GM Sales Rise, Fall at Ford, Chrysler

[fenwah]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070301/auto_sales.html?.v=13
AP
GM Sales Rise, Fall at Ford, Chrysler
Thursday March 1, 3:21 pm ET
By Bree Fowler, AP Business Writer
GM Posts 3.7 Pct Rise in U.S. Sales, Ford Off 13.5 Pct, DaimlerChrysler Down 7.7 Pct

General Motors reported a 3.7 percent increase in its U.S. sales in February, but two other domestic automakers posted declines -- Ford's sales sank 13.5 percent while DaimlerChrysler posted a 7.7 percent drop.

GM, the world's biggest automaker, said consumer demand was strong for its pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Its fleet sales dropped 18 percent last month as a result of a planned 25 percent reduction in daily rental sales, but the decrease was offset by an 11 percent increase in retail sales.
Ford blamed its sales performance on a 30 percent reduction in fleet sales, while German-American DaimlerChrysler cited lower demand for vehicles from its U.S.-based Chrysler Group.
Ford's showing put it in danger of being surpassed by Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. for the month.

Meanwhile, Honda said its U.S. sales rose 3.2 percent on stronger sales of its trucks and Nissan said its sales rose 1.2 percent.

General Motors Corp. said it sold 308,411 light vehicles in February, up from 297,481 in the year-ago period.

Sales of light trucks rose 7.9 percent to 199,509, while sales of passenger vehicles fell 3.3 percent to 108,902.

The increase in light truck sales was led by a 26.5 percent jump in demand for the Silverado pickup and a 22.7 percent increase in sales of the GMC Sierra.

While the decline in fleet sales hurts overall sales numbers, Ford and GM have said the shift in their sales focus to more-profitable retail customers are part of their North American turnaround efforts.
Ford Motor Co. sold 210,194 light vehicles in February, down from 242,912 in the same month of 2006. Car sales fell 22 percent to 70,951, while sales of light trucks decreased 10 percent to 122,644.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker said overall sales to retail customers fell 8 percent compared with a year ago. Sales to rental car companies decreased by 16,000 vehicles, the company said.
Many analysts expect Toyota to take Ford's No. 2 spot in U.S. sales this year, after its sales surpassed Ford's in two months in 2006.

DaimlerChrysler AG sold 191,810 vehicles last month, down from 207,723 for the same month in 2006.

Chrysler Group's sales, which include the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, were down 8.3 percent to 174,506, while Mercedes-Benz sales fell less than a percent to 17,304 in February versus a year ago.

American Honda Motor Co., which includes the Honda and Acura brands, said it sold a total of 110,026 vehicles in February, up from 106,644 in the 2006 month.
Truck sales rose 7 percent to 49,521, while car sales edged up less than a percent to 60,505.
Nissan North America, which includes the Nissan and Infiniti brands, sold 85,218 vehicles, up from 84,241 in the year-ago month.

Car sales surged 9.6 percent to 48,445, while truck sales fell 8.2 percent to 36,773. GM shares rose 18 cents to $32.08 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while Ford shares fell 4 cents to $7.87 and DaimlerChrysler's U.S. shares lost 19 cents to $67.88.

[paul8488]

Originally Posted by fenwah

German-American DaimlerChrysler cited lower demand for vehicles from its U.S.-based Chrysler Group.

Wow. They really don't like Chrysler USA, do they? None of this related to Mercedes once again being at the bottom of reliability rankings again?

[Ach]

Originally Posted by paul8488

Wow. They really don't like Chrysler USA, do they? None of this related to Mercedes once again being at the bottom of reliability rankings again?

Nope. M-B's sell anyway. Free pass for bad reliability- and its not unjustified. Don't like them myself, but probably the most comprehensive and interesting auto lineup out there.

[Buickman]

Originally Posted by fenwah

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070301/auto_sales.html?.v=13
AP
GM Sales Rise, Fall at Ford, Chrysler
Thursday March 1, 3:21 pm ET
By Bree Fowler, AP Business Writer
GM Posts 3.7 Pct Rise in U.S. Sales, Ford Off 13.5 Pct, DaimlerChrysler Down 7.7 Pct

General Motors reported a 3.7 percent increase in its U.S. sales in February, but two other domestic automakers posted declines -- Ford's sales sank 13.5 percent while DaimlerChrysler posted a 7.7 percent drop.

GM, the world's biggest automaker, said consumer demand was strong for its pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Its fleet sales dropped 18 percent last month as a result of a planned 25 percent reduction in daily rental sales, but the decrease was offset by an 11 percent increase in retail sales.
Ford blamed its sales performance on a 30 percent reduction in fleet sales, while German-American DaimlerChrysler cited lower demand for vehicles from its U.S.-based Chrysler Group.
Ford's showing put it in danger of being surpassed by Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. for the month.

