Auto Sales Tumble to Lowest Since 1991
July 2, 2008
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The latest sales figures for auto sales in the US show monthly sales have plummeted to their lowest level since 1991. Hit the worst were big cars, pickups, SUVs and even cross over which have been strong for most of the year. The fall in sales is a reaction to the sky high gas prices and shows a trend toward people cutting their carbon footprint.
“It’s a month that going to build a lot of character,” said Jim Press, co-president of Chrysler LLC
The sales across the biggest companies are alarming. Sales at Ford fell 28%, Toyota was down 21%, and GM dropped 18%, although this is better than analyst expectations for GM. The one exception was Honda, whose sales rose 1%. Honda doesn’t make any large cars.
Overall, 13.6 million vehicles were sold in the US, compared to 15.7 million in the same period last year.
At Toyota, the top line number doesn’t give the full picture. The sales of their small, fuel efficient cars rose while their SUVs dropped by 53%. This shows a clear trend of moving toward smaller cars that will have a smaller carbon footprint, and be cheaper to fill up at the pump.
Despite all the gloom, analyst expect the second half of the year to get a bit better as the economy is expected to recover somewhat.
The big companies are also continuing with aggressive promotions to keep their inventory moving. GM is offering interest free 72 month loans, while Chrysler offers gas at $2.99 per gallon and a $1000 rebate on certain models.
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