DETROIT August was hot month for GM, but sales for the year so far are down

Automakers post their best month since October 2001.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. posted strong sales in August, even though sales of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cavalier slumped.
Chevrolet sold 20,391 Cavaliers last month, a 19 percent decline from the 25,160 sold in August 2002. For the year, Cavalier sales are down 3 percent at 176,351.
Sales of the Pontiac Sunfire, also made at GM's Lordstown Assembly Plant, declined 27 percent last month to 4,385. For the year, Sunfire sales are off 43 percent at 29,770, but Pontiac expected the decline because it eliminated the Sunfire sedan for this model year.
GM, the world's largest automaker, set an industry record in August for monthly truck sales, which rose 5 percent. On the car side, excluding the Saab nameplate, business was off 8 percent.
Overall, GM's August volume was down less than 1 percent, topping most Wall Street forecasts.
"August largely reinforces our belief that the economy is on the road to recovery," said Paul Ballew, GM's executive director for market and industry analysis.
Sales down for year
Overall, the industry's seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 19 million vehicles in August was the highest since October 2001. Despite blistering sales rates in July and August, GM, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have seen their total sales fall 5 percent so far this year, according to sales results released Wednesday.
Conversely, their Asian competitors are up 3 percent through August, and European brands are up 1 percent.
"The rebounding economy was evident in the overall strength of the auto market in August," said Jim Press, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
Several analysts expected August to be the best sales month of the year so far because of Labor Day weekend business, generous incentives on model-year closeouts and the introduction of 2004 models.
That was the case and more for Toyota, American Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor America, all of which established monthly sales records in the United States.
Toyota, in fact, sold some 10,000 more vehicles than the Chrysler Group. Toyota's sales were up 11.4 percent. So far this year, its U.S. market share is 11.2 percent, up from 10.5 percent a year ago. In contrast, Chrysler's share is 13 percent, down from 13.4 percent last year.
Shoppers also appear to be recognizing the industry's lucrative deals.
Incentives continue
Jim Sourges, vice president of the global automotive practice at Cap Gemini Ernst & amp; Young, said virtually all automakers continue to offer some sort of consumer incentive, which began en masse nearly two years ago after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"The challenge now is trying to figure out how to maintain your brand image as well as your profit margin," Sourges said. Ballew said an emerging positive trend is a richer mix of vehicle sales, which is helping to boost the average transaction price and shore up the bottom line.
Ford recorded its second-best sales month of the year, but overall volume was down 13 percent from the year-ago period.