Vehicle Sales Hit 12-Year High in '98

Vehicle Sales Hit 12-Year High in ’98

L.A. Times Archives

Jan. 7, 1999 12 AM PT

From Times Wire Services

DETROIT —

Declining prices and a robust economy led Americans to buy 15.6 million cars and light trucks last year, the most in 12 years and the third-highest total ever, based on auto makers’ final results released Wednesday.

Auto makers ended the year with a bang, with December sales up 7% from a year ago. No. 1 General Motors Corp., which is still coping with the effects of last summer’s strikes, managed a 3% improvement last month.

For the year, foreign auto makers made the biggest gains: Asian companies were up 4%, while the Europeans, which have the smallest share of the U.S. market, improved 29%, thanks to a wide array of new models. GM, Ford Motor Co. and the American products of DaimlerChrysler combined for just a 1% increase.

But the totals were better than anyone anticipated a year ago. The 15.6 million vehicles sold ranked third, after 16.3 million in 1986 and 15.7 million in 1985.

“It was a tremendous year,” said Mike DiGiovanni, head of market research at GM. “No one I know forecast that level of sales. There’s not much to complain about in terms of how the industry’s performing right now.”

There is some cause for concern, however, because much of the increased demand was due to rebates, cut-rate financing and other incentives that reduced transaction prices.

GM began the rise in incentives in April with its “loyalty coupon” program for customers, after dismal first-quarter sales results.

Still, most auto makers are optimistic about 1999. They expect sales to be down slightly, but still near the 15-million level, where they have been for an unprecedented five consecutive years.

Demand for light trucks, the classification that includes sport- utility vehicles, pickups and minivans, continued to surge at the expense of cars. For the year, truck sales were up 8%, while car sales fell 2%. Trucks represented a record 48% of the market; buyers chose more trucks than cars in November--the first month that has happened.

GM’s truck sales set a company record and surpassed the 2-million mark for the third consecutive year, despite the strikes-related slowdown in production and the plant changeover for GM’s redesigned full-size pickup, its biggest seller.

The strikes also were blamed for causing GM’s market share to fall to 29.2%, from 31.1% in 1997. DiGiovanni estimated that the strikes cost GM about 1.3 share points last year.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. both reported year-end sales records. Toyota’s sales increased 19% for the month and 11% for the year. Honda was up 6% in December and 7% for the year.

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Top Sellers

‘98 rank / ’97 rank

1. Ford F-Series pickup: 1

2. Chevrolet C/K pickup: 2

3. Ford Explorer: 5

4. Toyota Camry: 3

5. Dodge Ram pickup: 7

6. Honda Accord: 4

7. Ford Taurus: 6

8. Honda Civic: 8

9. Ford Ranger pickup: 10