April 2007 U.S. Car Sales Sluggish

Washington DC May 2, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that U.S. consumers, experiencing a sluggish housing market and rising fuel prices, purchased just 1.3 million new vehicles last month, according to results released Tuesday.

The Detroit Free Press says that is a decline of 7.6%, or 110,000, compared with sales a year ago -- the worst monthly sales drop this year.

April's weak sales results, which come on the heels of flat sales in March, left many industry insiders wondering whether automakers would be forced to entice shoppers into showrooms with blowout national incentives, or face a sales tumble.

The new incentive programs offered so far for May seem modest and not like the big fire sales of the past -- at least not yet. "We think some consumers have a wait-and-see attitude," said Ernest Bastien, vice president of the vehicle operations group for Toyota Motor Sales USA. "But that being said, our showrooms still had relatively high levels of traffic, particularly with regard to fuel-efficient vehicles."

Click Here to see a chart of all April 2007 auto sales.