Cars outsell Ford F-series for first time since ’92

“Only a few companies ever made really good trucks, but a lot of companies make good little cars,” he said. “The competition level is going to go up, way up.”

Ford’s U.S. car sales were up 3 percent compared with last May, and it sold more than 30,000 Ford Focus small cars for only the second time in the car’s nine-year history. But pickup and SUV sales dropped 26 percent. Farley said the company plans to offer an employee-pricing discount on F-series trucks this summer to clear out inventory before the new F-series arrives this fall.

Ford said last month it plans to slash North American production of trucks and SUVs for the rest of the year. Ford also is planning to lay off salaried workers as part of a restructuring plan that will be detailed next month.

Toyota’s U.S. sales dropped 4 percent for the month, as flat results for cars were dragged down by a 12 percent decline in trucks and SUVs.

Chrysler said car sales fell 33 percent and truck sales were down 22 percent despite an incentive program that lets buyers lock in gas prices at $2.99 per gallon. Chrysler said the decline was mainly due to a 40 percent cutback in sales to rental car companies and other fleets.

Steven Landry, executive vice president for North American sales, said the $2.99 gas incentive has lured people into dealerships and will be continued through July 7. He said between 5 and 10 percent of buyers are choosing the fuel guarantee over other incentives.

Landry said May’s sales figures were sobering for the industry.

“This month is one that particularly lets us look deep into the numbers and determine our game plan for the rest of this year,” he said.

Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of North American sales, said earlier forecasts for an improvement in the second half of the year now look overly optimistic. But GM does think sales are hitting their low point now.

“We still think we’re somewhere near the bottom and we look for a firming up and a gradual recovery beginning in the back half of the year,” he said.

GM shares rose 14 cents to close at $17.58. Ford shares rose 4 cents to $6.68, while Toyota’s U.S. shares fell 22 cents to $102.29.

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 adjusted for sales days. There were 27 sales days last month and 26 in May 2007.

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