GM, Ford Post Strong Sales in May
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. posted higher-than-expected sales increases for May, pushing auto industry sales to their highest level in 11 years for the month amid hefty price discounts and a strong economy.
GM, the world’s largest auto maker, said its sales rose 13%, while Ford posted a 2% increase. Combined with Chrysler Corp.’s 27% gain and strong sales from Toyota Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. reported Tuesday, industry sales rose 12% to an annual selling rate of 16.3 million cars and trucks. That beat estimates of a 7% increase.
May’s rate was the highest since August 1987, according to Ward’s Automotive Reports. The surge was spurred by discounts averaging $1,500 a vehicle, a sacrifice auto makers can afford as they cut costs and sell more high-profit trucks and sport-utility vehicles.
GM’s truck sales rose 20% to 226,564. Car sales rose to 256,191 vehicles, an increase of 7.3% from the year-ago month, when a United Auto Workers strike closed an important assembly plant.
Sales of GM’s full-size pickups rose 10%.
Ford car sales fell 5.5% to 139,622, while sales of its pickup trucks, minivans and sport-utility vehicles rose 7.6% to 213,212.
Combined sales of Expedition and Navigator sport-utilities dropped about 5%. Some analysts expect Ford to announce first-ever price discounts on the big SUVs, which have outpaced Ford’s sales expectations since they were introduced about 18 months ago.
Asian auto makers saw their combined U.S. market share drop 0.6 of a percentage point, to 23.8%, while European auto makers’ combined share jumped 0.6 of a point to 4.4%. Detroit-based auto makers held at 71.8%.
GM captured 31.9% of U.S. car and light-truck sales, up from 28.6% in February and 31.7% in the year-ago month. Ford’s market share dropped 2.3 percentage points to 23.3%, while Chrysler’s share rose 1.1 points to 16.5%.
GM shares rose $2.13 to $75.13 on the New York Stock Exchange. Ford, which hit a 52-week high of $57 on Tuesday, declined $1.38 to $55.63, also on the NYSE.
