U.S. Auto Sales Up 3.8% Last Month

U.S. auto sales rose 3.8% in March from a year earlier, as Asian automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. captured market share from U.S.-based competitors. General Motors Corp. was the only U.S. automaker to gain ground, according to figures released Thursday.

Automakers sold 1.51 million cars and trucks in March, Autodata Corp. said. Japan-based Toyota’s sales climbed 5.5%, while Ford Motor Co.’s sales rose 2.7% and DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler fell 2%.

Asian automakers gained market share for the fourth straight month, and the 13th month in 14, because buyers perceive their vehicles to be better made. Market share of U.S.-based automakers fell to 59.3% from 59.8% a year earlier, while the Asian share rose almost a full percentage point to 34.1%.

Sales at General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, climbed 5.9% in March and its market share rose 0.6 percentage point to 27%, excluding sales at its Saab unit in Europe. It was the second straight monthly gain in share.

U.S. automakers are depending on light trucks, which include sport utility vehicles and minivans, to halt the loss of market share to Asian automakers such as Toyota. Light-truck sales gained 3.9% at General Motors and 8.4% at Ford last month.

The March annual sales rate was 16.7 million vehicles, compared with 16.2 million a year ago, Autodata said, and up from 16.4 million in February.

Nissan Motor Co., the No. 3 Japanese automaker, said March sales increased 30%, boosted by new models including the Titan pickup.

Honda Motor Co., the second-biggest Japanese automaker, said its 4.8% decline stemmed from lower sales of Accord sedans and Odyssey minivans.

A strengthening economy enabled automakers in March to avoid raising incentives for the first time in three months, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc. Spending by automakers on rebates and no-interest loans declined $77 to $3,769 per vehicle in March from February.

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler need to cut back on incentive spending to boost profitability as they lose market share to Asian competitors, analysts have said.

The combined share of GM, Ford and Chrysler declined to 59.1% for the first quarter from 60.2% in same period in 2003, according to Autodata.