April saw automakers experience their worst month of U.S. new light vehicle sales since 1998, according to AutoData Corp., which reported the figures Tuesday. On a non-adjusted basis, only Chrysler saw its sales rise, and that by a nearly flat 1.6%, while Asian automakers experienced declines, after months of strong growth.
Total light vehicle sales fell 7.6%, to a total of just 1,338,603 vehicles in April, translating to a seasonally adjusted selling pace of 16.27 million vehicles annually, versus 16.69 million a year ago. Ford's sales fell by 13%, while GM's were down just under 10%. As Ford sales analyst George Pipas put it, "there weren't too many highlights on this month's report card." Asia's Big 3 didn't fair any better with Toyota's sales dropping 4.3% on an unadjusted basis (Reuters reported an adjusted figure of nearly 4% growth, its lowest monthly sales growth since 2004). Honda reported a 9% sales decline, while Nissan's sales tanked a whopping 18% y/y. With the exception of Honda, whose shares fell nearly 1% yesterday, the other automaker's all saw share prices rise moderately despite yesterday's report. April's weak sales figures point to the possibility of a more wary U.S. consumer, cutting back on new spending because of rising gasoline prices and falling home values. As a Toyota executive put it, consumers appear "tentative and are exhibiting a wait-and-see attitude." With the consumer playing such a big role in GDP growth over the last year - growth which dropped to multi-years lows recently - April's auto sales may be indicative of a wider economic downturn beginning to take hold.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Reuters, TheStreet.com
Commentary: Auto Storm Brewing: The Short Case for the Weakest Players • Goldman: Ford's Street-Beating Q1 Not a Sign of Significant Improvements • The Rise of Toyota and the Demise of the American Auto Industry
Stocks/ETFs to watch: General Motors (GM), Ford (F), DaimlerChrysler (DCX), Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY)
Conference call transcripts: Ford Motor Q1 2007 Earnings Call Transcript
Related: Top-20 selling vehicles in U.S. through April • Toyota Becomes World's Top Car Maker
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