Ford, Nissan Post Strong March Sales

Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. reported healthy March sales increases Tuesday, contrasting with earlier reports of declines from most of the other major automakers.

The industry’s U.S. sales of cars and light trucks in March were down 5.3 percent from a year ago. Still, most analysts expect the automakers to equal or exceed last year’s deliveries of 15 million light vehicles.

Ford’s sales were 3.3 percent higher in March, with record truck sales - up 16.5 percent - offsetting a 9 percent decline in passenger car deliveries.

Nissan sales, including its luxury Infiniti division, were 9.2 percent higher.

On Monday, Chrysler reported March sales off 9.1 percent. GM said its sales were down 9.4 percent and Toyota’s slid 13.2 percent.