U.S. Car Sales Fall 12.6% in 10-Day Period : New Incentive Plans Fail to Halt Slide in Early December

Despite the introduction of another round of consumer incentives, domestic new car sales fell 12.6% in early December, the seven U.S. auto makers reported Friday.

Auto analysts said the incentives in effect during the Dec. 1-10 period were too limited to attract buyers and thus pull auto makers out of their two-month sales slump.

“The programs cover only a limited number of models and were announced in the middle of the Christmas season. That’s not very motivational for consumers,” said Tom O’Grady, president of Integrated Automotive Resources, an industry forecasting firm.

Chrysler, the first auto maker to announce an incentive program, and American Motors are offering rebates and low-interest loans on some models. General Motors and Ford are offering cut-rate financing on some of their smaller models.

Post-Incentive Doldrums

Most of the U.S. auto makers have reported declining sales since they ended a round of more extensive incentives in October. Those incentives, which boosted sales to record levels, consisted mainly of 7.7% financing on most 1985 models.

Analysts said the auto makers still were suffering from the decline that traditionally follows an incentive-inspired sales boom. They noted, however, that sales had been slow even before the initial incentives were introduced.

Among the Big Three manufacturers, GM said its sales were off 10.2% in early December, while Ford’s were off 18.1% and Chrysler’s declined 11.4%.

Volkswagen of America, the only auto maker to report an increase for early December, said sales of its U.S.-built Golfs were up 60.3% over the comparable 1984 period.

American Motors said its sales were off 46.9%, and Honda posted a decline of 34.9% for its U.S.-made autos.

The seven U.S. auto makers reported selling 161,278 cars, down from 184,470 during the same period last year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, domestic new cars sold at an annual rate of 7.2 million in early December, up from the 6-million annual rate posted for the month of November.

Auto Sales

Dec. 1-10 Dec. 1-10 % 1985 1984 change GM 95,073 105,820 -10.2 Ford 40,046 48,901 -18.1 Chrysler 19,656 22,187 -11.4 AMC* 1,700 3,200 -46.9 VW U.S. 1,132 706 +60.3 Honda U.S. 2,213 3,656 -39.5 Nissan U.S. 1,458 -- -- TOTAL 161,278 184,470 -12.6 *Estimate