By Keith Naughton
June 29 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the only major U.S. automaker that hasn’t filed for bankruptcy, said its June sales of cars and trucks will be the “lowest” decline of any major automaker.
“The worst is behind us,” said George Pipas, in a briefing at the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. “We may see economic growth in the second half and a higher level of auto sales.”
Automakers for June may post an annual U.S. sales rate that exceeds 10 million vehicles for the first time this year, according to estimates by Edmunds.com, J.D. Power & Associates, CSM Worldwide and Deutsche Bank. U.S. sales of cars and light trucks fell to 13.2 million last year after averaging more than 16 million annually through this decade.
Ford is benefiting from being the only major U.S. automaker not going through a government-financed bankruptcy, said John Wolkonowicz, auto analyst for IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. The company is the second-largest U.S. automaker, behind General Motors Corp.
“Ford has a good product line, excellent quality and they don’t have the stigma of having taken government money,” Wolkonowicz said in an interview. “They’re like the little engine that could and the public likes that.”
Ford’s U.S. sales fell 24 percent in May while the industry total dropped 34 percent.
