GM, Ford Report Weak Sales For November [View All]

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DETROIT -- In what has become a familiar pattern, the country's top two automakers reported weak November sales Wednesday, while Chrysler and the Japanese companies continued to surge ahead. Both General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. said they would reduce production for the first quarter of 2005 after the disappointing month.

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GM said its total vehicle sales fell 13.1 percent from November 2003, with a 17.1 percent decline in cars and a 10.3 percent decline in trucks. The company said it intends to produce 1.25 million vehicles in the first quarter, down 7.1 percent from the same quarter last year.

No. 2 Ford said sales of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands fell 4.3 percent in November from the year before, its ninth monthly decline this year. Car sales fell 12.5 percent, while sales of pickups and SUVs were down 0.9 percent. Ford said it would build 930,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2005, a 7.7 percent reduction. Both GM and Ford said fourth-quarter production would remain unchanged at the previously announced plan of 830,000 vehicles for Ford and 1.27 million for GM.

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Toyota's American division, meanwhile, did best with cars. With the Camry holding its place as the country's best-selling passenger car and sales of the Prius hybrid continuing to climb, Toyota sold 19.2 percent more cars last month than in November 2003. Truck sales fell 1.4 percent, giving Toyota an overall increase of 8.8 percent."

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