GM Headed for Best Sales Month of 2004 After Disappointing June, Executive Says

WIXOM, Mich. Ju;ly 29, 2004; John Porretto writing for the AP reported that General Motors Corp. is on track to post its best sales month of the year in July, rebounding from a disappointing June, the automaker's top sales analyst said Wednesday.

"I like the way the month is shaping up for us," Paul Ballew, GM's director of global market and industry analysis, said during the automaker's 2005 vehicle preview at one of its powertrain facilities 40 miles northwest of Detroit.

In particular, Ballew said, trucks and sport utility vehicles have sold well this month. He said the company also has gotten a lift from some of its new and redesigned vehicles such as the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Equinox compact SUV.

Ballew forecasts total U.S. industry sales of roughly 1.6 million units for July, which would be well above last month's 1.44 million, according to Autodata Corp. Automakers report July sales Tuesday.

GM, like its rival Ford Motor Co., raised incentives aggressively in early July following a larger-than-anticipated, double-digit drop in June sales.

GM, the world's largest automaker, raised cash rebates to $5,000 on most 2004 trucks and SUVs, and to $4,000 on most cars. The automaker also is offering interest-free financing for five years on most 2004 vehicles. The program runs through Aug. 2.

GM's U.S. sales were nearly flat through June, while Ford was off 4.3 percent and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group was up 2.1 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

Meanwhile, the top Asian automakers continue to gain a greater share of the domestic market. For the first six months of the year, U.S. sales for Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's No. 1 automaker, were up 10.5 percent. Business at Nissan Motor Co.'s U.S. arm was up 24.7 percent for the same period.

GM showed off several new or significantly revamped models at Wednesday's preview it hopes will spur automotive sales, which accounted for less than half of GM's profit in the second quarter.

Among the new offerings for 2005: the next-generation Corvette; the Chevrolet Cobalt, which will replace the high-volume Cavalier; the Buick LaCrosse premium midsize sedan; and the Pontiac G6 performance midsize sedan.