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By Bloomberg

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said March U.S. sales rose 1.7 percent, extending its streak of monthly sales gains to five years amid an expanding U.S. auto industry.

Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. unit delivered 197,261 vehicles last month, matching the average analyst prediction for FCA US LLC, the former Chrysler Group. The rest of the auto industry is scheduled to report throughout the day.

“It continues to really look great for the industry,” said Jeff Bracken, U.S. general manager for Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus, who estimated a selling rate of 16.5 million to 16.9 million for March. “The first quarter of this year is probably going to be the best first quarter in 15 years.”

The industry is projected to post an increase in the March selling rate, adjusted for seasonal trends, to 16.9 million, the average of 13 analysts’ estimates. A year earlier the pace was 16.5 million. FCA projected a 17.1 million pace including medium- and heavy trucks, which usually account for at least 200,000 sales a year.

Unit sales of cars and light trucks for the month probably slipped 0.8 percent to about 1.52 million vehicles, based on 10 estimates. The rate can accelerate even as unit sales fall because it’s calculated on the basis of the number of selling days, and this March has one fewer than in 2014.

Toyota may report the biggest gain from a year earlier among the largest automakers, with a 4.4 percent increase, the average of six estimates compiled by Bloomberg. General Motors Co. may say that sales rose 0.1 percent. Nissan Motor Co. may post a 5.2 percent decline and Ford Motor Co.’s light-vehicle deliveries may slide 4.3 percent, according to estimates.

The National Automobile Dealers Association predicted Monday that the Federal Reserve will hold off on raising interest rates through the summer, giving vehicle sales a boost that can offset slow economic growth in the start of the year. U.S. gross domestic product for the period ending Tuesday probably rose 2.1 percent, NADA estimated.

Light-vehicle sales in the U.S., which rose 9.2 percent for the first two months of the year despite the bitter cold, have been boosted by low interest rates that have reduced borrowing costs.

The U.S. economy continues to recover and all the indications, from unemployment to interest rates, suggest that 2015 auto sales will rise for a sixth straight year, Lexus’s Bracken said. U.S. auto sales have never increased for more than five straight years, based on records dating to 1927 compiled by trade publication Automotive News.

“There’s no reason to believe it won’t stay healthy like this,” Bracken said. “All the economic indicators continue to be positive. It feels like nothing really gets in the way.”