No sale: automakers endure down month

DETROIT — Customers avoided car showrooms in November, despite lower gas prices and deep discounts, handing domestic and foreign automakers a disappointing month.

The Big Three — General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler — reported lower November sales on Thursday, and even Toyota, which had gotten used to double-digit sales growth, had only modest gains.

Sales of sport-utility vehicles slid again as consumers showed a growing preference for cars and car-based crossover utilities.

A new round of discounts from U.S. automakers introduced in mid-November failed to overcome buyers’ worries about high heating costs and other factors. And automakers said they’re still suffering payback from a summer of popular discounts that allowed customers to snatch up vehicles for the employee price.

Paul Ballew, General Motors Corp.’s executive director of market and industry analysis, said the world’s largest automaker had its highest monthly sales ever in July, so that was bound to affect the rest of the year.

“We just have to find the right balance again between the strength we saw this summer … and now what we’re seeing as a bit of weakness in the industry,” Ballew said.

GM’s sales tumbled 11.3 percent last month compared to last November, led by a 16.7 percent decrease in sales of trucks and SUVs. Car sales slid 3 percent. GM’s sales fell 3 percent in the first 11 months of the year.

Ford said sales of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands fell 18 percent. Car sales slid 6 percent despite strong demand for the company’s new Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr sedans and a 46 percent increase in sales of the Ford Freestyle crossover. Sales of Ford trucks and sport-utility vehicles slipped 22 percent, led by a 52 percent decline in sales of the newly redesigned Ford Explorer SUV.

Toyota’s car sales were up 9.3 percent for the month, led by huge increases in sales of its Lexus luxury sedans, but sales of trucks and SUVs were up just 1 percent for an overall sales increase of 5.5 percent. The Japanese automaker’s sales were up 11 percent for the January-November period.

Honda’s sales gained 6 percent for the month, led by a 9.5 percent increase in truck and SUV sales as the automaker’s new Ridgeline pickup continued to gain traction. Honda’s sales rose 7 percent for the first 11 months of the year.