GM and Ford Light Truck Sales are Up, But Car Sales Dragging Them Down
Overall car and light truck sales fell by an average of 8.7 percent in August, according to Canadian automakers. This was in sharp contrast to a 5 percent increase in Canadian sales for the month of July.
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| After a 5% increase in sales for July, August hit hard with a contrasting 8.7% decrease in sales by Canadian automakers. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
According to independent automotive analyst Dennis DesRosiers, "there's incentive fatigue out there." He added, "In July we had a good month. The market needs a breather."
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| Despite incentives and discounts the Big 3's sales continue to decline, with their market share down to a low of 62.1 percent over the first half of 2003. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
The incentives game has been going on for nearly two years now, and believing that the Big 3 domestic automakers' enticements will never end, buyers are beginning to ignore the call to immediate action and put off making that big purchase until a better deal comes along.
But while this attempt has been designed to slow down what has become a continual reduction in market share, Big 3 sales have continued to slide. Total General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler market share dropped to a record 62.1 percent low over the first half of 2003, when compared to 63.4 percent during the same period the previous year.