"They have some affordable options, admittedly more so than the guys across the street, so that definitely helps," Drury said.

But Ford also has old inventory sitting that it needs to sell, Drury said.

"Even by March, they were almost at a 50/50 split of still selling 2023 versus 2024s," he said. "They're definitely juicing the sales. You can see those low APR offers are everywhere, there's cash on the hood ... they definitely know that they have an issue with the old inventory."

GM attributed its decline to 23% lower fleet sales, noting its retail sales increased 6%.

Stellantis had steep sales declines for its Ram and Dodge brands. Its top-selling Jeep brand saw a 2% uptick, bouncing back from an overall 6% drop last year.

Industrywide, high interest rates loom over demand with the annual percentage rate (APR) for new vehicles averaging 7.1% in the first quarter, the fifth consecutive quarter above 7%. The average monthly new-vehicle payment hit $735 in the first quarter, $4 below the previous quarter, according to Edmunds' data.

"Compelling new product launches combined with the reintroduction of incentives and rebounding inventory in the new vehicle market are all positive signs for shoppers, but elevated interest rates have dampened any positive market momentum," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ head of insights, in a statement.

Rates could drop this year once the Federal Reserve starts cutting the benchmark rate it has increased 11 times since March 2022 to tamp down on inflation. The central bank has forecast three rate cuts this year, though it left the rate unchanged in March. The rate is at a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5%.

Ford up on EVs, hybrids

On the EV side, sales are still rising, but their rate of growth is slowing.

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