General Motors Corp. reported a 5 percent dip in its sales for last month. Ford Motor Co. said its sales tumbled 13 percent, and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit posted a 12 percent drop. Some foreign automakers fared better, led by Toyota's 11 percent gain. BMW's March sales were up 5 percent, while demand for Volkswagen and Volvo last month was off 3 percent. Slower sales over this year's first three months have prompted GM, Ford and Chrysler to slow production to whittle showroom inventories, pinching suppliers along the way.
Analysts widely expect softness in U.S. auto sales to continue at least into midyear.
U.S. automakers have expected this year's domestic sales to come in between 16 million and 16.5 million units, well off last year's record 17.4 million, but still considered acceptable given the softening market. E-mail this story to a friend. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written consent of the Lexington Herald-Leader is prohibited.