General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have all announced higher sales in July compared to the same month of 2010. GM reported today that its sales increased by 8% compared to July 2010. Passenger car sales rose by 8% and deliveries of crossovers by 20%.
It’s the same story over at Ford, with car sales increasing by 3 percent and light trucks by 12% for a total increase of 6%, as well as for Chrysler, which saw its July sales rise by 20% thanks to a new range of models and a 46% increase in Jeep deliveries.
Therefore, it seems that Detroit’s Big 3 are building their sales mostly on buyers’ preference for light trucks and SUVs. Still, the US market is “softer” than the initial projections, with analysts readjusting their annual forecast to total of 12.5 million to 13.5 million units for all of 2011
Even though light vehicle sales have increased by 13% from January until June, in recent months demand has fallen. This is due to the shortage of Japanese cars due to the March earthquake (something that’s not expected to change soon), a drop in incentives, rising fuel prices and the uncertain state of the US economy.
Nevertheless, company executives remain optimistic that the second half of the year will be better: “There are people who put off vehicle purchases because of uncertainty about fuel prices, vehicle availability and the economy,” said Don Johnson, head of U.S. sales for GM. “As these conditions improve in the latter half of this year, many of these buyers will return to the market
Story source: Autonews
