A leading auto analyst said that he expects April auto sales hit an 18 month low, Reuters reported. Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson wrote in a research note that higher interest rates, declines in housing, dropping consumer confidence and a general economy slowing combined with fewer industry wide incentives led to an overall decline in sales.
Johnson told the news agency he expects to see sales declines between 6-7% for the domestic automakers. Ford is expected to have suffered the most, with a double digit decline in sales. Johnson also expects Honda and Nissan to post sales declines with Toyota posting only mildly higher sales.
Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Barry agreed with the assessment, saying automakers were hit by “lower fleet sales, a poor product cadence at Ford and very difficult car comparisons for Chrysler .”
The automakers will release sales results later today.
