While the overall sales pace slowed down slightly in March compared to February (13.1 million SAAR vs. 13.4 in February) numerous brands posted their strongest sales ever. Hyundai, Nissan and Kia all reported best monthly sales in history while Audi, Mercedes, and Porsche reported best March sales in recent history. Subaru recorded its second best month ever, driven by newly released models the Chrysler group saw best sales in three years while Volkswagen reported best sales in 7 years on a near two-fold increase in Jetta sales. March was also a special month for Ford (up 28.2%) as it outsold General Motors for the first time since February 2010. Among major manufacturers only Toyota posted a sales decline (-6.6) while its luxury division Lexus was nearly flat. On the luxury front Porsche, Land Rover, Audi, Infiniti, and BMW experienced double digit sales growth.
Do you see the automotive industry continuing to sustain strong sales or will supplier issues and high gas prices curtail sales in the near future?
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