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United States News Title: Auto sales lose steam Auto sales lose steam By Chris Isidore, senior writerJuly 1, 2010: 2:10 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Most major automakers reported U.S. sales strongly up from a year ago, but weaker than both May's sales levels and industry forecasts. The weaker-than-expected sales and the slower sales pace could be a sign that the weakening economic and jobs outlook is cutting into demand for cars. A survey released Tuesday from the Conference Board found consumer confidence falling sharply and the percentage of Americans planning to buy a new car in the next six months falling to a record low of 1.2%, from 2.7% in May. GM, the nation's leading automaker, reported sales up 11% from a year ago, as the four brands it continues to actively sell -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC -- posted a 36% rise. There was a 98% drop in sales for Hummer, Saturn, Pontiac and Saab, the four brands GM shed as part of the bankruptcy process. Those brands now make up only 0.3% of its sales as GM disposes of its remaining inventory. But GM sales slipped 12.5% from May. Forecasts had been for a decline of between 8% and 10% compared to May. Steve Carlisle, GM's vice president of global product planning, said most of the decline from June was due to a 30% drop in fleet sales to businesses customers, such as rental car companies. The decline was planned due to the front-loading of those sales early in the year, he said. Retail sales to customers declined only slightly from May. "It's not so far off expectations," Carlisle said. He added that GM is expecting retail sales to remain flat the rest of the summer. George Pipas, Ford's director of sales analysis, said the industry has been seeing modest improvement each quarter from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the second quarter, which closed out in June. He's hopeful there will be further modest improvement in consumer demand going into the summer. "I think modest is the operative word," he said. Ford (F, Fortune 500) reported that sales at its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands were up 15% from a year ago, but down 13% from May. Forecasts had been for a 17% rise from a year ago. Sales fell 29% from a year ago at its Volvo brand, which it is in the process of selling to Chinese automaker Geely. Ford sales were enough to keep it ahead of Toyota Motor (TM) in competition for the nation's No. 2 sales position. Toyota sales were up only 7% from a year ago, but that left it down almost 14% from May sales levels. Forecasts had been for a drop of 12% to 13% from May. Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., said his company was pleased with its June sales results, but he acknowledged that "the entire automotive industry struggled in June as weakening consumer confidence weighed on sales." Chrysler Group reported that its sales soared 35% from a year ago, but that was still down 12% from May levels. Chrysler, at least, was able to edge past forecasts, which had called for a year-over-year gain of 33%. Hyundai Motor Group, which includes both the Hyundai and Kia brands, was able to buck trends by posting a modest 3% gain from its May sales levels, and a 28% increase from a year ago. That topped the forecast of a 13% gain from 2009 levels. Forecasts for industry-wide U.S. sales are for a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of between 10.9 million to 11.2 million vehicles. That's better than the 9.7 million sales rate of a year ago, but would be well below the 11.6 million sales rate achieved in May of this year
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#1. To: All, Brian S (#0)
But GM sales slipped 12.5% from May. Forecasts had been for a decline of between 8% and 10% compared to May. The devil is always in the details, eh? (chuckle)
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