Record gas prices and declining trade-in values for big trucks and SUVs hit truck sales hard while major automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), struggled to keep up with demand for some popular smaller cars and hybrids.
GM was the industry’s main surprise after a sale featuring zero percent financing for six years allowed the U.S. automaker to avoid losing sales leadership in the month to Toyota.
In a reversal of recent trends, Toyota trailed GM in June with a 21-percent sales decline, reflecting a 31-percent drop in sales of its trucks like the Tundra pickup.
Equally damaging, sales of Toyota’s hybrids including the market-leading Prius hybrid dropped 27 percent as dealer inventory ran short of demand.
The Japanese auto maker sees U.S. vehicle sales hitting bottom this year, with a modest recovery in 2009, and a substantial rebound in U.S. auto sales in 2010 and beyond.