Hard shoulder: JUNE CAR sales data from the US is expected to show the car market there heading for its worst year in more than a decade.
The figures could also mark a milestone for Detroit's struggling producers if they show Toyota outselling General Motors in its home market for the first time, although sales incentives recently introduced by GM could yet keep it ahead of its rival.
GM's shares on Monday hit their lowest level in half a century as investors sold them ahead of the sales results. As oil prices rise, household budgets are squeezed and Americans stop buying large vehicles.
Most forecasters and equity analysts expect annualised light-vehicle sales rates to reach barely 13 million for June in the US, where last year sales exceeded 16 million units.