GM Says U.S. Sales Unexpectedly Fell in April

General Motors Corp. said its U.S. sales unexpectedly fell in April--by 4.2%--with both cars and trucks trailing the year-earlier month. Analysts had forecast an increase of about 0.4% from April 1998, when GM got a head start on rivals by raising incentives to lure buyers. GM’s sales of North American-built cars fell 4.1%, while sales of minivans, pickups and sport-utility vehicles declined 3.9%. The weak performance at the world’s No. 1 auto maker contrasted with robust sales reports from its rivals. Industrywide, sales were up 3.8% in April, in line with estimates and the smallest increase since November. Even with GM’s sales decline last month, the auto maker’s market share reached 30.5%, topping 30% for the first time since two crippling strikes ended last summer. Detroit-based GM has struggled since the strikes to rebuild its inventories, particularly of high-profit trucks. GM stock fell $4.75 to close at $89 on the New York Stock Exchange.