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GM, Ford report sales increases; Chrysler drops 30 per cent

Nov 3, 2009, 21:28 GMT

New York - GM and Ford Tuesday released positive reports for auto sales in October, while struggling Chrysler said sales had dropped 30 per cent. General Motors' 4.1-per-cent rise from the year-ago period was its first annual increase in 21 months, signalling hope for US car makers. Rival Ford - the only major US car maker that has not asked for a government bailout - said its sales rose 3.1 per cent in October. On Monday, Ford surprised analysts with a net income of 997 million dollars - the first operating profit since the first quarter of 2008. Nissan Motor Co sales were up 5.6 per cent over October 2008, while Hyundai Motor Co reported a 49 per cent jump. Toyota Motor Corp sales were up less than 1 per cent in October. The October report improved over September, when industrywide sales slid 23 per cent as the cash-for-clunker federal rebate programme ended. 'The economy is beginning to recover,' Dana Johnson, chief economist at Dallas-based Comerica Bank, told Bloomberg news service. 'We probably lost some car sales in September because inventory was so low they couldn't make deliveries.'

Business News

GM, Ford report sales increases; Chrysler drops 30 per cent

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