Light-truck sales lose ground in February

March 1, 2002
Light-truck manufacturers reported declining sales in February this year compared with 2001, with only DaimlerChrysler's retooled Ram pickup posting a

Light-truck manufacturers reported declining sales in February this year compared with 2001, with only DaimlerChrysler's retooled Ram pickup posting a big gain.

Ram sales jumped 19% to 32,253 units sold in February versus the 27,156 units it sold in February 2001.

However, DaimlerChrysler's light-truck sales in North America showed an overall decline, falling 6% to 134,370 units sold in February versus 142,568 units sold the year before.

Ford Motor Co said its overall truck sales were down 5% in February, dropping to 169,358 units compared with sales of 178,309 in February of 2001.) While sales of Ford's F-Series pickups climbed 0.3% to 63,423 units in February, up from 63,220 units in February 2001, overall Ford-brand trucks, including SUVs, dipped 6.4%, with heavy-truck sales losing 27.7%.

Toyota Motor Sales said its pickup truck sales fell 8% to 17,896 units in February, down from 19,452 units in February 2001. Its total truck sales were off 1.4%, declining to 47,664 units in February, down from 48,361 the previous February.