Light Truck and Car Sales by Big 3 Rise : Ford Performance Fuels Mid-April Increase of 4.7%

DETROIT —  Sales of cars and light trucks made by the nation’s Big Three auto makers rose 4.7% in mid-April compared with last year, mainly because of a strong performance by Ford Motor Co., the companies said today.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler reported that their vehicles sold at an average daily rate of 38,686 during the April 11-20 period this year, compared with a rate of 36,956 cars and trucks a day during the same time last year.

Car sales rose a modest 2.1% and truck sales were up 9.3% during the period, in which each of the Big Three had new incentive packages in full force.

Incentive Packages

The companies have been banking that incentives announced at the end of March and in early April would entice customers into showrooms and help pull the industry out of a lower-than-expected sales slump during the first three months of the year.

Normally, March and April sales are robust, but they failed to live up to that billing last month, hence the incentives.

For the first 20 days of April, Big Three car sales were up 12.1% and truck sales were running 15.6% ahead of last year’s pace. Since Jan. 1, car sales by the Big Three were down 8.4% and truck sales were off 1.2% contrasted with last year.

Mid-April Sales Up 14.5%

Ford said its mid-April car sales were running 14.5% ahead of last year’s pace, going to a daily rate of 8,348 this year from 7,292 during the period last year. So far in 1989, Ford’s car sales were running 1.1% ahead of last year’s pace.

Truck sales by Ford were up 4.9% during the 10-day period this year and were down 2.4% for the calendar year.

GM reported a 1.5% decrease in its mid-April car sales, with a daily rate of 12,296 this year, contrasted with 12,483 last year. So far this year, GM has sold 11% fewer cars than last year.

GM’s light truck sales were up 14.7% in mid-April and down 2.4% so far this year.

Chrysler said its average daily car sales rate fell to 3,374 during mid-April this year, a 10.3% decline from the 3,760 rate during the period last year. Car sales by the nation’s No. 3 auto maker for the year were running 18.2% behind last year’s pace.

Truck sales by Chrysler during the period were 7.1% above the mid-April pace last year, and for the entire year were 2.6% ahead of last year.