Reuters reported that US auto sales slipped in June 2010 from the previous month's pace and major automakers said there was no sign of the second half recovery that the battered industry had expected at the start of the year.
Monthly US sales results for the Detroit automakers were up by double digit percentages from June 2009, a month when Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy and General Motors Co filed for protection from its creditors.
But overall sales were down from May on an adjusted basis, raising questions about whether the industry and investors overestimated the strength of what is shaping up as a very limited recovery from the depressed 2009 levels.
Chrysler, now controlled by Fiat SpA, reported a 35% sales increase but declined to detail the share of those sales that went to retail customers.
Ford Motor Co sales were up 13%, while GM posted an 11% sales increase, the same gain recorded by Nissan Motor Co.
Other major Japanese automakers trailed, Toyota Motor Co was up by 7% and Honda Motor Co was up by 6%. Hyundai Motor Co bucked the trend again in the sputtering US markets with a 35% sales gain.
The Korean automaker posted a 25% gain in sales the first half of 2010 but warned that industry wide demand was running below forecasts in the world's No 2 vehicle market.
The lower than expected US sales come as weaker June sales in France and the prospect of higher taxes in markets like Spain deepened concern about a double dip recession.
Initial estimates for industry wide US auto sales in June were between 11.2 million and 11.4 million vehicles on an annualized basis.
That marks a retreat from 11.6 million in May, countering industry expectations that consumer demand would be moving toward a stronger recovery in the second half.
Mr Al Castignetti, who heads Nissan brand sales in the United States, said that "June came in fairly anemic. I think a lot of people are looking at housing and other indicators and just delaying big-ticket purchases."
Hyundai's North America chief Mr John Krafcik said that the Korean automaker now expects that US sales for 2010 will end up around 11.3 million vehicles.
Toyota said it expected full year sales would end at around 11.5 million vehicles.
Mr Bob Carter chief of the Toyota brand in the US market said that "There's no question that the industry's recovery will be a slow process and there will be some bumps along the way. We're doing fine in a market that continues to be very sluggish."
US automakers have traditionally relied on sales to fleet customers, including car rental agencies, for a larger share of their overall sales than European and Japanese auto brands.
Ford said fleet sales accounted for about 37% of its overall sales in June, including 14% of its sales that went to car rental agencies.
GM said its share of such fleet sales was about 31%. Chrysler declined to provide a similar figure that would put its overall sales gain in perspective.
On an industry wide basis, fleet sales have accounted for about a fifth of overall sales for the past five years. After stripping out fleet sales, Ford said it estimated that industry wide retail sales in June were running as low as 8.5 million units in June.
(Sourced from www.reuters.com)
