Data Point
Strong Q1 Fleet Numbers Stave Off Larger New-Vehicle Sales Loss
Thursday April 11, 2019
The first-quarter of 2019 came to a close last week, with new-vehicle sales in March coming in slightly stronger than anticipated as the quarter closed. Still, sales in Q1 2019 were down 2.7% versus year-ago levels. Had it not been for strong fleet numbers the results would have been worse. Retail sales were down 4% through the quarter, while fleet sales jumped 6%.
At the corporate level, more companies were down than up, with big drops at Mazda (-15.7%) and Nissan (-12.1%). Tesla’s sales success (+78.7%) can’t be ignored, but newly-introduced Model 3 sales in Q1 this year more than explain the growth. For Tesla, the year-on-year growth comparisons will only get harder through the remainder of the year.
| 2019-Q1 | 2018-Q1 | YOY | |
| American Honda | 369,787 | 362,491 | 2.0% |
| BMW Group | 82,793 | 84,368 | -1.9% |
| Daimler | 78,878 | 86,981 | -9.3% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 498,425 | 514,769 | -3.2% |
| Ford Motor Co | 586,956 | 596,794 | -1.6% |
| GM | 677,814 | 715,794 | -5.3% |
| Hyundai Kia | 288,383 | 275,823 | 4.6% |
| Mazda | 70,833 | 83,995 | -15.7% |
| Mitsubishi | 42,067 | 35,821 | 17.4% |
| Nissan NA | 365,851 | 416,003 | -12.1% |
| Subaru | 156,754 | 149,703 | 4.7% |
| Tata | 35,250 | 32,295 | 9.2% |
| Tesla Motors* | 32,125 | 17,980 | 78.7% |
| Toyota Motor Co | 543,716 | 572,033 | -5.0% |
| Volvo NA | 22,058 | 20,083 | 9.8% |
| VW | 149,011 | 147,958 | 0.7% |
| Grand Total | 4,000,701 | 4,112,891 | -2.7% |
*Tesla estimate from InsideEVs.com