Ford Soars, Toyota Slumps in January

DETROIT (AP) - Toyota's car sales fell 16 percent in January, a
month they recalled millions of vehicles and halted sales of
several models. Most other automakers reported higher sales, a sign
they may be benefiting from Toyota's woes.
January is typically a weak month for U.S. auto sales, but
automakers were expecting sales to improve over last January, when
they dipped to a 26-year low because of the tough economy. Sales
never really recovered last year, totaling 10.4 million cars and
light trucks, the lowest since 1982.
General Motors Co. said its January sales rose 14 percent due to
higher fleet and crossover vehicle sales. Crossovers are SUV-like
in size but sit on a car instead of a truck frame.
Crosstown rival Ford Motor Co., meanwhile, was up 25 percent
while Japan's Nissan Motor Co.'s rose 16 percent.
Chrysler was down 8 percent while Honda Motor Co. sales fell 5
percent. Korean automaker Kia said its January U.S. sales were
essentially flat.
George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst, said he did not see
evidence that Ford was taking buyers from Toyota Motor Corp., which
halted U.S. sales of eight popular models due to faulty gas pedals
in the final week of the month.
Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of sales, said Toyota's
actions may have hurt sales for the industry as a whole toward the
end of last month.
Toyota said it would suspend sales of the Camry sedan, its
top-selling vehicle, and seven other cars and trucks on Jan. 26
following a recall over sticky accelerator pedals. Toyota has said
dealers will get the parts to fix the problem by the end of this
week.
In the meantime, Toyota could lose thousands of sales in January
and February. The car-buying site Edmunds.com predicted Toyota's
U.S. market share would drop to 14.7 percent in January, its lowest
level since March 2006. The recall affects 2.3 million cars and
trucks in the U.S.
Ford and General Motors Corp., meanwhile, have been offering
incentives to Toyota drivers who trade in vehicles.