Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) reported today that sales for April 2010 rose nearly 25% from April 2009, to 167,542 vehicles. Ford’s results were better than analysts’ expectations.The industry is still seeing sales gains as a result of buyer incentives. According to Edmunds.com, Ford’s combined incentives totaled $3,374 in April, Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM) spent $2,498 per vehicle on incentives, and Honda Motor Co. (NYSE:HMC) spent $1,787 per vehicle.
General Motors reported an increase in sales of 6.4% in April compared with sales in the same month a year ago. The company sold 183,997 cars and trucks in April, and newly launched models accounted for one in every four cars GM sold.
The hottest auto maker out there is Korea’s Hyundai Motors, which saw its April sales jump 30%, to 44,023 vehicles. Hyundai’s incentives packages totaled $1,792, next to Honda as the lowest total for the month. The industry average for incentives packages was $2,654 according to Edmunds.
April sales are expected to total 11.2 million vehicles for all makers, up from 9.2 million a year ago. That’s somewhat lower than the 11.8 million vehicles sold in March 2010, when incentives were higher than they were in April.
A slight downside to the report is that fleet sales are increasing, which cuts the car makers’ profits.
Toyota’s US sales increased 24.4% in April and Chrysler sales were up 25%, but Chrysler sold a lot fleet vehicles in the mix. GM sold just 906 vehicles from its discontinued brands in April, down from more than 20,000 a year ago.
Another interesting note is that Ford said it sold 40,946 F-150 pickup trucks in April, up 42% from a year ago. That may be a further sign that the economy is coming back because pickup truck sales are tied to the housing industry which buys a lot of pickups.
Overall, the news from the auto makers is solid, but the effect of declining incentives is keeping a lid on growing sales month-over-month. Until consumers once more feel confident enough about their prospects to buy cars without being bribed, auto sales will continue to be uncertain
Related Articles:
- Toyota TM Stalling Before May Earnings Report
- China’s Geely Auto Stuck in Neutral (F, TM, HMC)
- Johnson Controls JCI Earnings Up on Auto Sales Boost – F, WMT, XIDE
Most investors are spectators at best — or victims at worst — in the feeding frenzy that surrounds Earnings Season. But we cut through the haze of rumor and manipulation to determine where the smart money is headed next. Then we simply “tag along,” for another 50%, 110% or 200% gain. Sign up for a FREE investment report and find out how you can double your money on rumors AND the news!
