DETROIT Americans' enthusiasm for new cars and trucks cooled in June on worries about the economy, signaling that the auto industry's recovery is far from certain.
GM, Ford and Chrysler said sales of new cars and trucks fell between 12 and 13 percent in June from the prior month. Sales at Toyota Motor Corp. slid 14 percent. Hyundai, however, bucked the trend with a slight gain.
People are holding off on big-ticket purchases because they remain anxious about unemployment and home values. Tightfisted consumers could mean a tough summer for automakers, who hope to improve sales after a dismal 2009.
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+4.86%
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"The market remains very challenging and the recovery continues to be at a very gradual and modest pace," said Bob Carter, a Toyota vice president.
Industrywide auto sales rose 14 percent from June of 2009, when the industry was in the depths of its downturn and General Motors and Chrysler were in Chapter 11. But the May-to-June performance offered a glimpse of the recovery's progress. Sales fell more than 10 percent during that time.
The recovery in auto sales this year has been fitful. Sales rose in May from April, but fell the month before. Over the last six months, month-to-month sales fell as many times as they rose.
Paul Ballew, a former GM chief economist who now works for Nationwide Insurance, said the most recent sales decline shows that consumers are wary of mixed economic news.
"We have a recovery that certainly is struggling to gain momentum," he said. He has cut his U.S. sales forecast for the year by about 500,000 vehicles. He had predicted sales in the mid-to-high 11 million range.
June sales often fall from May, which benefits from big sales over Memorial Day weekend. But this June's decline is much larger than the usual 5 percent, said Jesse Toprak of auto pricing site TrueCar.com.
Hyundai Motor Co. was the sole automaker to post higher month-over-month sales, rising 4 percent. The South Korean automaker has grabbed a bigger chunk of the U.S. market recently thanks to several new models that have scored big with buyers. They include the Genesis luxury sedan and popular Sonata sedan.
