DETROIT — Toyota’s auto sales fell 16 percent in January, a month when it recalled millions of vehicles and halted sales of several models. Most other automakers reported higher sales and looked for opportunities to snatch sales from the troubled Japanese automaker.
January is typically a weak month for U.S. auto sales, but automakers expected sales to improve over January 2009, when they dipped to a 26-year low because of the tough economy.
General Motors said its January sales rose 14 percent because of higher fleet and crossover sales. Crossovers are SUV-like in size but sit on a car frame instead of a truck frame.
Rival Ford, meanwhile, saw sales rise 25 percent on higher fleet sales, while Nissan’s rose 16 percent thanks to higher demand for sedans such as the Versa, Sentra and Maxima. Hyundai’s sales rose 24 percent as sales of the newly redesigned Tuscon SUV doubled.
Chrysler sales fell 8 percent on declining sales of Ram trucks and Jeeps, while Honda sales slipped 5 percent on weaker SUV and crossover demand.
Susan Docherty, GM vice president of sales, said it’s too early to tell if the largest U.S. automaker gained sales because of Toyota’s problems.
