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Ford tops GM in US vehicle sales in May, driven by fleets

DETROIT - Ford, bolstered by heavy sales to fleet customers, surpassed General Motors in US new vehicle sales in May, according to figures reported Thursday. Ford said May sales rose 2.2 percent from a year ago to 241,126 units. GM sales dropped 1.3 percent to 237,364. GM said it had been trimming sales of heavily discounted vehicles to car rental companies. Such fleet sales made up about 19 percent of its total sales in May. Ford's fleet sales rose 8.4 percent, representing more than 34 percent of total sales. The industry average is around 20 percent. Analysts had expected mixed results for the industry, with sales likely propped up by heavy discounts. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said May sales dipped 0.9 percent to 193,040. Toyota's US sales dropped 0.5 percent to 218,248. Nissan said US sales in May rose 3.0 percent, to 137,471. After demand fell in March and April, analysts estimated May sales at just over 1.5 million. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in May was estimated at 16.8 million to 16.9 million vehicles, about the same as April. A year earlier, sales stood at 17.55 million vehicles. Early reports indicated that sales over the three-day Memorial Day weekend were helped by heavy discounts. "While demand for new vehicles is still relatively strong, it's a bit of smoke and mirrors," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds, the car shopping website. Manufacturers and dealers "really pushed the deals over the holiday weekend to prop up their May numbers," she said. "Incentives were up sharply, and it seems automakers are putting more cash on the hood to nudge car shoppers to buy versus lease." General Motors dealers were offering discounts of up to $12,000 on the full-size Chevrolet Silverado pickup, while some dealer discounts on Ford Motor Co's F-series pickups were more than $10,000 on 2017 models and more than $14,000 on leftover 2016 models. The 2017 model year started eight months ago. Reporting by Paul LienertRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Nissan Toyota US

Toyota Prius owners targeted by tire-slashing VA vandal

Toyota Prius owners aren't bad folks. With a few exceptions, they're just normal people that appreciate the comfortable, high-mileage hybrid. Someone in Arlington, Virginia doesn't see it that way, though, as 14 examples (and one Smart) had at least one tire slashed last Sunday night.
The serial tire-slasher didn't any items from the vehicles, but he or she has left owners with substantial bills and sour dispositions. According to a report from ABC affiliate WJLA, some citizens are considering the matter a hate crime.
Despite the targeting of Toyota hybrids and the acquisition of one fingerprint, police have been unable to make any arrests, as the slasher has targeted vehicles across the county. Take a look at the local news report from WJLA below.

Recharge Wrap-up: Japan supports hydrogen, Fools against fuel cells, BlueIndy controversy

Japan hopes to expand the use of hydrogen energy by subsidizing fuel cell vehicles, according to The Japan News. The trade ministry plans to include the subsidies in its 2015 budget to coincide with the expected launch of Toyota's Fuel Cell Vehicle and the Honda FCEV hydrogen car. By jump-starting purchases of hydrogen cars, Japan hopes that innovation and mass-production will get a boost and the cost of fuel cell vehicles will be competitive with gasoline-powered models by the year 2025. Japan plans to have 100 hydrogen fueling locations operating by March 2016, and wants to halve the cost of building those stations by 2020. The amount of the subsidies has not yet been set. Investing website The Motley Fool isn't quite as optimistic as Japan about hydrogen cars, and is instead bullish about Tesla Motors. The Fool points to Tesla's strong stock performance, and predicts future growth will come from more car models in the future - starting with the Model X - as well as the company's proposed Gigafactory for manufacturing batteries. If Tesla's charging technology continues to catch on, that only improves its financial prospects. The article has some harsh words, however, for hydrogen: "Fuel cells are an inferior automotive technology and for fundamental efficiency, cost, and infrastructure reasons always will be mere compliance gimmicks." Yeesh. As part of a program to build charging stations for the Indianapolis EV carsharing service BlueIndy, utility company Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) wants to raise its electricity rates an average of 44 cents a month per residential customer to help pay for its share of the project. State consumer advocacy agency Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and consumer watchdog group Citizens Action Coalition oppose the plan, according to Greenfield, Indiana's Daily Reporter. The BlueIndy program, which is a partnership between the city of Indianapolis and battery manufacturer Bollore Group, will provide up to 500 cars for rent at 25 charging sites around the city. Those who oppose the rate hike call IPL a monopoly and say the amount of the increase is not allowed under state law and that the program wouldn't benefit working class and low-income citizens. A hearing regarding IPL's proposal is scheduled for July 23. A Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will run the 2014 Asia Cross Country Rally, Hybrid Cars reports. The rally covers 1,367 miles of woods, swamps and mountains from Thailand to Cambodia.