Sales of Valley-built Cobalts jump 25 percent in April

The price of gasoline is starting to change buying habits of consumers.

STAFF/WIRE REPORT

Sales of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt soared in April as high gas prices accelerated consumers’ rush away from trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

“Consumer preference is shifting, and we’re shifting with it as evidenced by our strong car and crossover sales,” said Mark LaNeve, a General Motors vice president.

GM said Thursday that it sold 18,636 Cobalts in the U.S. last month, 25 percent more than were sold in April 2007.

The Cobalt is produced at GM’s Lordstown complex, which also makes the Pontiac G5. The company sold 2,030 G5s last month, which was an 11 percent increase.

It’s been a good year for the Cobalt. During the first four months of 2008, GM has sold 66,660 Cobalts, which is a 17-percent increase over last year’s pace. GM sold 7,409 G5s through April, a decline of less than 1 percent.

April’s increases for the Cobalt and G5 came as GM saw a sales slump led by truck and SUV sales. That segment was off 27 percent, which dragged GM’s overall sales down by 16 percent.

Sales of GM’s midsize Chevrolet Malibu shot up 40 percent, but the long popular Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV saw sales dip 73 percent.

GM said it produced 130,000 fewer vehicles in April due to an ongoing strike at supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which has affected 30 plants.

LaNeve said the production cuts didn’t affect sales to individual customers because of the company’s large inventory of trucks and SUVs. But LaNeve said GM cut 15,000 sales to rental and commercial fleets in April because of the strike.

Ford Motor Co. said its SUV sales were down 36 percent in April compared with the same month last year, and its overall sales were down 12 percent.

Car sales were down only 1 percent, buoyed by sales of the Ford Focus small car, which saw a 44 percent jump in sales. The Focus gets 24 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. By comparison, Ford’s largest SUV, the Expedition, gets 12 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway.

George Pipas, Ford’s top sales analyst, said retail — or nonfleet — sales of passenger cars exceeded trucks and sport-utility vehicles combined for the first time in at least 20 years.

“It’s such a new world for us, because as you well know, for the better part of the last two decades, we’ve been a truck and SUV company predominantly,” Pipas said. “So this requires a big shift in our culture, in our training and our thinking. Not only for Ford but our dealers.”

Retail gas prices began April at $3.26 a gallon nationwide but crept up to $3.57 per gallon by the last week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They set a record Wednesday, rising to a national average of nearly $3.62 a gallon.

“At $3 a gallon, there’s a lot of discussion about the price of gasoline but not much change in behavior. But in the mid-$3.50 range with $4 on the horizon, there’s a lot of change in behavior,” said Mike Jackson, the chief executive of AutoNation Inc., the country’s largest auto retailer.

Toyota Motor Corp. said its car sales rose 12 percent, largely on the strength of the subcompact Yaris, which saw sales rise 46 percent and the hybrid Prius, which was up 54 percent. Toyota’s truck and SUV sales dropped 8 percent.