NEW YORK (AP) — The major car companies say sales rose sharply in March, with most reporting double-digit gains. For some companies, the strong performance last month helped make up for a sluggish start to the year.
Automakers sold nearly 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in March, up 13.6%. That brought total sales for the first quarter to more than 3.9 million vehicles, Motorintelligence.com said Tuesday. Almost all automakers saw a surge in sales of electric vehicles.
What future months hold for the automakers is uncertain. President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports that go into effect on April 3. The tariffs are set to expand to applicable auto parts in the following weeks, through May 3. The tax hike means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States.
Auto industry analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Telemetry Insight said expectations were that the March numbers would be higher due to some pre-buying ahead of the imposition of tariffs, although the pre-buying was likely “limited to some degree by affordability and continuing high interest rates.”
Here's a look at the latest results:
— Overall U.S. sales rose 17% during the first quarter on strong sales of full-size pickups and SUVs.
— Chevrolet sales rose 14% during the quarter, making it the brand's best quarter since 2019.
— GMC sales rose 18% for the brand's best quarter ever, with electric vehicle sales nearly tripling.
— Total sales rose 10% in March as strong sales of the F-150 pickup and electric vehicles helped offset a drop in sales of SUVs.
— Total sales fell 1% for the first quarter due to fewer sales to rental car companies and the discontinuation of two models.
— Sales of all-electric and hybrid vehicles increased and made up about 15% of total sales for the first quarter.
— U.S. sales for Toyota Motor North America rose 7.7% in March.
— Electric vehicle sales rose 44.1% in March and represented nearly half of the overall sales volume for the month.
— Total sales for Toyota Motor North America rose 0.9% during the first quarter.
— Total sales for American Honda rose 13.2% in March as the company's light trucks notched their best month of sales.
— Electrified vehicle sales surged 89.1% in March and made up nearly a third of all vehicle sales.
— Total sales rose 5.3% during the first quarter, as a surge in truck sales offset a drop in car sales.
— Total sales rose 5.7% in the first quarter, boosted by gains for the Sentra sedan and the Kicks compact crossover.
— Sales of the Leaf electric vehicle doubled in the quarter.
— Total sales for Hyundai Motor America rose 13% in March, led by sales of the Tucson and Santa FE SUVs and the Elantra Sedan.
— Total sales for the first quarter rose 10%.
— First-quarter sales of the company's hybrid-electric vehicles jumped 68%.
— Kia America said sales rose 13.1% in March and 10.7% for the first quarter.
FILE - The new Toyota Prius 2024 on display at the AutoMobility LA Auto Show, Nov. 16, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - The 2024 Ford F-150 truck is assembled at the Dearborn Truck Plant, April 11, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting continued to rage Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire.
Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented on Trump’s claim. Its defense ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trump’s claim without elaborating.
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border.
The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded.
Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed,' Hun Manet wrote.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
