Toyota beats Ford again, GM, Chrysler sales up

“It’s not that important right now in the scheme of things,” he said of sales rankings.

Ford on Friday lowered its North American production estimates 2.5 percent for the current quarter and announced production goals for the first three months of 2007 that were in line with previous estimates.

Ford said it plans to build 620,000 vehicles in October-December period, including 240,000 cars and 380,000 trucks. That’s 15,000 fewer than previously announced.

Ford said the change reflected the temporary suspension of Freestar minivan production at the Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada.

And it said production in the first quarter of 2007 will total 750,000 vehicles, including 240,000 cars and 510,000 trucks. That’s down about 14 percent from production in the first quarter of 2006.

Ford said the goal put it on pace with earlier estimates that production in the first six months of 2007 would be 8 percent to 12 percent lower than the first half of 2006.

GM said its fourth-quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 449,000 cars and 661,000 trucks. The company’s forecast for the first quarter of 2007 is 1.28 million vehicles, down 9 percent from actual production in the first quarter of 2006.

Sales at DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group rose 2.9 percent from November 2005 to 164,556, while Mercedes-Benz sold 22,079 vehicles, its third highest performance and a 21 percent jump from a year ago.

Overall, DaimlerChrysler said U.S. sales were 186,635 in the month. More detailed figures for Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz were to be released later in the day.

Nissan Motor Co.’s sales were down 1.6 percent to 76,015. Car sales rose 11.5 percent to 42,361, including the best November on record for the Altima sedan. But truck sales fell 14.2 percent to 33,654 as sales of the Xterra SUV dropped 31.8 percent.

The auto industry as a whole may look a little better last month because November 2005 was relatively weak. Customers avoided car showrooms a year ago despite easing gas prices and deep discounts amid worries about high heating costs and other factors.

Ford shares fell 13 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $8 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while GM shares rose 11 cents to $29.34. DaimlerChrysler shares were down 44 cents to $57.84 on the NYSE.

The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages that are adjusted for the number of sales days in a month.

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