G.M. and Ford Report Gains in June Car and Truck Sales
By MICHELLE KREBS -- July 3, 1999
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. and
Ford Motor Co. reported that their car and
truck sales edged higher in June as the entire
auto industry recorded its best June in history
and its second best month ever.
Industry sales of cars and light trucks totaled
1.6 million vehicles last month, a 2 percent
increase over the blistering sales pace of a year
ago. That put the seasonally adjusted annual
selling rate at 17 million vehicles, 9 million
cars and 8 million trucks, according to Ward's
Communications, a Detroit publisher.
Reporting its best sales month since May 1989,
GM sold 493,475 cars and trucks in June, up 1
percent from a year earlier. Truck sales were
234,848, down less than a percent from the
record level of June 1998. Car sales rose 3
percent to 258,627. June sales put GM's
first-half sales slightly ahead of the period a
year earlier.
"For the first five months of this year, we were
not where we wanted to be, but we're pleased
with June," said Roy Roberts, GM's vice
president for North American vehicle sales,
service and marketing. "We saw the
momentum really pick up. June bodes well for
our performance in the second half of the
year." GM's share of the car and light truck
market rose to 30.8 percent, down from last
June but higher than it has been this year.
Ford reported its best sales month ever, with
sales of Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar and
now Volvo vehicles up 5 percent from a year
earlier to 422,979 cars and light trucks. The
previous record was set in June 1978. It also
was Ford's best first half for sales since 1978.
Ford's truck sales set a new record at 235,675.
"We're pleased that truck sales are even higher
than last year's levels," said George Pipas, head
of Ford's sales analysis. "Last year, we had
incentives on trucks that we never had before,
and we don't have them this year." Ford's car
sales, thanks largely to the addition of Volvo,
which Ford acquired this year, rose 11 percent
from a year earlier to 187,294.
"The increase in our car sales sets us apart
from our competitors this month," Pipas said.
"The Japanese posted overall sales increases
but had lower car sales. Some of the increase
was the acquisition of Volvo, but even the
Ford, Mercury and Lincoln lines continued to
climb for the sixth month in a row."
Both Ford and GM have begun introducing
some critical new products. Ford recently
began selling the Lincoln LS, the first car from
its luxury division to go head to head with
German luxury makers, and the Jaguar S-Type,
an entry-level Jaguar built from the same
platform as the LS. This fall, Ford presents the
subcompact Ford Focus and the giant
Excursion sport utility. Meanwhile, GM will
revamp its entire large sport-utility line for fall
and unveil the new Cadillac DeVille,
Oldsmobile Aurora and Saturn L-Series, the
first new car for Saturn in a decade.
Both automakers forecast strong sales in the
second half of the year. GM's Roberts
predicted the industry would break the record
for annual car and truck sales set in 1986.
In a statement, Robert Rewey, Ford's group
vice president for marketing, sales and service,
said, "The question is fast becoming: by how
much will the industry sales record be
eclipsed."
Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company
|
