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Ford, GM Sales Fall as Fuel Prices Sap Truck Demand

Sales at Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. fell in April as record U.S. gasoline prices drove consumers to Toyota Motor Corp.’s fuel-efficient cars and away from big trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

Ford’s 12 percent decline was led by the F-Series pickup, while falling demand for the Chevrolet Silverado led to a 16 percent reduction at GM. Japan’s Toyota reported gains on increased demand for small cars such as the Yaris and Prius. Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also rose.

Gasoline costs and a slowing U.S. economy dragged April sales to their lowest rate in 13 years. Industrywide demand dropped 6.9 percent, the sixth straight monthly decline, and Asian automakers scored record market share.

“Gas prices where they are and these declining home values are pushing consumers into smaller vehicles and away from big trucks,” said Efraim Levy, a Standard & Poor’s equity analyst. He cut his 2008 forecast for industry sales today by 150,000 vehicles to 15.15 million cars and light trucks.

U.S. vehicle sales totaled 1.25 million last month, according to Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. The figures were estimates because Honda hadn’t reported final data. The preliminary annual sales rate for April slid to 14.4 million units, compared with an annual average industry sales of 16.8 million this decade.

GM, Ford and Chrysler’s U.S. brands held 47.5 percent of the market, a record low. Asian automakers won 44.7 percent of the market, more than five points above the year-earlier level.

Critical

A U.S. sales recovery is critical to Ford’s hope of restoring profit in 2009. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said last week it expects a loss this year after first-quarter net income of $100 million, in part because of waning U.S. demand for autos.

“It’s going to be a tough year on profits,” said Jeff Schuster, an analyst at J.D. Power & Associates, in an interview on Bloomberg Television. `You’re going to see a bit of a recovery towards the second half.”

Ford and U.S. competitors GM and Chrysler LLC are most dependent on light trucks, which generally consume more fuel than small cars and “crossover” wagons. Total passenger car sales rose 5.2 percent last month, while light truck plummeted 17 percent.

The low point for the U.S. industry over the past two decades was 1991, when sales fell to 12.3 million cars and trucks. Totals haven’t been below 15 million since 1995.

Rising gasoline costs may change that this year, according to industry analysts and executives. The average price for regular gasoline rose to a record $3.62 per gallon this week, according to AAA, the biggest U.S. motorists’ club. In parts of California and New York, pump prices topped $4.

Gainers, Losers

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. said its sales were up less than a percent in April. Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai affiliate, sold 16 percent more vehicles. Tokyo-based Nissan climbed 6.7 percent.

Germany’s Porsche SE and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz said April sales decreased, while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG was up 9.6 percent.

Honda the second-largest Japanese automaker, sold at least 134,000 vehicles last month, spokesman Sage Marie said, an increase of at least 6 percent. Final figures were delayed by a computer error, he said.

Toyota Rebound

Toyota, after four months of falling sales, sold 217,700 vehicles, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier. Its Prius gasoline- electric hybrid advanced 67 percent.

“We’re seeing steady growth in the entry subcompact segment, as well as strengthening in the midsize and small SUV segment,” Bob Carter, vice president and U.S. general manager of the Toyota brand, said in a conference call today. “Fuel efficiency will remain one of the top purchasing factors.”

Chrysler’s sales dropped 23 percent to 141,751 vehicles, primarily because of trucks and SUVs. The Auburn Hills, Michigan- based automaker, now owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, depends on truck sales for about 75 percent of its monthly total.

The sales decline for the F-Series, the nation’s best- selling vehicle, overwhelmed sales gains for Ford’s Focus small car and Edge wagon. The Focus had a 43 percent increase in April, and the Edge was up 13 percent.

The company said Focus sales to individual consumers rose 88 percent compared with April 2007, for the highest April sales for the model since 2000.

Consumer confidence plunged to a five-year low in April, the Conference Board reported this week, as mounting job losses and soaring food and fuel prices cause Americans to retrench.

Sales reports by some automakers are adjusted to reflect two more selling days last month than in April 2007. Unadjusted comparisons, used by Bloomberg and some automakers, would show declines about 8 percentage points lower.

Shares of Ford rose 22 cents to $8.48 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. GM fell 1 cent to $23.19. Toyota’s American depositary receipts were up $1.57 to $103.07.