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August 1, 2007
Detroit Is Outsold by Imports in U.S.
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
.
DETROIT, Aug. 1 — Detroit lost its leadership of the American automobile market for the first time ever in July, when import nameplates outsold the three American companies in a dismal month for auto sales.
The traditional American brands owned by General Motors, the Ford Motor Company and the Chrysler Group held 48.1 percent of the market in July, according to a preliminary estimate by Autodata Inc., an industry statistics firm in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
That meant foreign auto companies held 51.9 percent of the market. The most they had previously held was 49.8 percent of the market earlier this year.
Even taking into account the companies’ foreign brands, such as Volvo and Mazda, which are owned by Ford, the Detroit companies only held 49.7 percent of the market last month, said Edmunds.com, a Web site that offers buying advice to consumers.
In July last year, Detroit companies held 52 percent of the American market, according to Autodata.
Foreign nameplates have led Detroit in sales of cars for much of this decade, but Detroit’s wide lead in sales of light trucks, like pickups, sport utility vehicles and minivans, managed to keep the American companies ahead in the overall market.
The popularity of S.U.V.’s began to plummet, however, after gasoline prices spiked in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And this year, with gasoline above $3 a gallon in many parts of the country, sales of big pickup trucks by Detroit companies have fallen, helping the foreign companies squeak ahead in total sales.
“It’s a clear signal that the industry’s business model needs to be transformed ASAP,” said John Casesa, a veteran industry analyst with the Casesa Shapiro Group. “It adds urgency to what is already an extremely fragile situation in Detroit.”
Foreign brands’ dominance of the American market came in a month when even the major Japanese companies, Toyota and Honda, reported small declines in sales.
But the declines by Detroit companies were even deeper, causing a shift in the ranking of the auto companies.
General Motors said its sales fell 23 percent in July compared with 2006, while Ford Motor Company said its sales fell 19.1 percent. The Chrysler Group, which has been enjoying a comeback this year, said its sales fell 9 percent last month.
Toyota, which unseated Ford earlier this year to rank as the No. 2 auto company in the United States, said its sales fell 3.5 percent from July 2006, which was a record month for the auto company.
“It was a rough month for everybody,” said Mike Michaels, a spokesman for Toyota.
Honda Motor Company also reported a sales decline, but it outsold Chrysler to take fourth place among companies selling vehicles in the United States last month, as it did in July 2006.
That meant the ranking among auto companies last month was G.M., Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chrysler.
All the figures were unadjusted for the number of selling days last month. There were 24 selling days this year and 25 last year. Adjusted numbers showed smaller declines in sales, but that did not affect the market share percentages.
Detroit companies, in particular, have been hit hard by the rise in gasoline prices, and the drop in home sales that has curbed the demand for big pickups and sport utility vehicles, which still dominate their lineups, even though they have introduced new cars and crossover vehicles.
The Ford decline is another setback for the automaker, which is in the midst of a restructuring program called the Way Forward.
Although Ford and G.M. are voluntarily cutting back on unprofitable sales to fleet customers, like rental car companies, Ford said its sales to consumers also fell 17 percent in July.
“We are encouraged by the progress we have made and consumers’ response to our new products,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president for the Americas region. “At the same time, we know we have a lot of work to do, and July is a sobering reminder of the economic and competitive challenges we face.”
George Pipas, Ford’s chief sales analyst, played down the significance of foreign auto companies’ dominance of July sales, saying that the import brands have dominated the retail sales market since last year.
For the year to date, Ford sales are down 12.2 percent on an unadjusted basis. By contrast, Toyota sales are up 5.5 percent for the year.
Chrysler’s decline came despite the wave of new vehicles it has introduced over the last few months. But its sales for the year to date are up 2 percent over 2006.
Edmunds estimated that the average incentive last month rose to $2,524 per vehicle, up $102, or 4.2 percent, from June 2007, but down $286, or 10.2 percent, from July 2006. G.M. has already rolled out a zero percent financing plan on its big pickup trucks in an effort to increase their sales. Toyota has been offering zero percent financing on its Tundra pickup since June.
Nick Bunkley contributed reporting from Phoenix.
