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DETROIT — General Motors and Ford reported weaker Aprilsales, hurt by lower demand for compact and subcompact cars. Chrysler, however, posted a 20-percent rise in sales. Its topsellers included the Ram pickup, Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler 200midsize sedan, which benefited from big rebates of $2,000 or more,analysts say. Automakers report their U.S. April sales today. Overall, the annualsales rate likely slowed compared with the blistering pace ofFebruary and March. But analysts aren't concerned, saying April hadmore Sundays than March and fewer cars are sold on Sundays General Motors Co. said its U.S. sales fell 8 percent last month,blaming reduced sales to car rental companies. Sales of the ChevyCruze, a hit since last year, fell. Ford posted a 5 percent fall insales. The Fiesta subcompact, which was a hot seller when it wenton sale last year, fell 44 percent as it faced new competition fromthe Chevrolet Sonic and Prius C. Nissan Motor Co. is also expected to do well, although it alsorelied on big rebates to sell its Nissan Altima sedan, a strategyaimed to clear the model out of showrooms to make room for anall-new version. Honda Motor Co. is expected to report a double-digit sales decline,according to Kelley Blue Book. That carmaker will be hurt byToyota's resurgence. And Honda is losing share even though it'sspending an estimated $500 more per vehicle on incentives thanToyota, says Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence atTrueCar. ———— Here's what The Associated Press' reporters are finding: ———— FORD SLUMPING Ford sales fell 5 percent in April, hurt by trouble on severalfronts. Sales of the Fiesta subcompact dropped 44 percent from last April,a puzzling trend when gas prices remain high. The Ford Focus smallcar is likely biting into some Fiesta sales, and it's facing newcompetition from the Chevrolet Sonic and Prius C. Ford Escape sales also dropped 20 percent, but that's because thecompany is clearing out old models to make room for a new Escapewhich goes on sale later this spring. Last year Ford sold more than 6,500 Crown Victoria sedans as policedepartments snapped up the model before Ford discontinued it at theend of 2011. But Ford isn't yet making up for that volume with thenew Taurus-based Police Interceptor, which sold just 547 lastmonth. Ford also is hurting from the decision to discontinue the Rangersmall pickup. Ranger sales dropped 63 percent from last April, andthe truck will soon be gone from dealers' lots. Ford will be ableto move some of those buyers into its larger F-Series trucks, butsome may go elsewhere. ———— GENERAL MOTORS STUMBLES General Motors' April U.S. sales fell 8 percent as all of thecompany's brands but one reported big declines. Buick sales were down 16 percent compared with a year earlier,while Cadillac sales were off 25 percent. Chevrolet was down 8percent. Only GMC had an increase, and it was small at 4.5 percent. GM's sales of just over 213,000 were led by its perennial topseller, the Chevy Silverado pickup truck, which was up 4.8 percentto almost 31,000. But the Chevrolet Cruze compact, a big seller forGM for more than a year, was down almost 28 percent to just over18,000 cars. GM pointed out that its sales to rental car companies dropped 25percent for the month due to the timing of some deliveries. It alsosaid there were three fewer selling days last month than in Aprilof 2011. Retail sales to individual buyers were about the same asApril of last year, GM said. GM is still optimistic, though. It raised its total U.S. salesoutlook for the year by a half-million cars and trucks. The companynow expects Americans to buy 14 million to 14.5 million vehiclesfor the full year. GM ended April with enough vehicles in its inventory to supplydealers for 79 days. That's more than the 60 days consideredoptimal to give customers enough of a selection. The company had121-day supply of big pickup trucks, down slightly from March. GMis building up pickup inventory as it prepares to close factoriesand equip them to make an all-new pickup due out in 2013. ———— CHRYSLER KEEPS ROLLING Chrysler's 20-percent sales rise is far better than the increaseexpected for the rest of the auto industry. The company'stop-selling Ram pickup saw sales jump 19 percent last month.Chrysler also was helped at the smaller end of the lineup. It soldmore than 3,800 Fiat 500 mini-cars, four times the sales from ayear earlier. Jeep and Chrysler brand sales were strong. Chryslersales rose 56 percent, led by the 200 midsize sedan. Chrysler's outlook for U.S. sales is optimistic. The company isforecasting an annual selling rate of 14.6 million cars and trucks,on the high end of analyst predictions. At the end of April, Chrysler had enough cars and trucks to supplyits dealers for 59 days. That's just below what's consideredoptimal to keep a good selection for customers. And it's far betterthan the Chrysler of old, which often had cars and trucks piled upon Detroit-area parking lots because dealers wouldn't take them. ———— GAS PRICES EASE During April, the national average for a gallon of regular unleadedfell 3 percent, from $3.9254 (March 31) to $3.809 (May 1). We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Specialty Toothbrush , China Sterilization Reels for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Disposable Dental Bibs.
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