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DETROIT - [/align]If April is any indication, the rest of the year may be tough on companies that sell cars and trucks in the United States. Every major manufacturer reported sales declines versus April 2006, with the exception of Chrysler.
Even Toyota saw its sales dip by 4.3 percent, its first year-over-year monthly decline in nearly two years.
"It signals that the market overall is experiencing weakness," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for the Edmunds.com auto Web site.
U.S. light vehicle sales for all automakers declined 7.6 percent last month to 1.34 million from roughly 1.45 million a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. And April is normally a month in which sales start to recover from the winter doldrums.
"The all-important spring selling period is off to a sluggish start, there is no question about that," said Joe Barker, senior manager of global sales analysis for CSM Worldwide, an automotive forecasting firm in Northville.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. all showed declines as automakers released their monthly U.S. sales numbers Tuesday. But the drop for Toyota Motor Corp. countered a nearly two-year trend of rising sales, sometimes in double digits.
Toyota sales, which include the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands, dropped to 210,457 last month from 219,965 in April 2006, the company said. It was Toyota's first monthly decline since May 2005.
The Japanese automaker has seen double-digit increases in recent months, and it seemed like the rising sales would never end. In March, for example, its sales jumped 11.7 percent.
Even Toyota's Camry, the top-selling car in the U.S., saw a decline of 5.7 percent in April.
But Toyota officials said they were not concerned, citing strong sales of fuel-efficient cars and its new full-size pickup truck.
"For our own internal scorecard, we're pleased with the results this month," Randy Pflughaupt, Toyota's vice president of distribution operations, told reporters and industry analysts on a conference call.
He pointed out that there were two fewer sales days in April than there were during the same month last year.
"We remain pleased with the results, and I think we are set up well for a strong spring and summer," Pflughaupt said.
Toyota's drop surprised some analysts after its string of solid growth.
"This certainly is uncharacteristic of Toyota," Barker said. "I would expect them to rebound strongly next month."
Industry analysts warned of tough times ahead for the industry, especially in the second half of the year with economic uncertainty, high consumer debt, the housing slowdown and rising gasoline prices contributing to a softer automotive market.
Consumers also are waiting for incentives to rise even as many manufacturers try to scale them back, Toprak said.
"They're waiting for the next big sale and perhaps postponing their purchases because of this combination of factors," he said. "They don't have a lot of confidence in the housing market. Gas prices are higher."
Nissan reported the worst decline in April, with sales down 18 percent from the same month a year ago.
Ford reported a 12.9 percent decline in U.S. sales due largely to slumping car sales. Ford's car sales plunged 23.6 percent, while truck sales fell 5.7 percent, the company said.
GM's sales dropped 9.5 percent from April of last year, while DaimlerChrysler AG sales were up 1.2 percent. Honda sales sank 9.1 percent from a year ago.
At GM, car sales also were down, falling 10 percent from April 2006, while truck sales were off 9 percent.
Yet DaimlerChrysler's overall sales increased, thanks to rising sales at Chrysler Group. Chrysler sales rose by 1.6 percent and Mercedes sales slipped 1.8 percent.
Chrysler said it had a strong retail month, with the Jeep brand up 29 percent due largely to sales of the four-door Wrangler and Compass models. Chrysler's top sellers, the Dodge Ram pickup truck and Dodge Carav

 

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