Carmakers Report 4.6% Rise in Sales for March

Automakers sold 1.6 million new passenger vehicles in the United States in March, up 4.6% over a year earlier, according to reports released Friday.

But domestic manufacturers’ market share continued to shrink, despite gains by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Germany’s DaimlerChrysler.

Asian brands, led by Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. -- both with 17% sales hikes -- held a 36.2% market share in March, up from 34.1% a year earlier. The gains came from both car and truck sales.

Domestic brands -- minus their European subsidiaries -- dropped to 58.1% from 59.3%. European brands’ share fell as well, to 5.7% from 6.5%.

GM reversed two months of declines with a 2.5% increase in March sales, propelled by strong truck sales. Its market share rose to 27% from a modern era low of 24.4% in February.

Ford Motor Co. sales fell 1.7% as strong car sales were offset by falling sales of its SUVs. Its market share fell to 18.1% from 19.2%.

Chrysler’s sales rose 7.6%, raising its market share to 13.5% from 13.1%.