DETROIT (AP) - Small cars were the big winners in April, as high gas prices accelerated U.S. consumers' rush away from trucks and sport utility vehicles and makers of fuel-efficient models scored gains despite the weak economy.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all saw double-digit U.S. sales declines compared to last April. But Nissan's sales were up 7 percent on the strength of its car sales, while Toyota's sales edged up 3 percent. Honda's sales figures were delayed because of a technical problem, but the automaker said April sales were likely to be up at least 6 percent.
Pickup sales have been falling for months because of the slowdown in housing construction, and the trend away from SUVs began several years ago as Baby Boomers aged and roomy but more fuel-efficient crossover vehicles gave consumers more choice. But automakers and industry watchers said gas prices are speeding the trend.
'At $3 a gallon, there's a lot of discussion about the price of gasoline but not much change in behavior,' said Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc., the country's largest auto retailer. 'But in the mid-$3.50 range, with $4 on the horizon, there's a lot of change in behavior.'
George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst, said retail -- or non-fleet -- sales of passenger cars exceeded trucks and sport utility vehicles combined for the first time in at least 20 years. Pipas said a full-size truck is on the list of the top ten vehicles being traded in for every small car in the industry.
'It's such a new world for us, because as you well know, for the better part of the last two decades, we've been a truck and SUV company predominantly,' Pipas said. 'So this requires a big shift in our culture, in our training and our thinking. Not only for Ford but our dealers.'
General Motors Corp. said its truck and SUV sales fell 27 percent, outweighing increases in car and crossover sales and the company's best-ever month for hybrids. GM's overall sales dropped 16 percent for the month compared with last April.
'Consumer preference is shifting, and we're shifting with it,' said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of North American sales. Sales of the automakers' midsize Chevrolet Malibu shot up 40 percent, but the long-popular Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV saw sales dip 73 percent.
GM said it produced 130,000 fewer vehicles in April due to an ongoing strike at supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which has affected 30 plants. LaNeve said the production cuts didn't affect sales to individual customers because of the company's large inventory of trucks and SUVs. But he said GM cut 15,000 sales to rental and commercial fleets in April because of the strike.
Ford Motor Co. said its SUV sales dropped 36 percent in April and its overall sales fell 12 percent. Car sales edged down just 1 percent, buoyed by a 44 percent increase in sales of the Ford Focus small car. The Focus gets 24 miles per gallon in the city and 33 on the highway. By comparison, Ford's largest SUV, the Expedition, gets 12 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on the highway.
Toyota Motor Corp. said its car sales rose 12 percent, largely on the strength of the hybrid Prius, which was up 54 percent, and the subcompact Yaris, which saw sales rise 46 percent. Toyota's truck and SUV sales dropped 8 percent.
'We continue to see that fuel efficiency will remain one of the top priorities for purchasing consumers,' said Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota's U.S. division.
Chrysler LLC said sales fell 23 percent, with cars off 19 percent and truck and SUVs down 25 percent. Steven Landry, Chrysler's executive vice president of North American sales, said that was partly due to a 33 percent drop in low-profit fleet sales. Landry said it's clear some buyers are feeling the pinch of the weak economy.
'In some cases the customer is less concerned with the sheet metal and more concerned with getting the payment in line with what they can afford,' he said.
Nissan Motor Co., which agreed last month to build a small car for Chrysler in exchange for getting a pickup built by the U.S. automaker, said its car sales got a 20 percent boost thanks to redesigned versions of the Sentra and Altima sedans as well as the subcompact Versa. But Nissan's truck sales fell 12 percent, led by plunging sales of the Armada SUV and Titan pickup, which both saw sales dive more than 55 percent.
Retail gas prices began April at $3.26 a gallon nationwide but crept up to $3.57 per gallon by the last week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They set a record on Wednesday, rising to a national average of nearly $3.62 a gallon.
Jackson, of AutoNation, said it will be interesting to see if the switch to smaller vehicles is permanent or if consumers return to larger vehicles once their initial shock at the pump has worn off and the economy improves. On Thursday, the major automakers said they believe conditions will improve in the second half of this year.
'We think we're in the trough in the second quarter,' said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global markets and industry analysis.
GM shares dropped a penny to close at 23.19. Ford shares gained 22 cents to close at $8.48 and Toyota's U.S. shares rose $1.57 to $103.07.
The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages adjusted for sales days. There were 26 sales days last month and 24 in April 2007.
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