Author: Mike RobertsMike Roberts Date: May 1, 2008 22:26
International Herald Tribune
April U.S. sales show shift to smaller cars
By Nick Bunkley
Thursday, May 1, 2008
DETROIT: Automakers reported higher sales of small cars as oil and
gasoline prices climbed to record highs in April, but said Thursday that
overall vehicle sales in the United States plummeted during the month.
Sales decreased 23 percent from April 2007 at General Motors and 19
percent at Ford Motor. Toyota's sales fell 4.5 percent, and Nissan's
declined 1.6 percent. The numbers are adjusted to account for two more
selling days in April this year.
Honda and Chrysler planned to release their sales later Thursday.
Much of the misery occurred in the lineups of pickup trucks and sport
utility vehicles, which consumers have been shunning in search of
smaller, more fuel-efficient offerings. That is bad news for the
automakers, particularly the Detroit Three, which build many more trucks
than cars, because bigger vehicles have much higher profit margins.
Light truck sales fell a staggering 32 percent at GM, 25 percent at
Ford, 19 percent at Nissan and 16 percent at Toyota.
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