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DETROIT—Reports last week from automakers showed that February sales were up five percent compared to last February—when the market was hurt by the war in Iraq and a down U.S. economy. One analyst said the weak early-year results might be due to intensive sales at the end of last year.
Sales for the Big Three were sluggish; Ford Motor Co.’s sales fell 3.2 percent while GM and the Chrysler Group saw meager gains of 6 and 1.2 percent, respectively.
“The end of last year, plus all the positive economic data, seemed to suggest a pretty strong 2004,” said Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche at the Geneva International Motor Show. “I still believe that, but the first two months don’t show too much of it.”
Ford attributed its decrease to declining fleet sales, due to its decision to pull back from the daily rental market.
The Japanese automakers had better results. Nissan reported a growth of 46.1 percent, Toyota saw a 17.7-percent increase, and Honda said sales were up 7.1 percent.
The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for February was 16.4 million units. Last February’s rate was 15.6 million units.
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