Automakers Report Sales Slide in First Quarter Sealed by Tough March Numbers
Most of the top automakers in the U.S. saw new vehicle sales slump in the first quarter, many of them pointing to big drops in March sales as the cause for Q1 deficits.
According to GlobalData, March deliveries slid 14 percent to 1.4 million vehicles with retail deliveries down 16 percent, Automotive News reported. It might be easier to list the companies that didn’t report declines, but General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, BMW, Kia, Tesla, and Rivian were all down during Q1.
Despite this, the automakers in the red were in full spin mode. GM’s Q1 sales fell 9.7 percent, and executives said they expected the rest of the industry to post similar numbers. However, the company found a silver lining.
“We saw showroom traffic and sales steadily improve after January’s storms and March was a much stronger month,” said Duncan Aldred, GM senior vice president and president of North America. “We are well positioned for the future because of our operating discipline and the compelling value we offer, from affordable SUVs to premium vehicles and trucks.”
The company also noted sales last March were “exceptionally high,” which added to the tough numbers this quarter. GM wasn’t alone, others posted big red Q1 numbers as well, including Ford (-8.8), Honda (-4.2), Nissan (-7.5), BMW (-3.9), Subaru (-14.9), and Mazda (-14.4) were all down. Toyota nearly escaped, posting a 0.1 percent decline for the first three months of the year, but an 8.5 percent drop in March nudged the company into red numbers.
Some offered unique takes on the difficult quarter.
“Ford’s strategic shift toward high-margin SUVs like Expedition and Explorer lifted its estimated retail market share to 11.6 percent —- a 0.2 percentage point increase. This gain was achieved even as the company managed the planned sunsetting of the Escape and Lincoln Corsair,” the company wrote in its sales release. Ford’s Q1 results were down nearly 9 percent.
However, not everyone was down. Kia posted its best first quarter ever, sales rising 4 percent. Much of that was led by the arrival of the 2027 Telluride, which saw sales jump 20 percent. However, it wasn’t alone as Sportage (8 percent), Carnival (9 percent) and the little K4 (1 percent) all set new record highs for the quarter.
“Kia continues to see strong customer demand and steady growth, leading to our best-ever first quarter sales total,” said Eric Watson, vice president, sales operations, Kia America. “The all-new 2027 Kia Telluride has been well received by U.S. automotive media and is a key addition to the success we are seeing across our lineup of sedans, SUVs and electrified models.”
Kia’s big brother, Hyundai, managed to eke out a 1 percent increase for the first quarter, riding its electrified vehicles into black numbers.
“Hyundai closed the first quarter with a 1 percent year-over-year increase in total sales, delivering the strongest first quarter in our history and underscoring the resilience of our business in a highly competitive market,” said Randy Parker, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America.
“That growth reflects the strength of our balanced portfolio strategy, led by strong demand for our SUVs and record results across our hybrid electric and electrified lineup. With the support of our dealers and the confidence of our customers, Hyundai continues to build sustainable momentum across every powertrain and key segment.”
[Images: Kia, Hyundai]
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Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.
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I read the GM press release about first quarter sales 2026 vs 2025 and Buick is getting its butt kicked:
Buick Total* 41,654 61,822 -32.6
The future is bleak for Buick.
The 3 Amigos better hope that the oil spike is short lived as 4-5 dollar a gallon gas would put a damper on their cash cows especially "Ford's strategic shift" of killing off the escape/Lincoln cousin. Most other automakers have a full line of vehicles with much better full economy. GM is sucking air and its Cadillac devision is mostly EV and geriatric line up of ICE cars and SUV's that were supposed to be phased out this year. The expensive gas may push shoppers toward EV but GM's horrible EV reliability is a barrier.