Sales of U.S.-Made Vehicles Decline 8.4%

Early-May sales of cars and trucks built in North America slipped 8.4% compared to the same time last year, when auto makers extended incentives that grabbed car buyers’ attention, the companies said Tuesday.

The figures for this year’s period also may have been affected by announcements last month that auto makers were trimming back on incentive programs, prompting higher-than-expected late-April business in showrooms.

The 10 major car and truck makers with U.S. plants said they sold an average of 33,448 vehicles a day during the May 1-10 period this year, compared to 36,524 during the same time last year.

Car sales were down 10.3%, and light truck sales 5.3% for the period.

Sales of cars made by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. slipped 16.9%, while those of cars from “transplants”--Japanese-owned U.S. manufacturing plants--rose 85.6%.

Big Three auto makers held 86.5% of the U.S. market for domestically produced cars in early May this year, down from 93.5% a year earlier.

Sales during early May last year were strong, mainly because of the extension of incentives the Big Three began offering in late March and early April. This year, as April wound up, the companies announced new incentive programs that generally reduced the number of vehicles covered and lowered the cash rebates being offered.

That, said Ford spokesman Joel Pitcoff, may have prompted consumers who had been planning to buy in May to buy in April instead.

But analyst Charles Brady of Oppenheimer & Co. in New York said that if there was such an effect, it was small.

“I think it is very difficult to try to quantify that,” he said.

Through May 10 this year, sales of domestic cars and trucks were down 3.3%, with car sales off 4.4% and truck sales 1.4%.

Chrysler, which has been battling a dwindling share of the U.S. market, said its early-May car sales were down 23% and truck sales were down 15.1%, combining for a 19.2% slide.

The company said its year-to-date car and truck sales were 12.9% lower than last year.

Ford said its combined car and truck sales during early May this year were 15.4% below last year’s level. Car sales were down 19.8%, and truck sales were off 9%.

For the entire year, Ford’s vehicles were selling at a rate 7.9% lower than last year.

GM said its car sales during the period were down 13.6% while truck sales rose 1.5%, combining for an 8.7% decline. So far this year, GM’s cars and trucks have been selling at a clip 2.8% below last year’s rate.

VEHICLE SALES

May 1-10 1990 % change year to year GM* 140,527 - 8.7 Ford* 86,307 -15.4 Chrysler* 46,665 -19.2 Honda U.S. 11,238 +32.3 Mitsubishi U.S. 1,776 +155.9 NissanU.S.* 3,766 +42.6 Toyota U.S. 9,118 +247.5 Mazda U.S. 1,157 +81.1 Subaru U.S. 214 ** TOTAL 301,030 -8.4

*Includes light truck sales.

**No comparison possible.

There were 9 selling days in the selling period this year and last year.