WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is a summary of the March U.S.
sales performance of select auto manufacturers announced Tuesday:

* With 100% reported, U.S. car sales in March were running at
499,034 without seasonal adjustment, and a 413,381 seasonally adjusted,
an adjusted annual rate of 4.96 million. Light truck sales were an
unadjusted 542,625 and adjusted were 478,928, annualized adjusted 5.75
million.

* General Motors Co. Tuesday reported total March sales of
231,052 vehicles in the United States, up 12% year over year. Total GM
passenger car sales increased 22%, with small and compact car sales up a
combined 62%. Compact crossover sales were up 47% and mid-size car sales
were up 38%. Full-size pickup sales were up 14%. The company’s retail
deliveries increased 14% compared with March 2011 and accounted for 74%
of GM sales. Deliveries to fleets increased 6%.

* Ford Motor Tuesday reported its best March U.S. sales month
since 2007, with total company sales at 223,418 vehicles, a 5% gain over
year-ago levels. Retail sales increased 11% for the month. For the first
quarter, Ford Motor Company’s sales were up 9% versus year-ago levels,
totaling 539,247 vehicles sold. Car sales at Ford Motor Company were up
8%. Utility sales totaled 150,415 vehicles, a 6% increase versus
year-ago levels. Ford Motor Company truck sales increased 11%, with
195,807 vehicles sold.

* Toyota Motor Sales Tuesday reported its best March results
since 2008 with sales of 203,282 units, an increase of 11.2% compared to
March 2011 on a daily selling rate basis. On a raw volume basis,
unadjusted for 28 selling days in March 2012 compared to 27 selling days
in March 2011, TMS sales were up 15.4% over the year-ago month. For the
first quarter, TMS reported sales of 487,284 vehicles, an increase of
9.4% over the same period in 2011 on a DSR basis. With 77 selling days
in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 75 selling days in the first
quarter of 2011, sales were up 12.3% on an unadjusted raw volume basis.
Toyota Division passenger cars recorded combined sales of 113,135 units,
up 19.5% over March 2011. Toyota Division light trucks recorded March
sales of 70,007 units, an increase of 5.1% compared to March 2011.

* Chrysler Group Tuesday reported U.S. sales of 163,381 units, a
34% increase compared with sales in March 2011 (121,730 units), and the
group’s best monthly sales in four years. Chrysler Group finished the
month with a 59-days supply of inventory (346,939 units). Chrysler brand
sales (34,726 units) increased 70 percent in March versus the same month
a year ago (20,463 units).

* Nissan North America Tuesday reported March U.S. sales of
136,317 units versus 121,141 units a year earlier, an increase of 12.5%,
and a record for any month in the company’s history. Nissan Division
sales also set a new sales record, up 14.8% for the month at 126,132
units. Sales of Infiniti vehicles were down 9.8% from the prior year, to
10,185 units.

* American Honda Motor Co. Tuesday reported March 2012 monthly
new-vehicle sales of 126,999, a decrease of 8.4% over March 2011, based
on the daily selling rate. The Honda Division posted March 2012 sales of
115,833, a decrease of 7.7% year-over-year. Honda’s year-over-year
decline is in reference to an exceptionally strong sales month in March
2011.

* Hyundai Motor America Thursday announced an all-time monthly
sales record of 69,728 units, up 13% over last March, which held the
previous record. For the first quarter, Hyundai sales were up 15% over
2011.

* Mazda North American Operations Tuesday reported March U.S.
sales of 32,376 vehicles, representing an increase of 4.8% versus last
year and best total month of sales since March 2008. Year-to-date sales
through March are up 27.1% (23.8% DSR) versus last year, with 82,023
vehicles sold.

* Kia Motors America Tuesday reported an all-time best monthly
sales total of 57,505 for March, a 30.2% increase over the same period
in 2011. Kia’s U.S. sales are up 31.8% year-to-date.

* Volkswagen of America Tuesday reported 36,588 units sold in
March, a 34.6% increase over prior year sales and best March since 1973.

* Subaru of America Tuesday reported record sales for March 2012
of 32,387 vehicles, a 20.33% gain over March 2011. The company also
reported year-to-date sales of 80,568, more than 19% gain over prior
year. March 2012 was the second best sales month in Subaru history,
behind only December 2011.

* Porsche Cars North America Tuesday announced March 2012 sales
of 2,460 vehicles. This compares to 2,588 vehicles last March, a 5%
decrease. For the year, Porsche has sold 7,159 cars in the U.S., which
is a 2% increase over last year’s sales of 7,007.

* Audi Tuesday reported its 15th straight record-setting month
of sales with 11,585 luxury vehicles sold in March 2012. The results
surpassed the prior March record set in 2011 by 1,767 vehicles.
Additionally, the March 2012 results rank as the third-best monthly
sales overall for the brand in its U.S. history. Year-over-year vehicle
sales increased 18% over March 2011, and recorded 16.1% year-to-date
growth compared to 2011.

* The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported
March sales of 29,806 vehicles, an increase of 13% from the 26,382
vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, the BMW Group
(BMW and MINI combined) achieved its best first quarter sales since the
record year of 2007 retailing 75,729 vehicles, up 16.6% compared to
64,957 vehicles sold in the first three months of 2011.

* Mercedes-Benz USA Tuesday reported a record March with sales
of 23,134 for its Mercedes-Benz models, a 7.7 % improvement over March
2011 leading to the highest first quarter volume on record with sales of
61,513, up 15.3%. Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles,
smart and Sprinter for the month totaled 25,508, up 13.1%, and for the
year-to-date 66,906, up 19.5 %.

* American Suzuki Tuesday reported U.S. March sales of 2,631,
compared to 2,497 in March last year.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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