AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY GM, Ford report declines in sales

U.S. sales by all automakers gained 2 percent last month.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
DETROIT -- The nation's two-largest automakers both said demand for new vehicles fell 5 percent last month from a year ago, almost assuring heftier consumer incentives to come, even as Japanese rivals Toyota, Honda and Nissan rode a slew of new products to double-digit gains.
Industrywide, U.S. sales were up 2 percent in October, according to Autodata Corp., an industry research group.
No. 1 General Motors Corp. said Wednesday that truck sales were off 4.6 percent and car sales down 5.5 percent in October.
Sales of the Chevrolet Cavalier, which is made by GM in Lordstown, were down as the company stopped producing them last month. Plant production has shifted to the Chevrolet Cobalt, which aren't being shipped to dealers yet.
GM sold 9,273 Cavaliers last month, compared with 22,499 in October 2003.
For the year, GM has sold 172,554 Cavaliers, compared with 216,534 in the first 10 months of last year.
Sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand trucks were up 3 percent at No. 2 Ford Motor Co., but that demand was not nearly enough to offset a 22-percent decline in car sales.
The smallest of Detroit's Big Three, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, said overall sales rose 2 percent in October.
The Chrysler Group, however, was outsold by Toyota Motor Corp.'s American division in October. Toyota, including Lexus and Scion, reported 170,815 U.S. sales vs. 170,169 for the Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler brands.
October's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate, or SAAR, was 16.9 million units, up from 16.1 million a year ago but off from 17.5 million in September, according to Autodata Corp. The rate indicates what sales would be for the full year if they remained at the same pace for all 12 months. Full-year sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.