DETROIT - The U.S. auto industry stayed on the road to recovery in April, but it eased up on the gas pedal a bit.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) saw last month's sales rise 25 per cent from a year earlier, while General Motors Co. climbed 6.4 per cent. Hyundai, Subaru and others also continued to see gains from last year.
All automakers report their U.S. sales on Monday, and together they're expected to outpace last April, when the industry was hurt by the economic downturn.
But the industry overall may not be able to maintain the pace of March, when big sales promotions led by Toyota Motor Corp. fueled higher sales. The Japanese automaker needed to lure buyers after suffering a series of safety recalls beginning last fall.
As buyers' expectations for even better deals grew, demand slowed from March and some automakers eased up on promotions.
Auto research website Edmunds.com says incentives fell an average of five per cent in April as the lustre wore off some of the deals and automakers tried to pull back on spending. But there were still were good bargains. Honda Motor Co. spent a record $1,787 per vehicle, while Toyota spent $2,498, down $245 from record-high levels in March. GM spent $3,273 per vehicle, although that was skewed by high incentives on the brands it is discontinuing.
GM said it spent $100 less per vehicle in April than in March.
"We'll be judicious with our incentives," said Steve Carlisle, GM's new vice-president of sales. "We'll be competitive but not foolish."
After taking out brands that GM is phasing out or selling, GM sales rose 20 per cent from April of last year. GM's four remaining brands are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
The Detroit-based automaker saw strong sales of several new products, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse and GMC Terrain. Full-size pickup truck sales rose 8.4 per cent, an indicator that the construction business is in recovery.
April was the fifth month in a row that Ford posted an increase of 20 per cent or more compared with the same month in the prior year.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker's pickup sales were particularly strong. Ford said F-Series sales jumped 42 per cent thanks to the new Super Duty truck. SUV sales rose 33 per cent, led by the Escape and Explorer. Car sales rose 10 per cent.
Korean automaker Kia Motors Corp.'s April U.S. sales rose 17 per cent on strong demand for its newly released Sorento crossover and Forte sedan. Hyundai's sales increased 30 per cent on rising demand for the new Sonata midsize sedan.
Subaru's U.S. sales soared 48 per cent the back of its Outback small wagon, which doubled its sales from April of last year. Crossovers are SUVs built on sedan bodies and combine elements of both vehicles.
GM's Carlisle said his company's performance is consistent with a slow and steady economic recovery. The automaker stuck with its forecast of total U.S. light vehicle sales of 11.2 million to 11.7 million for the year.
That's better than last year's 10.4 million, but far below the peak of more than 17 million in 2000.
Consumer spending rose 0.6 per cent in March, the largest amount in five months. Yet the increase was financed out of savings. Incomes rose only slightly. Factory activity in April grew at the fastest pace in nearly six years.
