Big 3 Car Sales Plummet 10.8% in Late February

Late-February domestic sales of cars and light trucks by the Big Three auto makers tumbled 10.8% this year compared to the same period last year, when expiring incentives attracted buyers to showrooms, the companies said Monday.

New incentives are in effect this year, but they did not generate the excitement during late February that was evident in sales figures a year ago.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. said they sold cars and trucks at an average daily rate of 37,143 units during the Feb. 21-28 period this year compared to a daily average of 41,624 during the same time last year.

Big Three car sales were down 11.9%, and truck sales declined 8.9%.

Vehicle sales during the first two months of this year were running 1.9% behind last year’s pace, with a 3.5% rise in truck sales being offset by a 5.2% decline in car sales.

With the notable exception of incentives on Chrysler’s popular minivans, which were in effect only in January, cash rebates and low-interest financing haven’t sparked buying like they did in the first two months of 1989.

Auto makers are waiting to see if purchasing rates pick up in March and April as they usually do. Springtime normally is a good sales period for the auto makers as winter weather begins to break and Americans hit the road.

Last year, the incentive in January and February drained demand from the spring buying period.

Ford spokesman Joel Pitcoff said the company’s 19.1% decline in late-February car and truck sales stemmed from strong fleet sales a year ago, compared to a normal period this year. Car sales by the nation’s No. 2 auto maker fell 24.5% during the period and truck sales were off 10.8%.

For the first two months of the year, Ford’s cars and trucks were selling at a pace 6.6% behind last year’s rate, with car sales down 8.7% and truck sales falling by 3.6%.

Chrysler said its late-February car sales fell 11.6% and truck sales were off 21.3%, compared to a year ago, combining for a 16% decline in vehicle sales. For the year, Chrysler’s car and truck sales, which got a big boost from the minivan incentives in January, were up 2%.

GM’s car and truck sales for late February ran 2.4% behind last year’s pace, with car sales off 3.8% and truck sales up 0.9%. For the entire year, GM vehicles sold at a pace 0.2% ahead of last year.

VEHICLE SALES

Feb. 21-28 1990 % change GM* 134,165 - 2.4 Ford* 81,423 -19.1 Chrysler* 44,416 -16.6 Honda U.S. 16,096 +38.8 Mitsubishi U.S. 1,014 +125.8 NissanU.S.* 8,726 -27.8 Toyota U.S. 10,833 +47.3 Mazda U.S. 2,104 +39.9 TOTAL 298,817 -7.9

*Includes light truck sales.

There were 7 selling days in the selling period this year and last year.