As we begin the third month of 2010, February has come to a close and the sales numbers have come in. The big news for most of February was the tragedy that has overcome Toyota, which resulted in a significant nine percent sales decline due to the recall issues. Although Toyota had a very difficult month, some automakers enjoyed a nice increase over the same period in 2009. Ford was one of those automakers with a great month that resulted in sales that topped both GM and Toyota last month. Ford posted a 43 percent increase in sales last month, although much of the gain is attributed to a 74 percent jump in fleet sales.
Many analysts predicted that Toyota’s problems would have improved sales for Ford and Honda, but although Honda’s sales were up 13 percent last month, it was not the case. Most would be Toyota buyers simply waited on the side lines. GM’s sales rose 12 percent compared to February 2009, but its sales were slightly down from January.
“The February results demonstrate that not only are the recent Ford product offerings being well-received, but also that GM is still suffering from post-bankruptcy syndrome,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
Full Story: CNN Money
