GM says June U.S. auto sales 'bit stronger' than May

June 10, 2002 Bloomberg News has reported that GM said industrywide U.S. sales of new cars and trucks in the first week of this month were "a bit stronger" than in May, when the pace was the slowest since November 1998.

"Four days in, I would describe sales as being OK, not at a blistering pace," Paul Ballew, executive director of industry analysis at the world's largest automaker, told investors on a conference call. "It's a bit stronger than May."

It's still too early to draw any conclusions about June sales, he said.

The industry's sales fell 5.9 percent last month, as U.S. consumers bought new cars and trucks at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 15.7 million vehicles, according to Autodata Inc. The sales pace was 16.7 million in the first four months. General Motors and Ford Motor Co. both had 12 percent declines in May.