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More Sales Declines at GM, Ford
By Nat Worden
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
4/3/2006 3:04 PM EDT


General Motors (GM:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) and Ford (F:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) reported more sales declines in March, while DaimlerChrysler (DCX:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) recorded an uptick.

GM said its U.S. auto sales plunged 14% last month to 365,375 vehicles in March from the 426,114 it recorded in the same month last year. Its retail sales were down 17%, while fleet sales fell 5%. Car sales dropped 22% while truck sales fell 9.3%.

The world's largest automaker, which reported a loss of $10.6 billion for 2005, said its production plans for the first half of 2006 remain unchanged. It made 1.255 million vehicles in the first quarter, and it plans to build 1.2 million vehicles for the second quarter.

Ford's March sales fell to 291,146 vehicles from 305,172 last year, largely due to waning demand for its sport-utility vehicles. Its car sales fell 2.8%, while truck sales tumbled 5.6%. Sales of the Ford Explorer SUV dropped 31%, and Ford Expedition sales were down 13%.

DaimlerChrysler's U.S. sales for the month rose to 237,829 vehicles from 213,140 last year. At its Chrysler Group division -- consisting of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands -- sales rose 2% to 216,412 units. Mercedes-Benz sales, meanwhile, jumped 18% to 21,417 vehicles.

Shares of DaimlerChrysler were up 90 cents, or 1.6%, to $58.31. Shares of Ford were down 19 cents, or 2.4%, to $7.77; shares of GM shed 74 cents, or 3.5%, to $20.53.

http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/stocks/automakers/10277094.html