Jeep sales were up 47% in February, helping FCA to an double-digit jump overall for the month.

The chill of a cold February spread to new vehicle sales, but makers increased incentives to try to heat up sales in the second half of the month, setting the stage for stronger sales heading into the spring selling season.

General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen all reported sales declines for February as inclement weather over much of the country reduced showroom traffic.

However, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Porsche and Nissan posted double-digit sales increases thanks to strong sales of sport utility vehicles. FCA’s Chrysler Group posted an 11% increase compared, while Nissan said sales increased 15%.

Nissan sales in February were up due to strong results for the Rogue and Altima.

The Jeep brand’s 47% increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand during the month.

“The severe weather has been ideally suited for our legendary Jeep 4×4 capability as Jeep brand sales were up 47% and the brand had its best February sales ever,” said Reid Bigland, head of U.S. Sales.

“Overall February was another solid month for Chrysler Group as our total sales were up 11% and we achieved our 47^th consecutive month of year-over-years sales growth,” Bigland said.

The Nissan Group, which includes Nissan and Infiniti, posted a 16% increase for the month of February and the Nissan brand set a sales record for the month than to strong sales of the mid-sized Altima and the Rogue utility vehicle.

GM reported that total sales were down 1% compared with a year ago, beating outside expectations. Retail and fleet sales were both down 1%. GM increased its sales from January 2014 by 30%, more than 10%age points better than the industry as a whole.

“Weather continued to impact the industry in February, but GM sales started to thaw during the Winter Olympic Games as our brand and marketing messages took hold,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations.

Volkswagen of America also reported a 14% sales decline in February as sales of the Jetta, Beetle and the Passat declined last month

Ford said that U.S. dropped 6% from a year ago. However, the Ford F-Series and Lincoln brand vehicles posted strong gains during the month. “Sales surged in the final week, providing us momentum after a slow start to the month,” said John Felice, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service.

Toyota Motor Sales reported that sales dropped 4.3%.

“February auto sales emerged from a chill in the second half of the month, poising the industry for a strong March,” said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. “For Toyota, strong truck sales were a highlight this month, with RAV4 and Highlander posting best-ever February results.”

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Analysts also said carmakers have boosted incentives to help stabilize sales in the face of the winter weather that has left some key metropolitan areas, such as Atlanta, paralyzed at times.

“Incentive spending is outpacing the rise in average transaction prices, despite year-over-year ATP increases for most automakers,” said Larry Dominique, president of ALG and Executive Vice President of TrueCar. “We expect a return to balance once the winter subsides and inventories ease,” he said.

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But the fact sales have remain stables points towards strong sales in the future,

“As the industry continues to gain strength, February car sales have the potential to reach their highest rate in six years,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with Cars.com.

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“The positive impact of the recovering stock market has been dampened by ongoing severe weather conditions, however year-over-year new-vehicle sales show that the industry is pushing to surpass the mark set in 2013.”

The compact SUV segment is seeing a particularly high increase in demand. “Consumers can’t get enough small SUVs,” Toprak said. “The segment’s market share reached a record high 18% this month, up from 15% this time last year.”