Meanwhile, Honda said its U.S. sales rose 3.2 percent on stronger sales of its trucks and Nissan said its sales rose 1.2 percent.

General Motors Corp. said it sold 308,411 light vehicles in February, up from 297,481 in the year-ago period.

Sales of light trucks rose 7.9 percent to 199,509, while sales of passenger vehicles fell 3.3 percent to 108,902.

The increase in light truck sales was led by a 26.5 percent jump in demand for the Silverado pickup and a 22.7 percent increase in sales of the GMC Sierra.

While the decline in fleet sales hurts overall sales numbers, Ford and GM have said the shift in their sales focus to more-profitable retail customers are part of their North American turnaround efforts.
Ford Motor Co. sold 210,194 light vehicles in February, down from 242,912 in the same month of 2006. Car sales fell 22 percent to 70,951, while sales of light trucks decreased 10 percent to 122,644.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker said overall sales to retail customers fell 8 percent compared with a year ago. Sales to rental car companies decreased by 16,000 vehicles, the company said.
Many analysts expect Toyota to take Ford's No. 2 spot in U.S. sales this year, after its sales surpassed Ford's in two months in 2006.

DaimlerChrysler AG sold 191,810 vehicles last month, down from 207,723 for the same month in 2006.

Chrysler Group's sales, which include the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, were down 8.3 percent to 174,506, while Mercedes-Benz sales fell less than a percent to 17,304 in February versus a year ago.

American Honda Motor Co., which includes the Honda and Acura brands, said it sold a total of 110,026 vehicles in February, up from 106,644 in the 2006 month.
Truck sales rose 7 percent to 49,521, while car sales edged up less than a percent to 60,505.
Nissan North America, which includes the Nissan and Infiniti brands, sold 85,218 vehicles, up from 84,241 in the year-ago month.

Car sales surged 9.6 percent to 48,445, while truck sales fell 8.2 percent to 36,773. GM shares rose 18 cents to $32.08 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while Ford shares fell 4 cents to $7.87 and DaimlerChrysler's U.S. shares lost 19 cents to $67.88.

Up is good.

[paul8488]

Originally Posted by Buickman

Up is good.

Certainly is! Pair what are obviously improved offerings from GM with the better marketing and advertising you suggest and GM can easily keep improving! I think Saturn has the opportunity to explode over the next year... Chevrolet could make some really solid increases with its core cars (Impala, Malibu, and Cobalt), over the next several years... a new CTS at Cadillac coupled with the hot full size SUVs and the impressive SRX can eek out some gains... all three Lambdas and the full size trucks and SUVs should keep up their roll... lots of good news!

Buick and Pontiac have some more tough times ahead I think. Enclave can't be expected to make up for the eventual loss of the Rendezvous, Rainier, and Terazza AND the sinking Lacrosse and middling Lucerne. G6 and Solstice can maybe hold their own, but the new Vibe is still a ways away, the Torrent has no real hope, and the G8 will almost certainly be a slow but steady seller... not a big splash though.

Saab and Hummer, I suspect, will more or less continue on an even keel... Saab BioPower models can hopefully offset the tired old 9-5. The H2 and H3 might need a little tinkering soon... the original 'oomph' has worn off, I think, though stable gas prices might be their saving grace.

[kuns83]

This is great news! The right areas are up (retail sales) and the right areas are down (fleet sales). Lets hope GM can continue the momentum and buck the trend that has plagued the american automakers. GO GM!

[CBECK]

GM still sold 121,081 more units than Toyota, holler!!

[stevecmh]

good to see the increase with the decrease with fleet sales... Still disconcerning to see the car sales down..

does anyone know how the Aura is selling .. i really like the commercials that they show giving the car of the year award to the owners.. its really good

its better than ur standard car commercials that just show it driving

[vsd]

Its [GM] fleet sales dropped 18 percent last month

That's very good news, keep this up GM!

are there numbers for individual gm vehicles yet?

[mkaresh]

For once I'll agree with the bunch of you, good news for GM. I notice that Saturn and GMC are way up. Lambda impact?

[pennyhank]

anybody else notice silverado outsold F-series by about 3000 in Feb? Ford and Gm HD's are both coming out right now so it should be interesting. I'd love to see chevy knock the F-series out of 1st place.

[Evo69]

Nice work, I was worrying about this month after the January debacle. With new and better products coming out things will be hopefully better.

[bhoppes]

With the new 5 year/100,000 miles warranty, what would you expect. I have been looking to buy a new 07 ever since it has come out.

[stormwatcher]

January was awful. But I didn't think it should be that awful for GM what with the Aura, new trucks and new CSVs. Seeing a jump in retail sales which more then compensates for the curtailment in fleet sales is very good news for GM indeed.

[asim]

I have to say that GM has the best plan out of all the other domestic manufacturers. I know that 20 years ago people thought Ford has a better plan, but look where each company stands now.