March was another good month for imports in the United States, with six carmakers -- Germany's Audi and Mercedes-Benz; Japan's Infiniti, Lexus, and Mitsubishi; and South Korea's Kia all setting sales records. Ford's English brands Jaguar and Land Rover also broke March records, as did Acura's MDX sport utility vehicle. Audi of America, Inc. reported its third consecutive record sales month with March sales totaling 7,605, up 2.4 percent from March 2001 results of 7,428. It was Audi's best March ever and a record first quarter with a total of 20,052 vehicles sold versus 19,479 for March 2001, up 2.9 percent. Fueled by the new G35 sedan, Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan North America, Inc., today reported that March was its best sales month in history with sales of 8,628 units, a 7.4 percent increase versus March of last year. Another month marked another record performance for Kia. The Korean automaker on April 3 announced vehicle sales of 21,478 in March, a new record for the month and an increase of 11 percent over March 2001. Kia sales in the first quarter were the strongest ever with year-to-date sales of 55,561 units, up 25 percent from the same period last year. Lexus closed out the first quarter of 2002 with record sales of 55,147, an increase of 8.4 percent over the same period in 2001. With its strong sales, Lexus continues to be the top-selling luxury manufacturer in the United States. Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported record sales of 20,230 new vehicles during the month of March, a 5.6 percent increase over last year's March 2001 sales record of 19,166. The month represents the highest March sales volume ever and the second all-time best month in MBUSA history. Year-to-date sales demonstrated a 6.7 percent increase in volume. Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc. (MMSA) on April 3 reported March sales of 32,428 units, marking the best March in company history and a 23 percent gain over March sales in 2001 based on the daily selling rate (DSR). The record March capped Mitsubishi Motors' best first quarter in company history with 90,299 units sold, a 25 percent increase over first quarter 2001 based on DSR. All-time record sales of the Acura MDX luxury sport utility vehicle and strong demand for the RSX sports coupe pushed Acura March sales to 15,922, a 3.3 percent increase compared to last year based on a daily selling rate, Acura announced. With 5,083 units sold, the MDX shattered the previous all-time monthly sales record of 4,365 set in February. The year-to-date total for the MDX climbed to 12,871, a 12.7 percent increase compared to last year. Bright spots for American automaker Ford in March were its English brands. Jaguar sold 6,169 cars for the month, up 87 percent from the same period last year, making it the best month in the famous brand’s long U.S. history.m Over 10,000 Jaguar X-Types were sold in the first quarter, and March was the best sales month to date with 3,780 shifted. Land Rover sold 2,772 vehicles, up 37 percent, also claiming a record March.
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