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Explorer sales miss target
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September 1, 2000: 2:45 p.m. ET
Sales for beleaguered S/UV slip, but not as much as most Ford sedans
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sales of best-selling sport/utility vehicle Ford Explorer, beleaguered by a well-publicized tire recall, missed sales targets in August, but did not fall as much as Ford and Mercury sedans not affected by the recall.
Overall for the industry, U.S. sales were basically flat in August when controlling for the extra selling day on this year's calendar. But year-to-date sales are up almost 5 percent over last year's record U.S. sales pace, and an official from leader General Motors predicted that sales for the year would easily top last year's results.
 "It appears the industry is running at a very strong rate," said Paul Ballew, general director, global market and industry analysis for GM. "It's a very slight step down from the very blistering start we started the year with, but it's still a strong pace. There are legitimately headwinds, like higher energy prices and a general slowing of the economy. But we caution against overreacting to the headwinds."
Ballew said he expects U.S. sales to top 18 million vehicles this year. In August leading automakers reported sales of 1.5 million, bringing year-to-date sales to 11.7 million.
General Motors, the world's leading automaker, reported a drop in U.S. sales in August, although its year-to-date sales are still slightly ahead of last year's results. German-American automaker DaimlerChrysler, helped by the introduction of its popular PT Cruiser, saw sales gain in the month.
The real gains came from overseas automakers, as Japanese-based companies saw sales rise nearly 5 percent on a sales-per-day basis, German carmakers saw sales pace climb 6.6 percent and Korean automakers' pace jumped by a third.
Ford car sales fall far faster than Explorer results
Ford Motor Co. (F: Research, Estimates) suffered a 10.6 percent drop in sales of its car models. That overwhelmed a 3 percent gain in light truck sales, and led the total sales 3 percent lower for the period on a vehicles-sold-per-day basis.
The total Explorer sales actually edged up to become a total-sales record for the month, with 40,157 sold, up from 39,000 a year earlier.
 But since there was one more sales day this year than in August 1999, the unit sales per day slipped 0.8 percent. Sales per day is the accepted basis of sales comparisons in the auto industry.
Company officials also admitted the sales missed August's internal target for the model by 4.3 percent. The target of 42,000 Explorer sales in August was set in July before the tire recall problems cropped up.
George Pipas, spokesman for Ford, would not attribute the missed sales target to the recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires announced Aug. 9, saying that greater sales incentives by competitors may have played a role as well.
Ford dealers have reported that they have regularly been replacing Firestone tires with other tire makers' brands in order to support new Explorer sales, even though tires on the vehicles reaching the showrooms were not covered by the recall.
It is even possible Ford picked up some Explorer sales in the month as existing Explorer owners visited dealerships to replace the recalled tires and looked at new Explorer models available for sale.
Overall, Ford Motor Co. brands, including recently acquired Land Rover, had U.S. sales of 352,453 in the month. Sales of those same brands, including a then-independent Land Rover, reached 349,855, but the extra sales day accounted for the 3 percent decline.
Many models have trouble living up to 1999 records
GM (GM: Research, Estimates) sales had a sales-per-day decline just over 5 percent for both car and light truck models, giving total U.S. sales of 435,597 compared with 443,089 a year earlier. The carmaker said this was partly due the record sales pace set in 1999.
"We never find a comfort level when sales are down, but it's important to keep in perspective that as the calendar year progresses, industry moderation is expected," said Bill Lovejoy, GM group vice president. "The sales environment is still very encouraging and we are committed to maintaining our market momentum, particularly with our core products."
DaimlerChrysler (DCX: Research, Estimates) posted its best U.S. August sales, helped by the introduction earlier in the summer of the hybrid PT Cruiser. Car models for the German-American automaker fell 33 percent in the month on a sales-per-day basis, but light trucks sales gained 16 percent.  The light truck category includes DaimlerChrysler core minivan and light truck models that made up about three-quarters of its overall sales.
So sales-per-day edged up 2 percent, while total sales rose to 216,869 from 203,991. But without the rollout of the popular PT Cruiser total sales would have slipped by just over 300 vehicles.
But it was a much cleaner sweep for overseas automakers. German automakers Audi and BMW set U.S. sales records while leader Volkswagon had its best year in U.S. sales since 1974.
Leading Japanese automaker Toyota and No. 2 Honda also reported a U.S. sales record, as did fast growing Mitsubishi Motors. Troubled Nissan had more modest gains.
Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia posted sales gains in the 20 percent range while Daewoo more than doubled U.S. sales, albeit from a very small base.
Shares of Ford which has lost about 15 percent since the Firestone recall was announced, closed Friday at $25.06, up 88 cents. Shares of GM closed at $73.12 gaining $3.12, while shares of DaimlerChrysler closed up 0.10 euro to 58.20 euros in Frankfurt trading Friday, while its American depositary shares closed at $52.19 up 12 cents in New York trading. 
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Ford Motor Company
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