In March 2013, the sales volume of light vehicles in the United States reached 1.45 million units, an increase of approximately 3% compared with the same period in 2012. Sales in the first quarter reached 3.69 million units, representing a year-on-year increase of 6%.

According to Autodata, in March, the sales volume of light vehicles in the US auto market was 1,453,038 units, an increase of 3.4% from 1,404,699 units in March 2012. This is also the highest monthly sales volume since reaching a peak of 1.48 million units in August 2007. In the first quarter, the cumulative sales of light vehicles in the United States reached 3,689,089 units, compared with 3,467,609 units in the same period of 2012, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.4%. Although the proportion has slowed down compared to the double-digit figures in several months of 2012, March is usually a month with a relatively high comparison base.

In March, sales of sedans in the United States slightly declined by 1% year-on-year to 759,172 units, while sales of light trucks (including SUVs and pickup trucks) increased by 9% year-on-year to 693,866 units.

Based on the sales rate of the current month and the expected annual sales volume, the seasonally adjusted annualized sales volume (SAAR) is 15.25 million units. This is the fifth consecutive month since 2008 that the SAAR in the US auto market has exceeded 15 million units. In November 2012, it was 15.56 million units; in December, it was 15.38 million units; in January 2013, it was 15.3 million units; and in February, it was 15.36 million units.