Early-June Car, Truck Sales Come on Strong : Autos: The combined figure is up 15.5% from year-ago period. Overall domestic totals are 8.6% ahead of last year.
The brisk pace of new car and truck sales continued in early June as consumers, lured by sweet lease deals, cash rebates and high trade-in values, kept showrooms hopping.
Combined car and truck sales in the June 1-10 period were up 15.5% compared to the same period last year, domestic auto makers reported Tuesday. Overall domestic vehicle sales are running 8.6% ahead of last year.
The sales momentum that began in early April carried into a third month, allaying some analyst fears that sales might trail off based on other, largely weak economic indicators.
Sales have eased slightly since mid-May but not drastically. Some analysts theorize that auto and home sales will pull the economy up as long as interest rates stay low.
“This upturn has staying power,” said Tom Webb, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Assn. “The pace of sales . . . is no doubt both a cause and an effect of the strengthening economy.”
“The auto sales peak appears to have been in mid-May,” said McDonald & Co. analyst David Garrity. “I’m not going to say it necessarily signals a turn in the market, because right now we’re still above trend volume, but I think there could be some slowness in July and August.”
U.S. Big Three sales in early June were up 15.8%, compared to a 12.5% gain for Japanese companies that build cars and trucks in North America.
General Motors Corp. reported 9.6% higher overall sales. Cars were up 1.3%, but trucks soared 25.6%.
Ford Motor Co. had a 9.1% improvement in car sales and 21.8% better truck sales for a combined gain of 14.8%.
Chrysler Corp., whose 10-day sales are estimated by the trade journal Ward’s Automotive Reports, had 50.5% higher car sales and a 28.2% gain in trucks for a combined advance of 36%. Chrysler issues its sales figures only on a monthly basis.
Among Japanese companies, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota reported higher car and truck sales. Honda, Mitsubishi and Subaru reported lower car sales and Isuzu reported lower truck sales.
Cars sold at an annualized rate of 6.8 million vehicles in early June, compared to 6.5 million in the same period last year. Light trucks, including pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles, sold at an annualized rate of 5.2 million, compared to 4.5 million in last year’s June 1-10 period.
In showrooms, dealers are using a variety of enticements to get customers to buy new cars or trucks. Various leasing offers and low down payments with a balloon payment after two or three years have been especially popular, dealers report.
