U.S. Auto Sales Shift Into Low Gear in August

The auto industry’s U.S. sales pace continued to cool in August after this year’s brisk first half, with overall sales down just over 2%--slightly more than analysts predicted.

Ford Motor Co., the last of the major auto makers to report August figures, said Thursday that its sales fell 6% compared with the same month a year ago. That compared with an 8% drop at General Motors Corp. and a 9% increase at Chrysler Corp., which was helped by its strong lineup of pickups and minivans.

Weak car sales, down 7% industrywide, were offset by a nearly 5% increase in sales of pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles.

“Cars are really selling at a sluggish level,” said Nicholas Lobaccaro, an analyst with Bear, Stearns & Co. in New York. “Trucks are going out the door. The market continues to shift from cars to trucks.”

Ford’s car sales were down 8% and its light-truck sales declined 4%.

The No. 2 auto maker blamed the decline in its truck sales on shortages of some versions of its popular F-150 pickup, fewer government truck sales and increased incentives by competitors.

“Now that four assembly plants are producing the 1997 F-150, up from just two in late June, availability will improve,” said Robert L. Rewey, Ford’s vice president of marketing and sales.

The F-150 has been the nation’s top-selling vehicle for more than a decade.

Rewey said higher interest rates in recent months have also dampened demand. But, he said, Ford expects the industry to end the year with higher sales than in 1995, despite the modest slowdown since May.

“Ford still projects that full-year industry sales will be in the range of 15.4 million to 15.5 million units, up from the 15.1-million total for all of 1995,” he said.

Also on Thursday, the Japan Automobile Importers Assn. reported that sales of imported autos fell for the first time in nearly three years last month, led by a sharp drop in U.S.-made Toyotas and Hondas.

Total imports amounted to 26,542 vehicles, down 2.9% from a year ago. The United States was the only country with a decrease, the association said.

August’s overall sales included 4,771 vehicles built overseas by Japanese auto makers, down 30% from a year earlier.

The association said the sharp drop in “reverse” imports from U.S. operations of Toyota and Honda was the biggest reason behind the drop in August imported car sales.