Sales of Domestic Autos Slip 8.7%; Imports Surge
With imports eroding Detroit’s market, domestic car sales continued to slump in April, declining 8.7% despite the extension of a wide range of incentives by most auto makers.
But industry analysts, noting that sales have remained relatively stable so far this year, insist that the discount financing programs and other incentives offered by the major domestic firms are beginning to work.
The incentives did boost sales enough during the month, analysts said, to allow General Motors and Chrysler to reduce their excess inventories of unsold cars. That, in turn, should lessen the need for further cuts in domestic auto production and employment over the next few months.
The seven domestic auto makers reported Monday that they sold 719,563 passenger cars in April, compared to 788,281 during the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, April’s volume was equal to an annual sales rate of 7.7 million units.
Meanwhile, import sales set a record for April, rising to 252,000, up 26.3% from last year’s 199,568.
Combined domestic and import sales fell 1.6% to 971,563 this year from 987,849 in 1985, giving the total industry an annual sales rate of 10.8 million units during the month.
Light-truck sales, by contrast, rose for both the domestic firms and the importers in April. Sales of U.S.-built light trucks increased to 320,740 during the month, up 4.1% from 1985’s level of 308,063, while import truck sales rose to 74,854, up 15.8% from 64,638 in 1985. Total industry truck sales rose to 395,594, up 6.1% from 372,701 in the same month last year.
AUTO SALES
April % 1986 1985 change GM 411,067 450,608 -8.8 Ford 176,291 191,311 -7.9 Chrysler 101,270 112,621 -10.1 AMC 5,202 11,822 -56.0 VW U.S. 6,729 6,585 +2.2 Honda U.S. 15,003 14,067 +6.7 Nissan U.S. 4,001 1,267 +215 DOMESTIC 719,563 788,281 -8.7 Toyota 43,813 42,942 +2.0 Nissan 37,276 28,661 +30.1 Honda 41,752 36,447 +14.6 Mazda 9,986 10,107 -1.2 Subaru 15,683 13,700 +14.5 Volvo 9,817 9,205 +6.6 Hyundai 12,282 -- -- VW Imports 14,306 11,165 +28.1 Others* 67,085 47,341 +41.7 IMPORTS* 252,000 199,568 +26.3 TOTAL U.S. 971,563 987,849 -1.6
* Estimate
