July U.S. Auto Sales Looking Weak
Big Three post double-digit dips in July auto salesBy
Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:26 PM ET Aug 1, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday all handed in double-digit declines in July U.S. auto sales from a year ago, when aggressive employee pricing discounts whipped up demand, making the year-on-year comparisons especially brutal.
GM posted a 22.5% decline in light vehicle sales to 406,298 cars and trucks from 524,218 during the selling spree a year ago. Adjusted for an extra selling day this year, sales fell 19.4%, mostly in line with Wall Street targets. On the car side, sales dropped 4.2% to 162,203 vehicles on an unadjusted basis, while GM saw sales of its light trucks fall 31.2% to 244,095. There were 25 selling days in July 2006 compared with 26 in the year ago period.
DaimlerChrysler was the first to hand in its results, posting a 34% plunge from a year ago. The Chrysler side of the business, amid a new product lull ahead of several launches later this year, reported a 37% decline to 150,349 vehicles. The luxury Mercedes-Benz division, boosted by rising demand for its light trucks, turned in a 4% rise to 21,591 vehicles.
Ford Motor Co. followed with a similar pullback to 241,339 cars and trucks, down from 366,548 a year ago. The car side turned in a decline of 7% to 89,395 while trucks plunged 43.8% to 151,944. The flagship F-Series pickup line took a hard hit, down 45.6% to 68,982 after posting 126,905 deliveries a year ago during what Ford claimed to be the best month of sales for any vehicle in the modern era. In the Premier Auto Group, Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar all posted double-digit declines as well. Retail sales improved 7% when compared with last month, the company said.
The declines at DaimlerChrysler and Ford were worse than Wall Street had expected and set the stage for an industry-wide pullback after last summer's buying binge.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call are looking for a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 17.3 million, down from 20.7 million in July of last year but an improvement from 16.3 million in June, according to industry research firm Autodata.
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