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November 2, 2007
DETROIT - Ford and Chrysler felt most of the pain of the weak U.S. auto market in October. Both revealed big declines Thursday that seemed to put their turnaround plans on shaky ground going forward, especially as the economy flirts with a recession, according to the Detroit Free Press.
But General Motors and the three big Japanese automakers all posted gains for the month, in which sales were a little stronger than expected.
Ford's sales were off 9.3%, making October its 12th straight month of sales declines. While that performance was somewhat expected, as the company embarked on a long-term program to wean its vehicles from the discounted fleet market, it raises questions about when Ford might hit bottom and begin growing again.
For Chrysler, October sales were off 8.9%, the fifth month of a sales slide that helps explain the additional 12,000 job cuts the automaker announced Thursday. It came even as the Auburn Hills-based automaker increased sales to fleet customers.
"Obviously, we're not happy with our performance," Darryl Jackson, vice president of U.S. sales at Chrysler, told journalists during a conference call. "We've got work to do."
Other automakers, though, held their own in the tough market.
The big Asian companies were lifted by their fuel-efficient cars. Sales were up 13.1% at Nissan Motor Co., on the strength of the midsize Altima sedan; 3.8% at Honda Motor Co., buoyed by the new midsize Accord, and 4.5% at Toyota Motor Corp. The Toyota Prius hybrid posted a 50.7% gain.
Detroit-based GM also continued to show strength, especially at retail, with a third-straight gain of total monthly sales -- increasing 3.4% in October, compared with a year ago.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 6:59 AM to Sales
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