SUV's, trucks lead March 2013 auto sales, GM falls short, all time high avg. age of cars on the road 11+ yrs. cited as reason-Reuters

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4/2/13, "SUVs, trucks boost March auto sales; GM falls short," Reuters, Ben Klayman and Deepa Seetharaman

"Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC reported on Tuesday slightly better-than-expected U.S. auto sales in March, buoyed by greater demand for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, while General Motors Co. fell short of estimates.

March is expected to be the fifth consecutive month that the industry's annual sales pace has held above 15 million vehicles, a sign that rising home values are helping American consumers feel more confident about buying a new vehicle.

Industry officials also have cited the all-time high average age of cars on the road - more than 11 years - as a major reason for strong demand, as consumers can no longer put off buying a replacement. Several analysts have raised their full-year sales forecasts in the last week.

Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, said March was its best month since May 2007. For Chrysler, the No. 3 automaker, it was the best month since December 2007.

But GM's results fell short of the estimates of at least three analysts. The largest U.S. automaker sold 245,950 cars and trucks in March, up 6.4 percent from a year earlier.

All three U.S. automakers said sales of larger vehicles outpaced their overall gains. Ford posted a 5.7 percent overall sales rise, a 15.4 percent spike in SUVs, such as the Escape crossover, and a 16.3 percent increase in sales of F-Series pickup trucks.

GM said crossover sales were up 31 percent. Sales of pickup trucks that are slowly being phased out rose 6 percent. GM is launching two new truck models later this year, the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra."...


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