DETROIT – Lured by the government's cash-for-clunkers campaign, car and truck buyers started returning to showrooms last month, as Ford Motor Co. reported its first U.S. sales increase in nearly two years and other major automakers said sales showed signs of stability.
Overall, automakers are expected to turn in strong performances, most notably Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., which may pass Chrysler Group LLC and Japan's Nissan Motor Co. in sales for the first time in history. July sales, if converted to an annual rate, could top 10 million cars and trucks, the first month this year that sales rose above that depressed level.
Ford's sales, led by the redesigned midsize Ford Fusion, and strong sales of the Escape crossover vehicle and F-series pickup line, offered encouraging signs for industry analysts who predicted a modest improvement in the second-half of the year.
July sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury light vehicles rose 1.6 percent from the same month last year. Ford sold 158,354 vehicles, a 2.2 percent increase over June's figures and a sign that consumer fears that fueled the worst U.S. auto sales slump in a quarter-century may be easing.
Meanwhile, crosstown rival Chrysler Group LLC posted a smaller year-over-year sales drop compared with recent months. The Auburn Hills automaker, which emerged from bankruptcy protection earlier this year, said its sales fell 9.4 percent and received help from heavy incentives and the cash-for-clunkers program.
Officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, the program offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, in exchange for scrapping their old vehicle.
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AP Photo/Matt Rourke
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