US sales bounce back after dismal year

Detroit: The US auto industry rebounded from last January's sales collapse with one big exception: Toyota, which lost an estimated 20,000 sales after it stopped selling eight models because of defective gas pedals.

Last month, US sales of cars and light trucks rose six per cent from a year earlier, thanks to increases in fleet sales and strong demand for newly redesigned vehicles such as the Hyundai Tucson SUV and Buick LaCrosse sedan.

Big winners included General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., which all posted double-digit sales increases.

But Toyota's sales slipped 16 per cent, and they could fall further as its sales stoppage drags into February. It was the first time since February 1998 that Toyota's monthly US sales fell below 100,000 vehicles, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank.

Toyota's troubles helped to knock the Camry off its traditional perch as the top-selling car in the US.

No longer the best

Last month the Camry ranked fifth in car sales, passed by Honda's Accord, Nissan's Altima, Toyota's Corolla and the Chevrolet Malibu. The Camry has been the top-selling car in the US for the last eight years.

Toyota announced a recall of eight models, including the Camry, on January 21 and halted sales of those models five days later because the accelerator pedals could stick and cause a crash. The recall has affected a total of 2.3 million vehicles in the US.

Besides the Camry, the other models in the recall include Corolla and Avalon cars, the Matrix hatchback, the Tundra pick-up, the Sequoia SUV and the RAV4 and Highlander.