GM, Ford sales drop in January

DETROIT — Ford’s U.S. sales dropped 19 percent in January, allowing Toyota to pass it again as the nation’s No. 2 automaker. But Ford’s numbers were so bad that it was also passed by DaimlerChrysler, knocking the troubled automaker into fourth place for the month.

Times are tough for Ford Motor Co., which attributed its decline to a long-term strategy of returning to profitability by cutting low-profit rental car sales and reducing its reliance on incentives.

Analysts predict that Toyota Motor Corp. likely will knock Ford off its traditional No. 2 spot for the full year in 2007, but Ford, which lost $12.7 billion last year, says it is focused more on returning to profitability in North America.

“Where we are in sales races and sales rankings or where people forecast that we’re going to be is a distraction that we’re not going to be bothered with,” George Pipas, Ford’s U.S. sales analysis manager, said during a conference call with industry analysts and reporters. “We’ve got a job to do in North America, and that is all we are focused on.”

Ford said its sales to rental companies were down 65 percent last month from January of 2006. Excluding fleet sales, the total was down 5 percent, but showed growth in mid-sized cars and new crossover vehicles, Pipas said.

Ford wasn’t the only automaker with a down month in January. General Motors Corp. said Thursday its sales dropped 16.6 percent as it, too, worked to wean itself from rental car companies.

Toyota, on the other hand, continued to stomp on other manufacturers. Its sales were up 9.5 percent in January. DaimlerChrysler AG’s total was also up, by 3.2 percent. Nissan Motor Co. sales rose 8.9 percent, while Honda reported its total rose 2.5 percent in January.