Japanese Foes Thump Big 3 in June Sales

Figures spell especially big trouble for GM
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2007 5:57 PM CDT
Japanese Foes Thump Big 3 in June Sales
The company bowtie logo shines off the grille of an unsold 2007 Chevrolet pickup truck on display outside a General Motors dealership in the northeast Denver suburb of Brighton, Colo., on Sunday, July 1, 2007. Auto sales statistics show the market was shifting toward gas-thrifty compacts in May in...   (Associated Press)

GM's sales in June were down 24% from a year earlier, leading an all-American slump that saw Ford and Chrysler report downturns as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan rang up increases in figures released today. Discounts on the Tundra pickup helped Toyota jump into second place in the American market in the first half of the year, Reuters reports.

Gas prices drove increased demand for passenger cars and crossovers, helping the Japanese manufacturers. Nissan rode a 76% increase in Altima sales and the effects of increased discounts to an 18% leap for the month, tops in the industry. Cuts in rental-car fleet purchases accounted for part of GM's dip and all of Ford's. (More Toyota stories.)

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