US June auto sales fall 29%, marking best month for 2009

01 July 2009 20:45  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US automobile sales in June fell by 29% year over year, the lowest drop so far this year, according to sales reports released on Wednesday.

US auto sales fell by 35% in May, 36% in April, 40% in March, 45% in February and 41% in January, according to statistics compiled by ICIS.

“Customers are cautiously coming back into the market, although the industry remains very weak," according to a statement by Mark LaNeve, vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing for GM North America.

Although General Motors (GM) continued to report large year-over-year declines, June sales actually rose 10% when compared with May, the company said. June was the fourth consecutive month-over-month increase for GM.

Ford reported an 11% year-over-year drop in automobile sales, the best performance so far this year for a major US automobile seller.

“We’re making steady progress,” said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president for marketing and communications.

Government incentives could further bolster the nation's automobile market.

The nation's so-called Cash for Clunkers programme will provide customers with $3,500-4,500 (€2,485-3,195) to trade in their older, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

Chrysler is adding an additional incentive of up to $750, the company said.

The auto industry is a key end-use barometer of chemical demand, with each US-made automobile using 331 lb (150kg) of plastics, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The ACC also estimates that each automobile made in the US contains nearly $2,700 worth of chemical products or chemical processing value.

	2009			2008
	Car	Truck	Total	Car	Truck	Total	% Change
Chrysler	15,504	52,793	68,297	29,858	87,599	117,457	-42
Ford	54,040	94,113	148,153	65,109	101,981	167,090	-11
GM	83,113	91,672	174,785	109,224	153,105	262,329	-33
Honda	57,705	42,715	100,420	97,639	44,900	142,539	-30
Nissan	40,172	18,126	58,298	54,646	21,202	75,848	-23
Toyota	84,212	47,442	131,654	137,438	63,829	201,267	-35
Total	334,746	346,861	681,607	493,914	472,616	966,530	-29

($1 = €0.71)

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