The automaker watched a different kind of madness in March last month, as buyers flock to delegations to lock the deals before President Trump’s car prices raise the prices of thousands of dollars, several manufacturers said.
“Last weekend was by far the best weekend I’ve ever seen,” Randy Parker, chief executive of Hyundai Motor North America, told reporters on Tuesday. The company reported a 13 % increase in March sales on Monday compared to the previous year.
Ford Motor said Monday that March sales in delegations were increased by 19 %. However, Ford’s sales during the total quarter were reduced by 1 %to about 500,000 vehicles due to a decrease in sales to fleet customers, the company said.
General Motors did not provide a separate number for March, but reported that sales in the first quarter increased by 17 % from the previous year to 693,000 vehicles.
Mr Trump said last week that he would impose 25 % invoices on imported vehicles, effective on Thursday. The invoices will extend to the imported car parts on May 3. Many cars manufactured in US factories contain abroad, often exceeding 50 % of the value of the vehicle. Analysts estimate that manufacturers should raise the prices of certain models by more than $ 10,000 to offset new contributions.
Several highways reported sharp increases in electric vehicles and hybrid sales, while car sales powered exclusively by internal combustion engines increased more moderate or decreased.
GM said sales of vehicles powered by batteries only had almost doubled in 32,000 cars, as the electric version of the Equinox Sport Utility vehicle became widely available. At a starting price of about $ 35,000, Equinox is one of the most affordable electric vehicles available in the United States.
Toyota said sales of hybrids and electric vehicles in the North America unit increased by 44 % in March to 113,000 vehicles and represented almost half of total sales. Toyota dominates the hybrid market, but is a relatively small player in fully electric vehicles.
Ford said sales of hybrid vehicles in the first trimester had increased by 33 % and that electric vehicles such as Mustang Mach-e had increased by 12 %. Sales of cars with internal combustion engines were reduced by 5 %.
Hyundai said quarterly hybrid sales had increased by 68 %, while sales of net electric vehicles increased by 3 %. And BMW said its electric vehicles sales increased by 26 % in the United States. Including BMW cars with internal combustion engines, US sales of the US increased by 4 % in the first quarter.
Mr Parker of Hyundai said he could not appreciate what the impact prices on the company’s prices would have. Hyundai and her sister, Kia, have factories in Georgia and Alabama, but import a significant number of vehicles from South Korea.
“We haven’t made stable decisions yet,” Mr Parker said. But he added, “Don’t expect to buy tomorrow what you can buy today.”
