Vehicle Sales Climb 10.3% During August : Automobiles: Light trucks continue to lead strong gains for the Big Three.

The major auto makers shook off some of the inventory problems that produced a flat July and finished August with sales of cars and light trucks 10.3% ahead of a year ago.

Much of the industry’s strength continued to be in light trucks. Dealers can’t keep enough pickups, vans and sport utility vehicles on hand to meet customer demand.

Ford Motor Co.’s passenger car sales were down 9.4% from August, 1993, and Chrysler Corp.’s were down a fraction, but strong truck sales kept both from losing ground.

General Motors Corp. rebounded from a July report that showed its overall vehicle sales down from a year earlier. The No. 1 auto maker’s August car sales were 18% ahead of last year; truck sales were up nearly 15%.

“We think that’s a good recovery,” GM executive vice president William Hoglund said Tuesday.

Industry executives and analysts agreed that sales are being held down somewhat because the manufacturers don’t have the factory capacity to satisfy demand for better-selling models.

In addition, production of new models is still “ramping up,” automotive jargon for the slower, start-up phase of building a vehicle when the assembly process is being fine-tuned.

“We’re still moaning about availability, but it’s better,” Hoglund said. “We’re still selling what we build.”

He said GM expects the industry will finish the year with sales of 15.3 million vehicles, compared to 14.2 million last year.

Several car companies will bring high-profile new models to showrooms this fall, setting the stage for what many expect to be a strong fourth quarter.

“We expect our momentum to accelerate further starting Sept. 29, when we unveil most of our 1995 car and truck lines,” said Ford sales and marketing vice president Robert L. Rewey.

Japanese car makers showed more growth than the industry as a whole in August. Toyota’s overall sales led the pack, up 23.4% from a year ago, but Nissan and Honda also gained.