August 1, 2007
Detroit Is Outsold by Imports in U.S.
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
.
DETROIT, Aug. 1 — Detroit lost its leadership of the American automobile market for the first time ever in July, when import nameplates outsold the three American companies in a dismal month for auto sales.
The traditional American brands owned by General Motors, the Ford Motor Company and the Chrysler Group held 48.1 percent of the market in July, according to a preliminary estimate by Autodata Inc., an industry statistics firm in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
That meant foreign auto companies held 51.9 percent of the market. The most they had previously held was 49.8 percent of the market earlier this year.
Even taking into account the companies’ foreign brands, such as Volvo and Mazda, which are owned by Ford, the Detroit companies only held 49.7 percent of the market last month, said Edmunds.com, a Web site that offers buying advice to consumers.
In July last year, Detroit companies held 52 percent of the American market, according to Autodata.
Foreign nameplates have led Detroit in sales of cars for much of this decade, but Detroit’s wide lead in sales of light trucks, like pickups, sport utility vehicles and minivans, managed to keep the American companies ahead in the overall market.
The popularity of S.U.V.’s began to plummet, however, after gasoline prices spiked in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And this year, with gasoline above $3 a gallon in many parts of the country, sales of big pickup trucks by Detroit companies have fallen, helping the foreign companies squeak ahead in total sales.
“It’s a clear signal that the industry’s business model needs to be transformed ASAP,” said John Casesa, a veteran industry analyst with the Casesa Shapiro Group. “It adds urgency to what is already an extremely fragile situation in Detroit.”
Foreign brands’ dominance of the American market came in a month when even the major Japanese companies, Toyota and Honda, reported small declines in sales.
But the declines by Detroit companies were even deeper, causing a shift in the ranking of the auto companies.
General Motors said its sales fell 23 percent in July compared with 2006, while Ford Motor Company said its sales fell 19.1 percent. The Chrysler Group, which has been enjoying a comeback this year, said its sales fell 9 percent last month.
Toyota, which unseated Ford earlier this year to rank as the No. 2 auto company in the United States, said its sales fell 3.5 percent from July 2006, which was a record month for the auto company.
“It was a rough month for everybody,” said Mike Michaels, a spokesman for Toyota.
Honda Motor Company also reported a sales decline, but it outsold Chrysler to take fourth place among companies selling vehicles in the United States last month, as it did in July 2006.
That meant the ranking among auto companies last month was G.M., Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chrysler.
All the figures were unadjusted for the number of selling days last month. There were 24 selling days this year and 25 last year. Adjusted numbers showed smaller declines in sales, but that did not affect the market share percentages.
Detroit companies, in particular, have been hit hard by the rise in gasoline prices, and the drop in home sales that has curbed the demand for big pickups and sport utility vehicles, which still dominate their lineups, even though they have introduced new cars and crossover vehicles.
The Ford decline is another setback for the automaker, which is in the midst of a restructuring program called the Way Forward.
Although Ford and G.M. are voluntarily cutting back on unprofitable sales to fleet customers, like rental car companies, Ford said its sales to consumers also fell 17 percent in July.
“We are encouraged by the progress we have made and consumers’ response to our new products,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president for the Americas region. “At the same time, we know we have a lot of work to do, and July is a sobering reminder of the economic and competitive challenges we face.”
George Pipas, Ford’s chief sales analyst, played down the significance of foreign auto companies’ dominance of July sales, saying that the import brands have dominated the retail sales market since last year.
For the year to date, Ford sales are down 12.2 percent on an unadjusted basis. By contrast, Toyota sales are up 5.5 percent for the year.
Chrysler’s decline came despite the wave of new vehicles it has introduced over the last few months. But its sales for the year to date are up 2 percent over 2006.
Edmunds estimated that the average incentive last month rose to $2,524 per vehicle, up $102, or 4.2 percent, from June 2007, but down $286, or 10.2 percent, from July 2006. G.M. has already rolled out a zero percent financing plan on its big pickup trucks in an effort to increase their sales. Toyota has been offering zero percent financing on its Tundra pickup since June.
Nick Bunkley contributed reporting from Phoenix.
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