DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
New-vehicle sales are expected to rise this month from April,
but still remain far below year-earlier levels as Ford Motor Co.
(F) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) are projected to get into striking
distance of General Motors Corp. (GM), said car-shopping Web site
Edmunds.com.
The month-to-month results show the industry's sales
stabilization appears to continue, although sales have been at
nearly multidecade lows, pushing one and possibly two of America's
three main auto producers into bankruptcy protection.
"Consumer demand is slowly starting to come back, but is still
far below last year's levels," noted Jesse Toprak, Edmund's
executive director of industry analysis. He added part of the
year-to-year decline is the continue slump in He fleet sales,
especially at Chrysler LLC, which shut production May 1 after its
bankruptcy filing.
Industrywide sales have been tumbling since September as the
U.S. economy worsens, prompting consumers to stop buying big-ticket
items and hindering the financing of new-car purchases.
Edmunds sees May sales at 890,000 vehicles, down 36% from a year
earlier but up 8.9% from April.
By company, it projected GM at 170,000, followed by Ford and
Toyota at 153,000. April was the first time in 13 months that Ford
topped Toyota.
Chrysler's bankruptcy is expected to pressure sales at the
company, which for some time has been experiencing some of the
biggest declines but rebounded a bit in April. Its May sales are
forecast to fall 54%, said Edmunds.com, staying just ahead of
Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) and Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.SE).
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com