Ford, Honda discounts drive longest streak of gains
Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. added rebates and discounts to attract buyers over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, driving what may be the longest streak of sales increases in almost 10 years.
Industrywide deliveries probably reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11.2 million light vehicles in May, according to the average of eight analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. If sales did exceed the 9.9 million rate from a year earlier, it would mean eight straight months of increases for the first time since a stretch that ended in June 2000, according to Bloomberg Data.
Sales during the Memorial Day weekend in the past three years ran about 40 percent higher than the typical May weekend, and sales on the last day of the month were more than double the average day, according to researcher Edmunds.com.
"This weekend's activity aligns with the start of the big summer selling season," said Jim Sanfilippo, chief operating officer of Innocean Worldwide Americas LLC, Hyundai Motor Co.'s in-house advertising agency.
Higher discounts may have been needed to help offset the weak retail environment, said Jeff Schuster, executive director of J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Michigan. Sales to rental- car companies and discounted fleet purchasers may have also boosted results, scheduled to be announced tomorrow, he said.
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