U.S. Feb. Auto Sales at 15.2 Million Annual Rate

J.D. Power Says U.S. cars and light trucks this month are selling at a 15.2 million annual rate, as European makers gain from a year earlier and U.S.-based and Asian rivals decline, J.D. Power & Associates said. That level would be 12 percent lower than the February 2001 annual rate of 17.3 million light vehicles reported by Autodata Corp. Agoura Hills, California-based J.D. Power gathers data for its survey from 5,000 dealers. The sales rate increased in this month's second week from the previous week, the market-research company said. In January, U.S. sales fell 5.2 percent as General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. sold fewer vehicles to rental companies and as overseas-based makers such as Toyota Motor Corp. gained market share. The annual sales rate last month was 15.8 million vehicles.