Car, Truck Sales Up 2.9% in Late March

Sales of North American-made cars and trucks rose 2.9% in late March compared to last year, the auto makers reported Wednesday, but the increase stemmed largely from gains by General Motors Corp.

Auto industry analysts said the results were encouraging. Nonetheless, they said it was unclear whether the six-month-long slump was coming to an end.

Vehicle sales by Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. fell by 3.8% and 16.6% respectively during the March 21-31 period this year compared to last year.

GM’s late-March car and truck sales rose 6.1%, mostly because of its light trucks, including minivans that were offered with buyer incentives for the first time.

On March 22, GM began offering $1,000 rebates on its three-vehicle line of minivans--the Chevrolet Lumina APV, the Pontiac Trans Sport and the Oldsmobile Silhouette. The program runs until May 2.

Combined car and truck sales for the nine major U.S. auto makers rose to a daily average of 43,688 units during the period this year, compared to an average of 42,451 during the same time last year.

Car sales were up 2.7% and light-truck sales rose 3.2% during the period compared to a relatively soft period in 1989.

However, for all of March and for the first three months of this year, with imported vehicles included, sales lagged behind the corresponding periods in 1989.

Combined domestic and imported car and truck sales of 1,271,465 vehicles last month was 3.1% lower than the March sales figures last year. For the first quarter of 1990, sales were 1.8% behind last year’s pace.

For the first three months of the year, Ford’s car and truck sales were down 6.3% and Chrysler’s were off 5.6%. GM’s 3% decline in car sales was offset by a 4% jump in truck sales during the quarter.

“During the (three-month) period, compact van sales increased 41% (over the same quarter last year) due in large part to GM’s newly introduced APVs,” said J. I. Stark, executive director for GM’s worldwide vehicle operations.

Chrysler, with its Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager and Chrysler Town & Country, has held a commanding lead in minivan sales since the vehicles were introduced in the mid-1980s.

In January, Chrysler’s minivan sales received a huge boost through a $1,000 incentive.

VEHICLE SALES

March 21-31 1990 Yr.-to-yr. % chg GM* 189,961 + 6.1 Ford* 127,292 - 3.8 Chrysler* 58,973 -16.6 Honda U.S. 20,792 +30.0 Mitsubishi U.S. 2,329 +177.9 Nissan U.S.* 13,222 -3.2 Toyota U.S. 16,847 +83.1 Mazda U.S. 7,271 +151.5 Subaru U.S. 193 ** TOTAL 436,880 +2.9

*Includes light truck sales.

**No comparison possible.

There were 10 selling days in the selling period this year and last year.