GM, Ford, Honda Sales Down - Posted Sales Declines In February

[Ming]

GM, Ford Sales Down
Posted Sales Declines In February
Will Produce Less Vehicles In Remainder Of First Quarter

Mar 1, 2005 7:52 pm US/Mountain
DETROIT, MI (AP) General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. posted sales declines last month, as higher prices and low temperatures discouraged buyers, while Japanese rivals and the smallest of Detroit's Big Three made impressive gains.

Moreover, GM and Ford said Tuesday that sales of big trucks and SUVs — vehicles that provide the highest profits — were down sharply from a year ago, apparently the victim of consumer worries about high fuel prices.

Both companies said they'll produce fewer vehicles in the remainder of the first quarter and in the second quarter versus a year ago — cutbacks that are sure to hurt revenue and profits.

GM, the world's largest automaker, posted a 12.7 percent decline after a slight 1 percent increase in January. Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, said sales of its domestic cars and trucks fell 3 percent in February — its ninth straight month of lower sales versus a year ago.

Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, said Ford and GM couldn't lure customers out in the cold in part because they increased prices at the beginning of February. He said a general feeling of cabin fever — and more competitive pricing — could improve sales in March and April.

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said sales rose 7.5 percent on another month of sizzling car business, which was up 21 percent from a year ago. Truck sales rose 4 percent.

"Sales for February show we're sustaining our momentum and leading us toward a sixth consecutive successful quarter of sales," said Gary Dilts, Chrysler's group vice president for sales.

Industrywide, vehicle sales were off 1.9 percent from last February. The seasonally adjusted sales rate was 16.3 million units, up slightly from 16.2 million in January but off from 16.5 million a year ago. The rate indicates what sales would be for the full year if they remained at the same pace for all 12 months. Full-year sales for 2004 were about 17 million.

The best reports again came from Asian companies. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, said its U.S. arm's sales rose 11 percent from a year ago, while Nissan Motor Co. logged a 10 percent increase — its best February on record despite a 2 percent decline in car sales.

"As gas prices continue their upward march, fuel efficiency catches the public eye," said Jim Press, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. "Our investment in a broad lineup of fuel-efficient vehicles continues to drive showroom traffic."

Even smaller Suzuki Motor Corp., which is looking to become a bigger player in the Asian assault on the U.S. automotive market, grabbed a bit more business with a 17.6 percent improvement in sales from a year ago. Suzuki launched an ambitious plan in 2003 to triple U.S. sales by 2007.

Honda Motor Co., hurt in part by an aging version of its high-volume Civic car, said sales dropped 7 percent from a year ago. Car sales declined 16.5 percent, and truck sales climbed 7.5 percent. Honda is in the midst of redesigning its entire Civic lineup for 2006.

GM said its truck sales fell 9 percent while car business tumbled 17 percent. The automaker said some new products, such as the Pontiac G6 and Chevrolet Cobalt, had solid performances, but overall it acknowledged a somewhat rotten start to 2005.

"The calendar year is starting off slower than expected, both for GM and the industry," said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for North American sales, service and marketing.

Ford said truck sales — which include pickups, SUVs and minivans — fell 8 percent, while demand for cars rose 9 percent.

The uptick in Ford's car business was pegged to two new sedans, the Ford Five-Hundred and Mercury Montego, and the continuation of heavy demand for the redesigned Mustang launched last year.

"We're extremely pleased with the sales curve for our new products," said Earl Hesterberg, Ford's group vice president for North American marketing, sales and service.

But bigger vehicles, such as the Ford Explorer and Expedition and GM's Cadillac Escalade EXT and Chevrolet Suburban SUVs, all saw double-digit sales declines from a year ago. Even sales of Ford's top-selling F-Series lineup, which accounts for about one-fourth of Ford's total sales, were down 11 percent last month.

Industry executives and observers say consumer concern over fuel prices is partly to blame for fewer sales of big SUVs. For example, demand for the four-wheel-drive Expedition, which the Environmental Protection Agency says gets 14 miles per gallon in city driving and 18 mpg on the highway, is off nearly 25 percent so far this year. The average price of gasoline nationwide is $1.93 a gallon, an increase of 23.7 cents from a year ago, according to the latest government report released Monday.

Analysts say the increasing number of crossover vehicles on the market also are drawing customers away from hulking SUVs. Crossovers, such as the Nissan Murano and Ford Freestyle, have characteristics of a car, minivan and SUV and seem to be a happy medium for drivers who like the stylishness and on-road command of an SUV but don't necessarily need the off-road ruggedness.

