Chrysler, GM take hit in Cash for Clunkers

DETROIT --- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford, Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. withstood another month of falling sales.

The program, which ended Aug. 24, offered up to $4,500 toward new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The hefty rebates gave automakers and dealers a much-needed lift, spurring 690,114 new sales, many of them during August, at a taxpayer cost of $2.88 billion.

Other automakers were expected to release U.S. sales figures that, when combined, likely would mark the first year-over-year monthly sales gain since October 2007.

Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with 155,117 in August 2008.

The Ford Focus and Escape were among the top-selling cars. Sales of the Focus rose 56 percent while those of the Escape crossover vehicle climbed 49 percent.

Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. also posted year-over-year gains in August. Toyota sales rose 6.4 percent to 225,088, lifted by small cars such as the Corolla, the best-selling clunkers vehicle.

Honda sales rose 9.9 percent to 161,439, largely on the strength of its fuel-efficient offerings.

Chrysler's low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles kept the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program.

Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units. That was less than the combined sales of Hyundai Motor America and affiliate Kia Motors America, whose smaller sedans helped boost sales to a combined 100,665 for August.

Going into August, five of Chrysler's most efficient vehicles were already at low inventory levels. Those vehicles -- the Dodge Caliber, the Chrysler Sebring, the Jeep Patriot, the Jeep Compass and the Dodge Avenger -- qualified for the program.

To make up for the shortfalls, Chrysler is boosting production by 50,000 for most of its vehicles through the end of the year.

At General Motors Co., sales fell 20 percent to 245,550. GM said its inventory levels hit an all-time low of 379,000 during August.

GM vehicles such as the Chevrolet Aveo, the Cobalt and Equinox got a lift from the clunkers program.

No GM vehicles made the closely watched list of top-10 Cash for Clunkers sales, but they had the largest market share behind Japan's Toyota Motor Corp.