Sales of U.S.-Made Vehicles Climb 11.9% in Late June : Autos: One analyst said the numbers don’t necessarily reflect a change in the sluggish trend of the U.S. auto market.

Strong sales of North American-made light trucks and cars pushed the late-June vehicle sales rate 11.9% higher than last year, auto makers said Thursday.

However, sales for the entire month, with imported cars and trucks included, were 1.9% behind last year’s pace. Car and truck sales for the first six months of this year were 4.3% lower than last year.

The 10 major U.S. car and truck makers reported that they sold vehicles at an average daily rate of 46,293 units during the June 21-30 period this year, compared to a rate of 41,372 during the same period last year.

Car sales by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. rose 3.7%, while sales of U.S.-made Japanese cars increased 62.3%. The Big Three commanded 80.7% of the market during the period.

Truck sales by GM, Ford and Chrysler rose 12.7% over last year.

Economist Tom Webb of the National Automobile Dealers Assn. in McLean, Va., said the late-June numbers don’t necessarily reflect a change in the sluggish trend of the U.S. auto market this year. He said the assessment could change if the next two or three sales periods unexpectedly maintain the pace set in late June.

Webb said he was surprised at the vigor in the late-June truck sales figures for GM and Ford.

“The strength you see in the truck model is the APV (minivans) for General Motors and the Explorer (sport-utility vehicle) for Ford,” he said. GM’s light truck sales during the period rose 29.9% and Ford’s increased 14.1%. Chrysler’s fell 10.8%.

“June ended strong for GM, with car and truck sales up,” said J. B. Fitzpatrick, GM’s marketing and product planning staff vice president. “Our lower inventory position should provide for a smooth transition into the 1991 model year.”

GM was the only one of the Big Three to post a gain in late-June sales of its domestically made cars, increasing 12.9% over last year based on double-digit increases in sales from its two largest divisions, Chevrolet and Pontiac.

Ford’s car sales dropped 4.7% during the period, and Chrysler, which has struggled with sluggish car sales for months, reported an 11.3% decline in late-June sales.

Among the Japanese “transplants,” only Nissan Motor Co.’s U.S.-made cars and trucks showed a decrease in late June, falling 18.5%.

The auto industry has been plagued recently by a sluggish U.S. economy and reports of sagging consumer confidence. Auto makers use incentives to spark sales and reduce inventories of unsold new vehicles, but lately they have shied away from wholesale use of the enticements.

VEHICLE SALES

June 21-30 % change 1990 year to year GM* 182,911 +17.8 Ford* 117,675 +2.7 Chrysler* 56,857 -11.0 Honda U.S. 26,841 +128.1 Mitsubishi U.S. 2,055 +86.6 Nissan U.S.* 10,123 -18.5 Toyota U.S. 14,788 +29.0 Mazda U.S. 2,565 +39.9 Subaru U.S. 1,038 NC TOTAL 416,634 +11.9

* Includes light truck sales.

NC: No sales last year; no comparison.

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