NEW YORK -- General Motors and Chrysler Tuesday reported higher U.S. sales in June from a year ago, while rival Ford Motor (IW 500/6) (F) notched a 6% decline.
All three companies reported slower sales gains than in May, when the industry overall saw sales rise more than 11%. Yet all three automakers outperformed projections for a period that included fewer selling days than in June 2013.
GM saw a 1% rise in sales to 267,461 vehicles.
"June was the third very strong month in a row for GM, with every brand up on a selling-day adjusted basis," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president for sales operations. "In fact, the first half of the year was our best retail sales performance since 2008, driven by an outstanding second quarter."
GM said the month's result was the best June since 2007, suggesting that consumers were continuing to overlook the automaker's travails.
GM is mired in government probes following its delayed recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition-switch problem linked to 13 deaths. The automaker Monday recalled 8.4 million additional vehicles, bringing total recalls this year to a record 30 million.
Chrysler reported a 9% increase in U.S. June auto sales as its Jeep and Ram brands again scored strong gains. Chrysler, a unit of Italian company Fiat Chrysler, said it sold 171,086 vehicles last month, its best June sales since 2007.
Chrysler, the number-three U.S. automaker, pointed to especially robust year-on-year increases for the Jeep brand (+28%) and the Ram Truck line (+14%).
Chrysler said sales of its Fiat brand rose 11% in June.
"In spite of two fewer selling days in June versus a year ago, we were able to increase our sales nine percent and post our strongest June sales in seven years," said Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales at Chrysler.
"Both the Fusion and Transit Connect set records in June, continuing their sales momentum," said John Felice, Ford vice president for U.S. marketing, sales and service.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
