AUTOS : Spring Sales Are Off to a Cold Start : Reports: The U.S. figures, which include most makers, show a drop of 11.5% for April, 8.5% for the year to date.

L.A. Times Archives

May 2, 1995 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

DETROIT —

The message was nearly unanimous Monday from auto makers reporting their April deliveries of cars and light trucks: U.S. sales sagged compared to a year ago.

“It’s soft out there,” said Thomas Osborn, director of sales and marketing operations planning for Chrysler Corp. Chrysler sales were off more than 18% from April, 1994.

Sales of its mainstay minivans fell 35% as buyers apparently put off purchases to wait for redesigned 1996 models the company is beginning to ship to dealers. There also might have been some backlash over news reports of Chrysler’s agreement with the government to replace liftgate latches on minivan models from the current generation, out of concern that rear hatches could pop open in crashes.

Major car makers Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. did not issue reports Monday. The totals, without numbers from these and several smaller importers, show the industry’s U.S. sales fell 11.5% for April and 8.5% for the year to date.

The No. 1 auto maker, General Motors Corp., said overall sales of light vehicles declined 7.2% from a year ago. Its Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac divisions felt the effects of drastically reduced sales to fleet buyers, the company said. GM truck sales lagged because of availability problems with some of the most popular vehicles.

Honda sales were off 13.8%, Nissan was down 22.1% and Mazda’s daily sales rate dropped 19.3% from April, 1994.

None of the larger companies reported increases over April of ’94. However, both South Korean importers, Hyundai and Kia, showed gains. Hyundai sales were 16.8% ahead of last year, and Kia, which sells two models in 13 western states, posted an 81.6% gain over April, 1994. Sweden’s Volvo also reported an increase, with April sales up 16.3%.

Overall sales of light trucks--the category that includes vans, pickups and sport utility vehicles--were off 9.5%. Passenger car sales were down 12.7%.