MINI was the biggest loser for the month as it watched its sales drop a whopping 40 percent from 6,071 units in March 2013 to 3,655 units last month. It’s worth mentioning however the all-new Cooper will be arriving dealerships shortly and it’s likely that MINI will recover somewhat from the drought. Competitor Fiat sold more vehicles than MINI last month with 4,738 units and even brands such as Land Rover (4,399 units) and Porsche (3,808 units) bested MINI.

SEE ALSO: 2014 MINI Cooper S Review