Falling car sales cause cut in shifts

STAFF/WIRE REPORT

Car sales continue to show why General Motors has trimmed production at its Lordstown complex to one shift.

The automaker said Wednesday that it sold 7,903 Chevrolet Cobalts in the U.S. last month. It was the worst March yet for the Lordstown-built car, which was launched in fall 2004.

Last month’s sales were down 42 percent from the 13,756 Cobalts sold in March 2008.

For the first three months of this year, GM sold 21,438 Cobalts, which was down 55 percent from last year’s pace.

Sales of the Pontiac G5, which also is made in Lordstown, also were down.

GM sold 532 G5s last month, down 65 percent from the 1,546 sold in March 2008. Last month’s sales were the lowest monthly total since the car’s first sales month in July 2006.

For the first three months of this year, GM has sold 2,013 G5s, down 63 percent from last year’s pace.

Because of the slow sales, GM has cut production at the Lordstown complex from three shifts to one.

GM has laid off 2,800 workers and has about 1,775 still on the job.

Last week, 247 Lordstown workers said they would take buyout or early-retirement offers, but 30 indicated Tuesday that they had changed their minds and will stay on the job.

The decline in sales of Lordstown-built cars mirrors what is happening throughout the industry.

March was another dismal month for auto sales, as low consumer confidence and job uncertainty kept buyers away from showrooms.

GM led the slide with a 45- percent U.S. sales plunge compared with a year earlier, while Ford Motor Co. reported a 41- percent drop.

Sales at Toyota Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC both dropped 39 percent, while Honda Motor Co. reported a 36-percent decline.

Detroit-based GM sold a total of 155,334 light vehicles, while Ford sold a total of 131,102. Ford’s total came in slightly below that of Toyota, which reported U.S. sales of 132,802 units.

Despite the declines, GM, Ford and Toyota all posted double-digit improvements from February, when the U.S. sales overall hit their lowest point in more than 27 years.

Sales are generally better in March as warmer weather helps drive people to showrooms, but analysts expected to see little improvement from February industrywide.

That’s despite a record level of incentive spending by automakers last month, according to Edmunds.com.

The average incentive on vehicles sold last month was $3,169, up 30 percent from a year earlier, the car-buying Web site said. GM and Hyundai Motor Co. spent more on incentives than they ever have, while Ford said its incentive spending was the same as a year ago.

“Where we are starting to differentiate from our competitors is in the area,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president of marketing and communications.

“We’re getting more traffic. We don’t have to close everyone with incentives.”