Amid plunging June sales, Ford's 10.7% drop looks good

DETROIT -- Sales at Ford and Chrysler last month offered sharply different views on the downtrodden U.S. market for cars and trucks, while General Motors held its own as it entered bankruptcy protection.

Ford's June sales showed signs of stabilization, as the healthiest Detroit automaker posted its smallest sales decline of the year at 10.7%. It also said it gained market share. But Chrysler, just weeks after exiting bankruptcy protection, reported a 42% drop in sales, hurt by a big cut in fleet sales and declines in all its models except the Dodge Challenger muscle car.

GM reported a 33.4% sales drop, slightly larger than the 30% drop it reported for May before it entered bankruptcy protection. GM plans to sell or close Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab to focus on four core brands —Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.

June sales from other automakers indicated that the industry downturn has begun leveling off. Toyota's U.S. sales fell 32% in June to 131,654 units — a smaller decline than in previous months for the Japanese automaker.

Economists say there are signs that the economy is recovering, with housing starts rising more than expected in May and wholesale prices remaining in check. But the Conference Board reported Wednesday that consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in June.

"We're making steady progress," Jim Farley, the company's group vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "We remain grounded, however, given challenging industry and economic conditions."

Ford is the sole U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy protection and it's the only one not receiving government loans to keep from running out of money. GM and Chrysler are receiving billions in loans, with GM inching its way closer to escaping Chapter 11.

Several analysts predict that June sales, adjusted for seasonal variances and multiplied to determine an annual rate, will top the 10 million mark for the first time this year. During several months earlier in 2009, U.S. car and truck sales dropped to a rate of about 9 million vehicles, a huge reduction from more than 16 million as recently as 2007.