General Motors and Toyota each reported sluggish U.S. sales totals in March as their top competitors saw strong gains, according to the latest round of monthly auto sales numbers.
GM sales grew by just less than 1 percent last month compared to March 2016.
The company attributed the modest growth to "significant" reductions in daily rental units and noted that retail deliveries climbed by 6 percent last month.
GMC paced GM's brands last month with a 7 percent sales increase, while Chevrolet reported 1.4 percent growth. Cadillac sales, however, declined by 5 percent and the Buick brand fell by more than 11 percent.
Detroit rivals Ford and Fiat Chrysler, meanwhile, reported domestic sales increases of 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Ford said that its SUV sales recorded the best March in 15 years and that sales of its F-Series pickups were the best in a decade. The Ford brand climbed by nearly 8 percent, while its Lincoln brand saw an 11 percent jump.
FCA's overall increase was fueled by a 15 percent gain among Jeep vehicles — the best March in the brand's history — and 11 percent increases by both Dodge and Ram Truck. The Chrysler brand, however, saw a 13 percent sales decline as Fiat fell by 24 percent.
Among overseas companies, Toyota — the world's largest automaker — saw U.S. sales drop by 2.7 percent, with nearly identical declines among its Toyota division and its luxury Lexus brand.
Honda, however, reported an increase of 9.4 percent while Nissan sales grew by 12.7 percent as the latter’s flagship division recorded its best March in history.
Those six companies comprised nearly 80 percent of the U.S. auto market in February, according to numbers from The Wall Street Journal.
Volkswagen, meanwhile, reported a 10 percent decline in U.S. sales last month as the German company continued to struggle in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal.