A Record-Breaking Motor Sales Month
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have posted double-digit US sales gains for July. Toyota and Nissan North America also posted their best sales month in the United States.
DaimlerChrysler, including Mercedes-Benz, sold 260,945 units in July, a boost of 25.1 per cent for the month. Year-to-date, the car manufacturer has sold 1,547,536 vehicles, up 6.9 per cent from the same period in 2004.
GM’s July sales rose 15.2 per cent, boosted by the GM Employee Discount for Everyone incentive programme said the company. Its US sales totaled 524,218 vehicles in July compared with 454,963 in July last year. GM has sold 2,844,839 vehicles to date, a 4.3 per cent increase from the same time last year.
Paul Ballew, GM’s chief sales analyst, said 71 per cent of retail sales in July came from trucks, and he predicted that the company would achieve a market share of 27 per cent for the year.