Car sales decline from May to June

Associated Press

detroit

Most automakers saw their U.S. sales drop from May to June, a sign that this year’s slow recovery in the industry may be stalling.

Americans are delaying big-ticket purchases because they’re worried about their jobs in a period of high unemployment. Nervous consumers could mean a tough summer for automakers, who hope to improve sales after a dismal 2009.

Sales of new cars and trucks for General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Toyota and Chrysler Group LLC fell between 12 percent and 14 percent from May to June. Nissan, Subaru and Honda also were down, but Hyundai bucked the trend with a slight gain.

“Recent economic news continues to point to a slow recovery with some volatility in it,” said Steve Carlisle, GM’s head of global product planning.

Sales of GM’s four core brands — Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac — rose 36 percent over June of last year, helped by strong demand for crossovers and some re-covery in pickups. Still, last June was a relatively weak month as GM headed into bankruptcy protection and the industry was in the midst of its worst annual sales in 30 years.

Carlisle pointed to declines in fleet sales as a major reason for GM’s slowdown from May. Those sales, which go to bulk buyers such as the government and rental-car companies, bring in less money than sales to individuals. GM sold 25,000 fewer vehicles to fleets in June.

The Chevy Cobalt, which ended its 6-year run at the GM Lordstown complex, sold 10,141 vehicles in June, up from 3,294 in June 2009.