U.S. auto sales sank in May as consumers spurned pickup trucks and SUVs because of record gasoline prices, driving General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC to double-digit declines. Japan’s Honda Motor Co Ltd outsold Chrysler for the first time to emerge as the new No. 4 U.S. automaker, while Toyota Motor Corp closed the gap with GM as the leading player in the U.S. market, despite reporting lower sales than a year before.
Honda’s Civic and Accord and Toyota’s Camry and Corolla sedans outsold Ford’s F-Series pickup truck. It was the first time a sedan outsold the perennial Ford bestseller since 1991. Honda and Nissan were the two major automakers to buck the declining trend, posting sales increases of 11 percent and 4 percent, respectively. The figures boosted shares in Japanese automakers in Tokyo, with Honda shooting up 6.9 percent.
GM sales plunged 30 percent, Ford sales fell 19 percent and Toyota’s fell 8 percent. Sales were adjusted for an additional sales day compared with the year earlier. GM also announced plans to close four pickup and SUV plants in North America and expand output at two car plants to align its production to a market increasingly dominated by concern about fuel efficiency.
Overall, U.S. sales fell to 14.25 million on an annualized basis in May, down from 14.4 million in April and 15.2 million on average in the first quarter. GM’s U.S. market share slid to 19 percent in May, a record low for the embattled automaker that commanded 45 percent in 1980. Car sales, which had accounted for less than half of industry volume in 2007, surged to 57 percent in May. On the losing end, truck sales hit their lowest rate since 1995.

The shift toward more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers has hit Detroit-based automakers and their truck-heavy lineups, particularly hard. Sales for GM’s Hummer SUV line dropped 60 percent in May as the automaker said it would sell or revamp a brand that has become synonymous with gas-guzzling excess.  Personally I can’t figure out how anyone can afford to drive a gas guzzling automobile but I guess I still manage with my v-6.