Full Article Here: http://news4colorado.com/finance/fin...060220039.html

[spudglo08]

Thats not good.Not enough rebates i guess.LOL

[Swahili]

To be honest, I'm not surprised at the this sort of downturn in the number of sales since I'm a believer that vehicles in North America are over produced. Plain and simple there are too many vehicles rolling off the line for people to be able to keep buying new ones, all while trying to sell their current vehicle second hand. Seeing that trucks, minivans and SUVs are down while demand for cars is slightly going up is a sign that people are making the shift from large, fuel thirsty vehicles to cars that are friendlier to the wallet.

[tgagneguam]

This bad news has got to end, man. I've been treated to these headlines for nearly two decades. Enough is enough. On the one hand, I think that GM is destined to lose share; it's the old man on the block, and the newer Asian makers are destined to pick up share. But on the other hand, Toyota, for whatever reason, has been able to maintain its share in its home market at about 43%. And Japan, too, is a ferociously competitive market, whether or not it is protectionist.

[uujjj]

The new models GM has in showrooms should be boosting sales, but they are priced too high to sell. The Buick LaCrosse induces sticker shock, as does the Cadillac STS. The Cobalt is pricy for a compact but reasonable for the content. The G6 is also too expensive.

[tgagneguam]

Cars: February (YTD)

Toyota (with Scion): 80,772 (?)
Scion: 10,177
Chevrolet: 62,597 (130,102)
Ford: 64,245 (112,068)
Honda: 38,766 (70,961)

---------------------
Divisional Sales: February (YTD)
Ford: 208,239 (371,941)
Chevrolet: 183,158 (357,147)


---------------------

Of note:

LaCrosse: 6,047
Terraza: 976

G6: 7,043
Montana SV6: 883

Aveo: 3,884 (36.4)
Malibu: 11,345 (28.4)
Classic: 11,910 (2.7)
Cobalt: 7,618
Uplander: 5,593

Relay: 1,179

Five Hundred: 7,524
Freestyle: 5,573
F-series: 59,562 (-11.1)
Montego: 1,621

[tgagneguam]

The new models in GM showrooms will not help to raise sales, folks. The gains in these models, if any, will be offset by falling large and medium sized trucks and sport utilities. It's the nature of product cycles for GM. Some will be up, and some will be down, though it seems with GM the amount of decreases outweigh those vehicles increasing their sales.

[DrewSG]

Impressive for Ford.. They're selling alot of passanger cars and doing so without rebates (except special programs) and fleet sales.

[markusername]

This is bad news and means that GM will have to try harder. I hate it when GM exec's make themselves look even more idiotic by saying sales were down 'due to the cold weather and snow'... Ummm wasn't it the same weather at the Toyota dealership and didn't they manage to significantly increase sales? Did it only snow at GM dealerships and where GM customers live? Is toyota that powerful that they can even control the weather now?

If this is the intelligence level of the top brass, then we need to make changes from the very top!

[nsap]

There are several GM Vehicles that are included in the sales figures that are currently dying off. Like the S10, Blazer, Aztek, and several others. All of those bring the overall sales figure down.

[Mrbowtie]

I see Honda blames their decrease in sales to the old civic. For 2006 Honda has a redesigned civic........boy that was fast, it seems as soon as the Japanese products start to lose sales Honda, Toyota come out with new models.
This is why GM continues to lose share. It takes them 10 years at least to redesign and I don't mean change the sheetmetal, I mean the whole car or truck. Also their product line is still weak.

[dindak]

I see the incentives on some new models like the G6 going up so GM is aware they are not moving.

Still, there are very few Cobalts in the lots I have seen and that is a huge volume car. Can't sell them if you have no inventory.

[idontcareican]

Originally Posted by uujjj

The new models GM has in showrooms should be boosting sales, but they are priced too high to sell. The Buick LaCrosse induces sticker shock, as does the Cadillac STS. The Cobalt is pricy for a compact but reasonable for the content. The G6 is also too expensive.

I would have to agree that the G6 has a hard time because of pricing. The main culprit is that Honda and Toyota cover a lot of ground with the Camry and Accord. The G6 size, engine and price have it going head to head with both V6 models. The G6 needs those engines!

[HEMI300C]

Originally Posted by nsap

There are several GM Vehicles that are included in the sales figures that are currently dying off. Like the S10, Blazer, Aztek, and several others. All of those bring the overall sales figure down.

Those models don't have that many sales, so their loss isn't really to blame for such a large decline.

[AndrewGS]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

Malibu: 11,345 (28.4)
Classic: 11,910 (2.7)

WOW! Looks like the ol' Malibu Classic is outselling quite a few popular cars, even the newer Malibu.

Too bad it's pretty much all fleet sales.