US car sales spiraled in Q1 as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rock the economy

Fiat Chrysler US reported a 10% decrease in first-quarter sales compared to the same period in 2019. The company sold 446,768 vehicles in Q1 of 2020, while it sold 498,425 units during the first quarter of 2019.

Despite the overall slump, sales of Ram pickup trucks rose by 7%, while sales of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan increased by 5%.

Hyundai Motor America reported an 11% drop in Q1 sales compared to the same period last year. In March, when the pandemic really began to hit the US hard, the automaker sold 35,118 units — 43% fewer than it sold in March 2019.

Mazda North America reported year-to-date sales of 67,670 units, down only 4.5% from last year's Q1 sales.

In March, the company sold 15,664 vehicles, a 41.8% decrease compared to the same month last year.

US sales fell nearly 30% for Nissan and its Infiniti brand, as it reported sales totaling 257,606 vehicles in Q1 of 2020. That's more than 100,000 fewer vehicles than it sold during the same three months in 2019.

Mitsubishi Motors North America's sales plummeted 52% last month compared to March 2019.

Year-to-date sales amount to 35,563 vehicles, down 15.5% from the same time last year.

General Motors said it delivered 618,335 vehicles from January through March 2020, a 7% decrease compared to the same timeframe last year.

Each of GM's four brands saw a drop in sales. Buick had the most dramatic year-over-year slump, selling 34.7% fewer cars than it did in Q1 of 2019.

Kia Motors America said it sold 137,945 vehicles during the first quarter of 2020, up slightly from last year's 136,596. Q1 figures were bolstered by strong sales of the company's SUVs, including the Telluride, Sportage, and its new Seltos.

March sales, however, were down by roughly 19%.

Volkswagen of America said March sales were down by 42%, while Q1 figures fell 13%. In the first quarter of this year, VW sold a total of 75,075 cars and SUVs in the US — close to 11,000 fewer vehicles than it sold in Q1 of 2019.

Last month, Subaru of America sold 47% fewer vehicles to US customers than it did in March 2019. First-quarter sales totaled 130,591, amounting to a 16.7% drop compared to Q1 of last year.

Toyota Motor North America reported a 36.9% drop in sales for March, and an 8.8% decrease for the first quarter.

Toyota-division sales were down 35.3% in March, while Lexus sales dropped 46.7% compared to March 2019.