GM, Ford Lose Ground to Importers

The nation’s two largest automakers each said Wednesday that demand for new vehicles fell last month, as Japanese rivals Toyota, Honda and Nissan rode a slew of new products to double-digit sales growth.

Industrywide, U.S. sales rose 2% in October from a year earlier, according to sales tracker Autodata Corp.

No. 1 General Motors Corp. said Wednesday that sales of light trucks -- sport utility vehicles, pickups and minivans -- were off 4.6% and that passenger car sales fell 5.5% in October.

Sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand trucks were up 3% at No. 2 Ford Motor Co., but that demand was not nearly enough to offset a 22% decline in car sales, a trend for Ford this year. October marked the eighth time this year Ford’s monthly sales have been below year- earlier results.

The smallest of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group, said sales rose 2% in October, the 12th time in 13 months it posted a year-over-year increase.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Torrance-based U.S. division outsold Chrysler Group in October, despite continued strong sales of Chrysler’s 300C sedan. Toyota, whose results included sales for the Lexus luxury line and the Scion youth-oriented brand, reported 170,815 U.S. sales versus 170,169 for the Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler brands.

October’s seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 16.9 million units, up from 16.1 million a year ago but off from 17.5 million in September, Autodata Corp. said. Full-year sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.

Many analysts’ predictions for October were right on the mark. They expected sales to cool in October after climbing to the second-highest level of 2004 in September, but they said Detroit automakers, not foreign brands, would account for most of the decline.

“GM’s October sales were not as strong as we had expected but not entirely surprising given our exceptionally strong sales in September,” said John Smith, the automaker’s group vice president for North American sales, service and marketing, citing GM’s 20% year-over-year sales jump in September.

Honda Motor Co. said its sales rose 10.2% in October in part because of strong demand for two redesigned vehicles: the Odyssey minivan and the Acura brand RL luxury sedan. The company, with its U.S. headquarters in Torrance, said sales of Honda’s gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, the Insight and Civic, rose 43% from a year earlier. Year-to-date hybrid vehicle sales are up 72%, Honda said.

Combined sales for Nissan Motor Co. and its Infiniti luxury brand were up 27.3% in October from a year earlier, the best October ever for Gardena-based Nissan North America. Truck sales climbed 46% on strong demand for the redesigned Nissan Pathfinder SUV and new Titan full-size pickup.

GM shares fell 38 cents to $38.80, Ford added a penny to $13.25 and DaimlerChrysler gained 7 cents to $41.86. Each trades on the New York Stock Exchange.