* Bernard Simon, New York
* April 05, 2007

TOYOTA'S US sales climbed to a record last month thanks partly to soaring demand for the Japanese car maker's hybrid petrol-electric vehicles.
Toyota's gain of almost 12 per cent from a year earlier contrasted with declines at its three Detroit-based rivals.

General Motors reported a 4 per cent drop in March sales, Ford was down 9 per cent and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division was 5per cent lower. There was one more selling day last month than in March 2006.

Paul Ballew, GM's sales analyst, cautioned that the recent bounce in fuel prices and the weak housing market were clouding future prospects.

"Those are headwinds that the industry is going to have to struggle with as we go into the second quarter," Mr Ballew said.

The average price of petrol stood at $US2.70 a gallon on Tuesday, up from $US2.47 a month earlier, according to AAA, the US motoring organisation. GM on Tuesday announced a further 1.3 per cent cut in its North American second-quarter output.

Sales of Toyota's Prius hatchback, the top-selling hybrid model, more than doubled last month to over 19,100 vehicles, helping to propel total US sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids past the half-million mark.

Toyota has recently offered discounts and other incentives on the Prius in an attempt to broaden its appeal. "We made a conscious decision to expand our Prius business," said Don Esmond, head of Toyota's US motor operations.

Intense competition in the high-margin pick-up truck market took a toll on all the major car makers last month. Sales of Ford's top-selling F-Series trucks slid by 15 per cent, while GM reported a 9 per cent drop in sales of its Chevrolet Silverado.

Toyota's newly launched Tundra pick-up reported a 12 per cent gain. But sales have so far fallen short of the Japanese car maker's target of 200,000 this year.

Mr Esmond said the majority of sales were to existing Toyota owners, rather than "conquests" from rival brands. In an effort to boost sales, Toyota has recently offered substantial discounts on the Tundra.

George Pipas, Ford's sales analyst, said Ford was encouraged by growing sales of its Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ saloons, and buoyant demand for recently introduced crossover vehicles.

GM also reported strong sales of new crossovers, such as the GMC Acadia. Its recently reinvigorated Saturn division posted a 22 per cent jump in March sales.

Among other car makers, Volkswagen's sales for March slumped by 16 per cent, with declines in every model that was available a year ago.

Honda and Hyundai reported record sales last month.

From The Australian Newspaper