Ford outsells GM-Toyota only major maker to slip

U.S. sales rise 17% as demand holds up against headwinds

Dave Phillips for Automotive News

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. outsold rival General Motors in the United States last month for the second time since 1998.
Ford, aided by a 21 percent jump in truck sales amid rising gasoline prices, said today it sold 212,295 light vehicles last month, or 5,674 more than GM. Ford's overall gain of 16 percent was its biggest this year.
Ford last outsold GM in February 2010, but by a slimmer margin of just 471 vehicles, according to the Automotive News Data Center. In July 1998, GM, hobbled by a strike at Delphi Corp., was outsold by Ford by 83,883 units.
GM, which outperformed the overall U.S. market in January and February with aggressive incentives, is still ahead of Ford in year-to-date sales by more than 97,000 units. It has been the U.S. sales leader on an annual basis since 1931.