U.S. Consumers Buy Record 16.9 Million Autos in 1999

American consumers, flush with the rewards of a high-revving economy, set a record for auto sales in 1999, buying 16.9 million new passenger cars, pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles.

Every major auto maker, from giant General Motors Corp. to South Korea’s Daewoo Motor Co., sold more vehicles last year in the United States than it did in 1998, as industry sales went up 9%. The year also ended on a high note, with overall sales for December up 4%, helped by stronger demand for trucks.

However, some auto makers had reasons to be concerned. GM ended 1999 with a 29% share of the market, the first time it has ended a strike-free year with less than 30% since the 1920s. Ford Motor Co. saw its sales rise 4% for the year, though its slice of the market shrunk more than that of any other manufacturer.

And although GM, Ford and the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler still sold more than two-thirds of all new vehicles in the United States in 1999, European and Asian auto makers added buyers at a fast clip.

For December, GM’s sales were up 6%, with a surprising 21% jump in sales of light trucks--pickups, vans, minivans and SUVs--more than compensating for a 7% decline in car sales. GM’s results do not include the Saab brand, of which it owns 50%.

Rod Lache, an analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown Inc., suspected that incentives played a large role in GM’s sales increases.

Many GM car lines posted big losses for the month: Oldsmobile was down 25%, Buick was down 19%, and Cadillac was down 13%. Cadillac ended the year with a small decline, a result Paul Ballew, GM’s director of industry analysis, said was due to the launch of a new DeVille and a highly competitive market for luxury cars

GM said earlier this week that it will bring back its “loyalty coupons,” a $500 incentive for millions of GM vehicle owners. But Ballew said the coupons were not an attempt to start a rebate or incentive war with other auto makers.

At Ford, December sales were down slightly from the previous period because of strong December 1998 sales of its Ranger pickup, Explorer and Expedition SUVs, and Windstar minivan, the company said.

Ford’s car sales, excluding Volvo and Jaguar, were up 5.5%, thanks in large part to strong demand for its Focus compact. And Ford once again claimed the title of best-selling truck and best-selling vehicle, selling 869,001 F-Series pickups.

For the year, GM, Ford and Chrysler saw sales rise 6%. Asian auto makers posted a 13% gain, and European auto makers had a 27% sales increase.

Much of those increases came at the extreme ends of the market. Asian auto makers Kia and Hyundai, along with German auto maker Volkswagen, made huge gains in markets for smaller cars. And continued prosperity drove demand for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other luxury auto makers to new sales heights.

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Sales Peak

The auto industry shattered a record for annual U.S. sales with help from low interest rates, high consumer confidence and low unemployment. The 1999 U.S. vehicle sales topped the previous all-time high of 16.1 million set in 1986. Annual U.S. sales:

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Source: Autodata Corp.