Truck Sales See Overall Dip in March

Several automakers have released sales reports, including FCA US, LLC, General Motors, and Nissan. Most automakers are seeing falling sales, which is on par for sales predictions for the 2019 calendar-year. 

FCA US LLC reported a new March record for the Ram brand as sales jumped 15%, based on the success the company has found in its two-pronged strategy of selling both the Ram 1500 and Ram Classic. The performance of the Ram brand, combined with a new March record for Jeep Grand Cherokee, countered the general softness within the industry. FCA sold a total of 200,307 vehicles in March.

Nissan announced an overall decrease of 7% in U.S. sales for March 2019, with total sales of 150,768 units. NV commercial van sales were 1,805 units, up 12% in March, but Titan sales were down 20% and Frontier sales were towen 11.9%. Overall Nissan total truck sales were down 7.5% year-over-year. 

General Motors delivered 665,840 vehicles in the first quarter of 2019, with a selling mix of trucks, SUVs, and crossovers above 80%. First-quarter 2019 average transaction prices for GM's all-new, light-duty pickups were $8,040 higher compared to their outgoing models in the first-quarter 2018, with the GMC Sierra leading the segment, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates. Combined sales of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 crew cabs were up 20% year-over-year. Crew-cab production mix is currently running above 70%, up 10-percentage points on average from the previous-generation trucks. Finally, more than 95% of the all-new GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab sales are high-end trims including SLT, AT4 and Denali.

In 2018, The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) estimated sales of 16.8 million light vehicles in the U.S., which would be the first time demand would fall below the 17-million mark since 2014.