Truck Demand Drives Up Auto Sales

Ford, Toyota and Honda set February U.S. sales records on booming demand for pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans.

Every major auto maker that reported sales figures Tuesday posted improved results over February 1998. In nearly each case, the biggest gains were in light trucks.

Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler both had an 8% improvement in U.S. vehicle sales. Honda Motor Co. said its sales rose 14% on surging demand for its Odyssey minivan and SUVs, and Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales grew 19%. Even struggling Nissan Motor Corp. managed a 4% gain.

At Ford, car sales fell 6%, a reflection of consumers’ increasing attraction to larger, more versatile and safer trucks. But Ford’s robust truck numbers were better than some analysts expected and helped it break the company’s February sales mark set in 1996.

Ford set February records for sales of its F-series pickup--the top-selling vehicle nationwide for 17 years--and the compact Ranger pickup. F-series sales were up 27% over last year, while Ranger sales increased a surprising 46%.

Ranger sales were helped by $1,000 rebates, while buyers of F-series trucks received discount financing incentives. Combined SUV sales also set a record for the month, led by the Explorer, up 16%, without significant incentives.

Sales of Ford’s highest-volume car, the Taurus, fell 23%, despite $500 rebates.

DaimlerChrysler said its car sales were up nearly 9%, while truck sales rose 7%. Combined SUV sales were up 19%. The Jeep division set a February record.

Honda’s February sales total outpaced the record set in 1998 and was led by the auto maker’s best truck sales ever--up 75% and beating its previous truck record set last August.

At Toyota, strong sales of the Camry and Corolla helped boost car sales 16%, while big increases in demand for the Sienna minivan and Land Cruiser luxury SUV led to a 24% gain in trucks.

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General Motors Corp. was scheduled to release its figures today.