(August 1, 2012) General Motors and Ford Motor Co. reported declines in July U.S. sales tied to falling fleet deliveries while smaller rivals posted sharp gains.

GM's sales dropped 6 percent last month, with deliveries to retail customers off 3 percent. The company said total fleet deliveries declined 15 percent, including a 41 percent drop in sales to rental customers. Ford reported a 4 percent drop in sales last month, with retail volume up 2 percent and fleet down 16 percent.

At GM, sales were down 15 percent at Buick, 9 percent at GMC and 7 percent at Chevrolet. Deliveries rose 21 percent at Cadillac.

GM indicated earlier that sales to rental customers would be down sharply in July because scheduled shipments occurred earlier in the year compared with 2011.

Sales at the Ford Division dropped 4 percent while Lincoln volume dropped 11 percent.

Ford reported some successes. Fusion exceeded its best-ever July sales record last month, with 23,326 vehicles sold. Mustang sales increased 8 percent versus last year, with 7,371 vehicles sold, representing its third straight month of sales gains since 2013 models started arriving in dealerships.

Explorer sales totaled 11,313 vehicles in July — its best-ever July sales result since 2006. 

Ford F-Series, America’s best-selling vehicle, reported its 12th straight month of sales increases, with 49,314 F-Series sold. EcoBoost-equipped F-150s made up 42 percent of retail sales in July.

GM's newest vehicles performed well in July.  Buick Verano sales were 4,235 units and have increased each month since the car launched in December.  Chevrolet Sonic sales were 6,278 units and it has been the retail sales leader in its segment since April.  In addition, Chevrolet Spark deliveries were 1,460 in its first month on sale.