http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Ford-sales-halved-amid-auto/story.aspx?guid={BF73AE3D-036B-4F97-8A64-D8D0C821DEC7}Ford, GM sales halved amid auto industry meltdownBy Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch
Last update: 2:46 p.m. EST March 3, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. on Tuesday both said February U.S. vehicle sales fell by half. They also pared production plans in preparation for a year in which hopes for a broader industry turnaround are diminishing.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for the industry will likely come in at around 9.2 million vehicles, according to Mark LaNeve, vice president of GM North America vehicle sales.
That would make for the worst February in 42 years of recordkeeping, he said.
As for the Japanese automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motors and Honda Motor Co. all reported declines of almost 40%.
Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford was the first of the major automakers to report, posting a 48.2% drop to 96,044 cars and trucks, down from 185,294 vehicles a year earlier.
The truck side, which includes the top-selling F-Series pickup, plunged 51.6% to 61,366 units. Car sales fell 40.8% to 34,678.
Emily Kolinski Morris, a senior economist at Ford, stopped short of calling for a recovery some time this year.
"It may be that this month is now the bottom," she said in a conference call following the release. "But there's no anchor on the economic horizon to allow us to make that call conclusively."
Standard & Poor's Equity Research analyst Efraim Levy reiterated his hold rating on Ford stock, though he said the results leaned toward the disappointing end of his targeted range.
"We are in an automotive depression amid 'The Great Recession,' as shell-shocked consumers fearful for their jobs, the value of their homes, and stock market assets are wary of making the sizable discretionary purchases of new vehicles," he said, adding that government stimulus should help sales next year.
To cope with the severe downturn in consumer demand that has rattled the entire industry, Ford said it plans to produce 425,000 vehicles in the second quarter, down from 685,000 cars and trucks in the same quarter a year earlier.
"The economic and competitive environment remains challenging," said Ken Czubay, head of Ford sales and marketing, in a statement. "Ironically, these times provide the best opportunity to distance Ford from the competition."
GM's decline was even worse than rival Ford's, with the Detroit car maker reporting a 53.1% pullback to 126,170 light vehicles from 268,737 cars and trucks a year ago.
"It remains a tough and challenging market, but seeing some upticks in volume and showroom traffic compared with last month is encouraging," LaNeve said.
GM said it plans to manufacture 550,000 vehicles in the second quarter, a 34% decline from the number built in the year ago period.
Overall, car-buying research site Edmunds.com is looking for a monthly sales drop for the group of 41.4%. Most on Wall Street call for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in the low 9 million vicinity, down from 9.6 million last month, which marked a 26-year low.
While industry watchers' forecasts have been slashed in recent weeks, some still stand by a belief that better results are on the way. J.D. Power and Associates, for instance, cut its 2009 estimate to 10.4 million vehicles, down from a prior target of 11.4 million, but the consumer research firm is still looking for some measure of improvement later in the year.
Ford has declined government aid so far, but drops from General Motors Corp (and Chrysler) will likely help those companies build a case for more federal aid. That duo, both struggling to survive, submitted requests to the U.S. Treasury last month that, if granted, could provide up to $39 billion in emergency loans.
At last check, GM's stock had added 3% to $2.07.
