Lower gas prices spur U.S. truck sales

Gas prices have hit a sweet spot for U.S.-based automakers. They've fallen enough to spur pickup truck sales, yet remain so high that newer small cars are selling as well.

That isn't the case for Honda and Toyota, however. They ran short of small cars because of production problems tied to the March earthquake in Japan.

Industry analysts expect overall U.S. sales to rise 13.5 percent from last June, to around 1.1 million cars and trucks. Automakers were reporting June sales throughout the day Friday.

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. both said their sales rose 10 percent. Chrysler's sales increased 30 percent. But Honda Motor Co., and Toyota Motor Corp., each saw sales drop more than 21 percent.

Despite the Honda and Toyota numbers, the results indicate the U.S. auto industry's slow recovery from the recession is back on track after a brief slump in May.

GM said that cheaper gas lured more pickup truck buyers into showrooms. Chevrolet Silverado sales rose 5 percent, and GMC Sierra sales were up 8 percent compared with a year earlier. Sales of Ford's F-series pickups rose 7 percent, while Chrysler reported a 35 percent increase in Ram truck sales. Any jump in pickup sales helps the Detroit automakers, which sell more than five times as many pickups as foreign-based brands. But even Nissan Motor Co. benefited, as sales of its Frontier small pickup rose 51 percent.

Still, GM's sales increases were powered by smaller, more fuel-efficient models. Sales of the new Chevrolet Cruze compact more than doubled those of the car it replaced, the Cobalt. Gas prices averaged $3.68 per gallon in June, cheaper than in May but hardly inexpensive.

"There is a certain portion of consumers that react to gas prices almost on a daily basis, and they decide what to buy based on those prices," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for car pricing site TrueCar.com.

Honda and Toyota ran short of top-selling models as demand for their smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles was rising. Both companies' North American factories are starting to return to normal production. The earthquake and tsunami in March damaged Japanese parts plants and cut off electricity.

Even with sales rebounding, there is some concern about the strength of the recovery. J.D. Power and Associates lowered its full-year sales forecast from 13 million vehicles to 12.9 million.

Sales were expected to be up around 5 percent from May, when parts shortages, $4-per-gallon gas and a lack of deals caused a slump. But the pace of sales has slowed from the beginning of this year.

Shortages are keeping car prices high. That's likely to continue through September, J.D. Power said.

Other automakers reporting Friday: Volkswagen AG said its U.S. sales rose 35 percent in June. Nissan said sales rose 11.4 percent on strong demand for smaller vehicles. Hyundai Motor Co. sales were up 15.6 percent, led by the Elantra compact car. Kia Motors Co. reported its best June ever with sales up 41 percent to 45,044. The hottest seller was the new Optima midsize sedan at 7,099 models.