U.S. auto sales declined 12.7% in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on consumer demand, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.

The crisis has shut down production sites and dealerships across the U.S. as government officials have ordered people to stay at home.

Overall nonseasonally adjusted U.S. vehicle sales for the period dropped to 3.48 million units from 3.98 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2019.

Passenger car sales in the U.S. totaled 901,300 units, down 25% from 1.20 million units in 2019. Sales of trucks, minivans and SUVs for the quarter dropped 7.4% to 2.58 million units, versus 2.78 million units a year ago.

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Sales dropped for major U.S. automakers during the quarter as the outbreak progressed, hitting particularly hard in March. Car shopping experts at Edmunds had predicted a decline in new vehicle sales in March.

"The first two months of the year started off at a healthy sales pace, but the market took a dramatic turn in mid-March as more cities and states began to implement stay-at-home policies due to the coronavirus crisis, and consumers understandably shifted their focus to other things," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds, in a March 25 statement. "[T]he auto industry is unfortunately not immune to the wide-ranging economic impacts of this unprecedented pandemic."

Detroit-based carmaker General Motors Co. posted a 7.1% year-over-year decrease in first-quarter U.S. sales and said the industry suffered declines in March due to the outbreak. The company sold 618,335 vehicles in the quarter as each of its brands decreased in sales.

At Ford Motor Co., sales during the quarter were down 12.5% year over year to 516,330 vehicles amid coronavirus-related shutdowns. Car sales were down 36% year over year, SUV sales dropped 11% and pickup truck sales dipped 5.4%, according to Ford.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's sales were down 10% year over year. The company sold 446,768 vehicles in the quarter.

FCA said its "strong momentum" in January and February was offset by the negative economic impact of the outbreak in March. Each of the automaker's brands was down except for Ram, with a 3% year-over-year increase.

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. reported an 8.8% decline year over year in U.S. sales for the first quarter at 495,747 vehicles. Toyota said the shuttering of car sales operations across multiple U.S. states, a volatile stock market and an increase in unemployment contributed to a decline in sales. During March, its U.S. sales plummeted 36.9%.

Meanwhile, sales of Ford's F-Series dropped 13.1% during the quarter but still retained status as the highest-selling vehicle brand with 186,562 sold. General Motors' Chevrolet Silverado recorded the second-highest sales with 144,734 vehicles sold, a year-over-year increase of 26.6%.