Car Makers Boost Their Sales Forecasts

Major auto makers raised their expectations for sales in 1999, as low interest rates and a strong economy prompt more consumers to buy vehicles. Ford Motor Co. raised its industrywide forecast for sales to a range of 15.5 million to 16 million, up 500,000 from its previous expectations. DaimlerChrysler said it boosted its forecast to 15.8 million units from 15.6 million. A spokesman for General Motors Corp. said the No. 1 auto maker last week increased its sales forecast for the industry to 15.8 million from a range of 15 million to 15.5 million. In 1998, sales of new cars and trucks in the U.S., including sales of heavy trucks, hit 16 million, the highest sales since a record 16.3 million in 1986, and the fifth year in a row that U.S. sales have topped 15 million.