Domestic Light Truck Sales Down
Mar 5th, 2008 by gmoran
February 2008 saw sharp drops in light truck sales which ultimately led the way to overall sales declines at both General Motors and Chrysler. However, sales of crossover utility vehicles helped to offset a similiar drop in light truck sales at Ford. The sluggish economy and sky high gasoline prices are leading buyers toward cheaper, smaller vehicles that are not as gas pump dependent as their bigger pickup and SUV brethren. But the profit margin is just not there on smaller cars as opposed to larger trucks and SUVs. Mark LaNeve, VP of North American sales at GM indicated that despite the steep declines, GM is encouraged by their performance in the key passenger car categories and they anticipate holding market share for full-size pickups and utilities. But what will the market for the big boys be after $100+ per barrel oil? Someone ask Boone Pickens that!