Ford executives said the last week of March provided the first uptick in US industry sales since January but stopped short of calling a bottom to the prolonged slump in industry sales.

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The automaker’s top sales analyst George Pippas said March industry sales for cars and light trucks were likely “closer to 9m” on an annualised basis, according to Dow Jones. This compared with 9.12m in February and around 15m in March 2008.


Marketing chief Jim Farley added that March would have been left at an annualised rate of 8.0-8.5m without the improvement seen in the final week.


Pippas said US industry auto sales hit an annualised rate of 9.6m in the first quarter.


Ford’s own US car and light truck sales fell 41% in March, though Pippas said it had taken share in the retail market.

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The company said it had seen “encouraging signs” in the fleet market, notably from government buyers, while cash buyers were more prevalent in the retail segment, Dow Jones noted.


March defies doomsayers