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Top 20: Hyundai Elantra sees big monthly sales gain

Chris Woodyard
USA TODAY
The Elantra, seen here as the GT, made a leap in the monthly sales list

When it comes to dramatic sales increases, March belonged to the humble Hyundai Elantra.

The compact sedan rocketed from 18th on the list of the Top 20 best-selling vehicles to eighth. It almost doubled sales compared to February and saw a 33.8% sales increase over the same month last year, Autodata reports.

But for the first three months of the year compared to last year, the change isn't as dramatic, 6.6%, indicating that some of the sales that it otherwise would have gotten in chilly January and February were just been pushed forward.

There's no mystery as to why Elantra performed so well in March, says Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor. It was the focus of a big marketing campaign. The deal, now over, offered zero-percent financing and cash incentives.

Still, Hyundai was pleased. While he didn't single Elantra, Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski said tha Hyundai's "momentum continued into March and helped contribute to our year-to-date sales gain of 7.5%, our strongest first quarter ever."

While Elantra saw a big gain, Toyota RAV4 took a tumble. It was in 14th place in March, down from ninth place in February. Chevrolet's Equinox wasn't any better off, falling from 10th place to 15th.

Overall, though, the month showed the usual sales patterns as of late.

Ram's 1500 pickup truck knocked Toyota Camry out of third place. That put the full-size pickups from Detroit's Big 3 automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler's FCA US -- in the top three spots. Ford F-Series was the nation's best-selling vehicle, Chevrolet Silverado was second and then came the Ram.

Beyond that, the changes were mild. Ford Focus reentered the Top 20 in March, knocking out the GMC Sierra pickup. Chrysler 200 fell from 17th place in February to 20th in March, barely managing to hang in the esteemed group.

Honda Accord, normally a reliable Top 10 car, was in 13th place, after slipping to 11th last month.

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The March Top 20

Top 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. in March (with February sales rank) and their sales in the month:

Rank, Vehicle (Feb. rank), March. Sales

  1. Ford F-Series 1 (1) 67,706
  2. Chevrolet Silverado (2) 45,193
  3. Ram 1500-3500 (4) 41,595
  4. Toyota Camry (3) 40,800
  5. Toyota Corolla (6) 35,532
  6. Nissan Altima (5) 31,993
  7. Ford Fusion (7) 29,044
  8. Hyundai Elantra (18) 28,794
  9. Honda CR-V (8) 27,618
  10. Nissan Rogue (12) 27,418
  11. Honda Civic (13) 26,985
  12. Ford Escape (14) 26,303
  13. Honda Accord (11) 26,018
  14. Toyota RAV4 (9) 25,243
  15. Chevrolet Equinox (10) 24,335
  16. Chevrolet Cruze (16) 23,598
  17. Ford Explorer (15) 23,058
  18. Nissan Sentra (19) 21,277
  19. Ford Focus (N/A) 20,497
  20. Chrysler 200 (17) 19,190

Dropped out of Top 20 this month: GMC Sierra pickup

Source: Autodata

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