After receiving billions of taxpayer dollars to stay afloat and wrenching vehicle recalls, the major players in the US auto market on Monday reported surging sales last month.
Detroit’s Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler — all reported positive year-on-year sales, building on a gradual upward turn for the industry after a difficult 12 months.
Toyota USA, which has suffered through a massive global recall affecting some 10 million vehicles worldwide, also reported improved sales across its divisions.
The figures were another hopeful sign for US automakers struggling to find their feet after months of turmoil that saw both GM and Chrysler undergo government-financed bankruptcies.
GM said its overall US sales rose 6.4 percent last month and it saw a seventh consecutive month of gains for its four core brands.
In a statement on its Web site, the company touted a 20 percent year-on-year increase in sales of its four biggest brands — Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
“Clearly, our launch vehicles are hitting the mark with consumers who are looking for bold styling, quality, safety and fuel efficiency,” US sales operations vice president Steve Carlisle said.
Chrysler, which said last month it was on track to break even this year on an operating basis, reported a robust 25 percent increase in its overall US sales — the company’s best year-on-year sales improvement in nearly three years.
“April was a very positive month for Chrysler Group, with concrete results that highlight the company is on-track and gaining momentum,” Chrysler executive Fred Diaz said.
Of the Detroit Three, Ford was only one to avoid bankruptcy, managing to stay afloat thanks to the massive loans it obtained prior to the credit crunch and because it moved more quickly to revitalize its product portfolio.
Ford said overall sales were up 24.7 percent last month from a year earlier, with its three main brands — Ford, Lincoln and Mercury — all posting rises.
Toyota, which dethroned GM as the world’s top automaker in 2008, has suffered devastating blows to its reputation since the beginning of the year, when it began issuing recalls over defective accelerator pedals and brakes.
The recalls now include some 10 million cars worldwide, and the company is still working to win back customers by offering price cuts and other incentives.
The company said it sold 157,439 vehicles in the US last month, up 24.4 percent from a year earlier.
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RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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