Strong Demand Boosts Auto Sales in August

General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler and top Japanese auto makers reported hot sales for August as U.S. consumers kept up strong demand for vehicles, especially trucks.

Spurred by flat pricing, incentives and favorable economic fundamentals, industry sales were expected to top a seasonally adjusted annual selling rate of 17.5 million units when all auto makers finish reporting August results later this week, industry executives said. That would make August the fourth month in a row when sales exceeded 17 million.

“Absent Ford falling apart, it looks like the market is extremely strong,” said Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Securities analyst David Garrity, who sees an August rate of 18 million units.

GM, the world’s No. 1 auto maker, said its U.S. vehicle sales jumped 64% in August from a year ago, when two strikes nearly wiped out its North American production.

GM’s truck sales climbed 77.3% to a new record for August, while car sales jumped 54.4%.

Record truck sales drove DaimlerChrysler’s U.S. sales up 9.4% to 203,991 in August. The auto maker reported record sales of 146,835 pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and minivans, a gain of 13%.

Truck sales were carried by SUVs, which shot up 41%. Total minivan sales sank 10%.

Car sales rose 1% to 57,156. Results reflect Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Jeep brands but exclude luxury auto maker Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes had August sales of 14,516, an increase of 12%.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s total sales rose 2.8% for its best August ever, as truck sales rose 10.7% and auto sales declined 1.8%.

Honda Motor Co. also had its best August, with a 10.5% sales increase. Honda’s truck sales jumped 31.4% on the strength of its new Odyssey minivan. Car sales rose 6.1%.

Nissan Motor Co. sales fell 7.7% to 65,696. Officials attributed some of the decline to aggressive incentives a year ago that were not in place this year.