Chrysler Group's passenger vehicle sales, which include the
Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, fell 1.4 per cent compared with
June 2006, while Mercedes sales fell 5.8 per cent during the same
period.
Detailed breakdowns from DaimlerChrysler, which sold a total of
202,936 vehicles in the U.S. last month, were expected later in the
day.
DaimlerChrysler said Chrysler car sales were up 55 per cent
because of an ad campaign highlighting fuel efficiency of its
models. The company did not break out truck sales, which offset the
gain.
Jeep brand sales were up 19 per cent, led by the new four-door
Wrangler, the company said.
Auto sales statistics show the market was shifting toward
gas-thrifty compacts in May in record numbers, and some analysts
were expecting that to continue in June with $3-a-gallon gas.
Because of the continued homebuilding slump, truck sales were
expected to be down overall in June.
The small-car trend was expected to hurt the Detroit Three, which
rely more on sport utility vehicles and trucks for sales. Asian and
some European automakers have increased incentives on small cars,
which also makes them more attractive.
Automotive website Edmunds.com estimated Tuesday that the average
U.S. automaker incentive was $2,483 per vehicle in June, up 3.9 per
cent from May and down 5.1 per cent from June of last year. Of
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler, Honda Motor Co.,
Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., Edmunds said only Honda and
Toyota had higher incentives than they did during the same time last
year.
The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the
percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month
compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report
percentages adjusted for sales days, which last month was 27 and in
June 2006 was 26.
___
AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
DaimlerChrysler AG: http://www.daimlerchrysler.com
Ford Motor Co.: http://www.ford.com
General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com
Honda Motor Co.: http://www.honda.com
Nissan Motor Co.: http://www.nissanusa.com
Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com
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