U.S. Auto Sales Climb 6.7% But Dealers Not Heartened

Sales of U.S.-built autos rose for the first time in five months in mid-May, auto makers reported, but dealers weren’t much encouraged by the figures released Thursday.

U.S. sales of North American-made cars and light trucks rose 6.7% in mid-May, but the gain came against the mid-May period of 1990, one of the weakest sales periods for all of last year.

“It seemed that last year at this time it was about the worst that it had gotten,” said Paul Giovino, sales manager at Jerry Roth Automotive Centers in Lakewood, Colo., which sells Chevrolet, Geo, Isuzu, Daihatsu and Peugeot cars outside Denver.

“Then in June, we almost doubled our business right through to September or October,” he said. “In November it fell off and hasn’t come back since.”

The increase Thursday was the first for a 10-day reporting period since a 22.5% increase in early December.

Nine of the 10 major U.S. auto makers reported combined car and truck sales for the May 11-20 period averaged 29,433 a day, compared to an average of 27,092 during the same period last year.

General Motors Corp.’s car and truck sales during the period rose 12.2%, and Ford Motor Co.’s mid-May sales rose 1%. Sales of cars with Japanese nameplates were mixed.

Chrysler Corp. doesn’t release 10-day sales figures. An Associated Press estimate, based on the company’s average monthly market share over the previous 12 months, showed the No. 3 auto maker’s mid-May sales fell 3.2% compared to last year.

Car makers sold 167,029 autos during the May 11-20 period, up from 160,645 units a year ago. Light truck sales rose 1.8% to 103,638 units from 101,785 last year.

The mid-May rise was the first since the Dec. 21-31 selling period, when sales rose 8.3%.

The auto industry has been mired in a slump since late 1989, and has been crippled by the recession and the Gulf War since then.