The car industry last month witnessed a different kind of march madness when buyers flowed to dealers to close deals before President Trump's car rates raise the prices with thousands of dollars, different car manufacturers said.
“Last weekend was by far the best weekend that I saw in a very long time,” said Randy Parker, the Chief Executive of Hyundai Motor North America, to reporters on Tuesday. The company reported an increase of 13 percent in March on Monday compared by a year earlier.
Ford Motor said Monday that the sale of March with dealers increased by 19 percent. The turnover of Ford during the total quarter, however, 1 percent decreased, to around 500,000 vehicles, due to a decrease in sale to Fleet customers, the company said.
General Motors did not give a separate figure for March, but reported that sales in the first quarter increased by 17 percent from a year earlier, to 693,000 vehicles.
Mr. Trump said last week that he would impose 25 percent rates on imported vehicles, from Thursday. The rates are extended to imported car parts on 3 May. Many cars made in American factories contain parts that have been made abroad, and often more than 50 percent of the value of the vehicle. Analysts estimate that car manufacturers have to increase the prices of some models by more than $ 10,000 to compensate for the new taxes.
GM, Ford and Hyundai reported an increase in the sale of electric vehicles and hybrids. GM said that the sale of vehicles only doubled by batteries, up to 32,000 cars, because the electric version of the Equinox Sport Utility vehicle became available everywhere. With a starting price of around $ 35,000, the Equinox is one of the most affordable electric vehicles available in the United States.
Ford said that the sale of hybrid vehicles increased 33 percent and that the sale of electric vehicles such as the Mustang Mach-E increased by 12 percent. The sale of cars with internal combustion engines during the quarter decreased by 5 percent.
Hyundai said that hybrids turnover increased 68 percent, while the turnover of pure electric vehicles increased 3 percent.
Mr. Parker from Hyundai said he could not estimate what impact rates would have on the prices of the company. Hyundai and her sister company, Kia, have factories in Georgia and Alabama, but they import considerable number of vehicles from South Korea.
“We have not made any fixed decisions yet,” Mr. Parker said. But he added: “Don't wait to buy tomorrow what you can buy today.”
