Early June brought a slight lull in domestic car and light trucks sales, which declined 4.1 percent from a year ago, but industry analysts said the dip stemmed from one-time rather than economic factors. ``There's no reason to think that underlying demand just for these 10 days has gotten slower,'' Kathleen Heaney, analyst with Nikko Securities International in New York, said Tuesday. ``Nothing's different in the economy for consumers all of a sudden.'' Domestic car sales in the nine selling days from June 1 to June 10 were down 4.8 percent from the same period a year earlier and domestic light truck sales were down 2.7 percent. The eight companies that build passenger vehicles in the United States sold 198,647 domestic cars and 112,945 domestic light trucks in early June, down from 208,699 cars and 116,000 trucks a year earlier. Industry analysts said sales were higher in early June 1987 because a new round of buyer incentives had just been launched. They noted that 1988 spring sales have held steady and consumer confidence remains strong. Car sales were down during the period for all domestic makers except Toyota Motor Corp., which was just beginning U.S. production last year, and Mazda Motor Corp., which began U.S. production last September. ``The last 10 days of May were very strong and may have borrowed some sales that normally would have occurred in the first 10 days of June,'' said Michael Luckey, president of Luckey Consulting Group in Cresskill, N.J. Luckey predicted sales will be higher during the rest of the month. ``The consumer remains in a buying mood,'' he said. General Motors Corp. sold 6.2 percent fewer domestic cars and 4.5 percent fewer domestic light trucks than in early June 1987. GM's combined car and light truck sales were down 5.7 percent from a year earlier. Ford Motor Co.'s domestic cars sales were down 3.2 percent and its domestic light truck sales lagged 6.9 percent behind year-earlier sales. Ford's combined domestic car and light truck sales were down 4.7 percent from a year earlier. Chrysler Corp.'s domestic car sales fell 6.4 percent but its domestic truck sales, which include the hot-selling Jeep lineup, rose 2 percent from early June 1987. Chrysler's combined domestic sales were down 2.5 percent from a year earlier. GM, the industry leader, held 45.6 percent of the combined domestic market, slightly less than its 46.8 percent share a year ago. Ford's share held nearly steady at 31.2 percent, while Chrysler's rose to 17.5 percent from 16.3 percent a year ago. Honda Motor Co.'s domestic car sales fell 0.3 percent, Volkswagen of America's sales were down 8 percent and Nissan Motor Co.'s sales fell 27.6 percent from early June 1987. Nissan's sales of domestically built trucks jumped 83.8 percent, reflecting the company's decision earlier this year to build more trucks than cars at its assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn.
