Major automakers report sales declines

DETROIT -- April was such a lousy auto sales month that every major manufacturer but Chrysler reported a decrease from the same month last year.

Even Toyota.

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 4.4 percent to 210,457 last month from 219,965 in April 2006, the company said Tuesday. It was the first year-over-year monthly decline for Toyota since May of 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.

"This certainly is uncharacteristic of Toyota," said Joe Barker, senior manager of global sales analysis for CSM Worldwide, an automotive forecasting firm in Northville. "I would expect them to rebound strongly next month."

Industry analysts say the bad month is a harbinger of things to come for the whole industry 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.

Nissan reported the worst decline in April with sales down 18 percent from the same month a year ago. The company sold 71,124 vehicles, down from 86,720 in April of last year.

Ford Motor Co. reported a 12.9 percent decline in U.S. sales due largely to slumping car sales. Ford sold a total of 227,619 light vehicles last month, down from the 261,381 in April 2006. Car sales were off 23.6 percent, while truck sales fell 5.7 percent, the company said.

General Motors Corp. 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.

GM sold 307,554 light vehicles in April, down from 339,796 a year earlier. Its car sales fell 10 percent, while truck sales were off 9 percent.

DaimlerChrysler's overall sales increased to 213,999 from 211,365 a year ago, because an increase at its Chrysler Group. Chrysler sales rose by 1.6 percent to 193,104 last month from 190,095 last year.