SAN FRANCISCO — The federal Cash for Clunkers rebate program gave a much-needed boost to U.S. auto sales in August, pushing industry tallies to their first year-over-year improvement since October 2007.
But sales were unevenly distributed among manufacturers, with Ford and Hyundai scoring big gains while General Motors and Chrysler Group saw sales fall from August 2008.
Ford said Tuesday it sold 182,149 cars and trucks last month, a gain of 17 percent from 155,690 in August 2008. Smaller cars such as the Fusion and Focus showed huge gains, in part because of the government’s effort to spur sales and improve fuel economy. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, were looking for a 39 percent increase.
Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for consumer pricing site , pointed to Ford, Hyundai, Honda and Toyota as the program’s biggest beneficiaries, but he urged caution in the coming months.
“Industry sales total will actually be higher than last August’s, but the real question is what will happen when this adrenaline shot wears off in September,” he said.
