INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-Group 1 sees no rise in April US auto sales

* Sees no uptick in April auto sales, no signs of recovery
* GM, Chrysler crisis "drag on sales"
* Has 1,000 more vehicles than targeted inventory

By Soyoung Kim
DETROIT, April 28 (Reuters) - Auto dealership Group 1
Automotive Inc has not seen any uptick in U.S. auto
sales in April and has no indication of a meaningful recovery
in the near future, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
"It seems that we've been bouncing along the bottom here,
but the bigger question is when we can see some significant
improvement and I don't have any indication of that," Earl
Hesterberg, Group 1's president and chief executive, told
Reuters in an interview.
U.S. auto sales tumbled 38 percent in the first three
months of 2009 to their lowest in nearly three decades. That
has compounded the woes surrounding General Motors Corp
and Chrysler LLC, which are surviving on $19.4 billion of
government loans they received at the start of the year.
A recovery in sales is a critical element of the companies'
survival at a time when the automakers are racing to complete
sweeping cost cuts under the threat of a government-sponsored
bankruptcy.
"It's been another drag on sales which we don't need in
this difficult economic times," Hesterberg said of the
uncertainty surrounding the fate of GM and Chrysler.
Hesterberg said the company's inventory for domestic brands
remain "significantly above" its targeted level of 75 days of
supply. But the overall inventory is "reasonably close" to
where it needs to be after 7,000 vehicles were reduced from its
stock in the first quarter, he said.
Houston-based Group 1 draws most of its sales from Texas
and California, with the largest share of its new car sales
coming from Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>,
Honda Motor Co Ltd <7267.T> and Nissan Motor Co Ltd <7201.T>.
"We have about a thousand more than we'd ideally like to
have at this time, but the selling rate should tick up, it's
not our biggest problem at the moment," Hesterberg said.
The company operates 99 auto dealerships in the United
States and Britain.
Group 1 shares were up 3.8 percent, or 69 cents, to $18.80
on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Andre Grenon)
((soyoung.kim@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
soyoung.kim.reuters.com@reuters.net +1 313 967 1903))

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