Honda Passes Chrysler as Asia Brands Widen U.S. Share

[steinravnik]

Honda Passes Chrysler as Asia Brands Widen U.S. Share



Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. passed Chrysler LLC in August to grab fourth place in U.S. auto sales this year as cars won market share from trucks amid an industrywide slump.

Asia-based brands, led by Nissan Motor Co.'s 14 percent gain, raised their share of August U.S. sales to 47.3 percent, beating General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler for a fourth month, research firm Autodata Corp. said yesterday. While Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda fell, they dropped less than the U.S. trio.

Tokyo-based Honda may keep the No. 4 spot as a sluggish economy and fuel prices crimp demand for the light trucks that make up more than half of Chrysler's volume. Honda's 2008 U.S. sales are up 1.7 percent, while Chrysler's are down 24 percent.

``Honda and Nissan will likely be the only big automakers that post positive numbers in the U.S. for the calendar year,'' said Jesse Toprak, director of industry analysis for automotive research firm Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California. ``In this kind of economy, with double-digit sales declines for the industry, any kind of gain is a good one.''

Honda rose 3.1 percent to 3,640 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo. Toyota gained 0.4 percent to 4,870 yen, while Nissan slipped 0.8 percent to 830 yen.

Japanese, Korean Brands

U.S. auto sales slid for a 10th straight month, pushing the industry toward its lowest annual total since the early 1990s. The 15 percent tumble included a 22 percent drop for light trucks, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata.

Japanese and South Korean automakers, which are more focused on cars, slid only 5.1 percent from a year earlier as they sold a combined 591,260 vehicles last month. Their U.S. market share was 42.2 percent in August 2007.

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, sold 1.083 million autos in the U.S. through August, compared with 1.076 million for Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler. Honda has increased annual U.S. sales every year since 1994, the longest streak of any of the big automakers. The carmaker's Fit compact also topped Japan sales last month.

Chrysler held a 352,704-unit lead in August 2007, when it was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management LP. Toyota took the No. 3 spot from Chrysler in 2006, then passed Ford last year. Detroit-based GM leads in U.S. sales.

Nissan's sales gain was its fifth advance this year and the only one among the six biggest automakers in the U.S. in August. Its increase was led by the revamped Maxima sedan and new Rogue crossover, general manager of Nissan brand sales Al Castignetti said in a telephone interview yesterday.

``There's no change in the move to smaller, more fuel- efficient models,'' he said.

Nissan's increase boosted its market share to 8.7 percent last month, a 2.2-point improvement, according to Autodata. Nissan is sixth in the U.S. by sales volume.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=anS5a7Btk8AE

[sigma]

Wow... Did anyone ever think 10 years ago, hell 5 years ago, hell before it became clear that the Germans didn't know what the hell they were doing with MoPar (years ago), that Honda would ever surpass one of the "Big 3" in terms of market share?

[eurohazard]

Yeah I hadn't seen this posted at GM Inside News, but I didn't want to be the one to post it. It's surprising to say the least to me....Honda doesn't even offer a true "full line" of cars.

[Bravada]

Because you don't need a "full line". You need a line full of cars people want.

BTW, Chrysler doesn't have it all either. Subcompact? Coupe? (Sebring cc does not count). Their "luxury" car starts @ 25K.

Oh, and I hate those articles full of blabber that won't provide a simple table. I don't care for commentary, I can comment on it myself - I want data!!!

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by Bravada

Because you don't need a "full line". You need a line full of cars people want.

That seems easy to say now that Honda has done it....I'm saying I didn't see this coming....and odds are most people didn't either.

Originally Posted by Bravada

BTW, Chrysler doesn't have it all either. Subcompact? Coupe? (Sebring cc does not count). Their "luxury" car starts @ 25K.

Yes, well the lack of subcompact actually really hurts them, hell their "compact" is a joke of a car too. What do you call the Challenger? Is that not a coupe? Or is it a 2-door sedan? And the lack of a luxury car isn't directly hurting them either....Honda sales up....Acura sales down. Food for thought, or commentary for thought.

[Bravada]

Oh crap, I completely forgot about the Challenger, mostly because 1) it's large 2) it is actually a good car.

Acura does not perform too well, that's true, but in general it is hard to say one has a "full lineup" when it ends with a vehicle like Chrysler 300, which can be had for midsize money.

[skylark68]

Chrysler should just bring the Neon back as it was with a revamped interior.

[sigma]

Originally Posted by skylark68

Chrysler should just bring the Neon back as it was with a revamped interior.

And some updated styling because it looks like it came straight out of 1995, which it did. But yes, MoPar needed a compact car (the Dodge Caliber doesn't count) yesterday.

[blaksabb]

Originally Posted by Bravada

Oh crap, I completely forgot about the Challenger, mostly because 1) it's large 2) it is actually a good car.

Acura does not perform too well, that's true, but in general it is hard to say one has a "full lineup" when it ends with a vehicle like Chrysler 300, which can be had for midsize money.

Wouldn't Acura sales be included in Honda's 3% rise and overall market share? I mean, when we say Chrysler, we mean Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and Ford is Ford/Lincoln/Mercury and GM is... you get the picture.

[MadeInUSA]

No surprise here. Chryslers vehicles are out of touch reality and most "volume" models carry a high Tupperware content.

I think they finally realized that plastic isnt selling, given the new 2009 Ram. I hope that transfers on to the other brands and models.

Ever driven or Seen a Caliber on the inside? Open up the rear hatch: 100% ugly cheap plastic! Really what were these guys thinking?

[GapingOrifice]

I'm not sure if I should go WOW! at Honda for doing well or at Chrysler for its epic fail...ouch!

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by Bravada

Oh crap, I completely forgot about the Challenger, mostly because 1) it's large 2) it is actually a good car.

That's awesome!

[Stéphane Dumas]

Originally Posted by sigma

Wow... Did anyone ever think 10 years ago, hell 5 years ago, hell before it became clear that the Germans didn't know what the hell they were doing with MoPar (years ago), that Honda would ever surpass one of the "Big 3" in terms of market share?

I'm not Nostradamus but I could think then the next-gen Honda Accord will be even more bigger, longer and wider. And there long rumored planned V10 for Acura might see the day despite CAFE.

On a more serious side and on the other hand. Honda had focused (and relied) a lot on North American while worldwide Hyundai is now ahead of them. Maybe on the more long-term, this strategy might play against them despite recent investments in China and India.

[tollytime]

Originally Posted by sigma

Wow... Did anyone ever think 10 years ago, hell 5 years ago, hell before it became clear that the Germans didn't know what the hell they were doing with MoPar (years ago), that Honda would ever surpass one of the "Big 3" in terms of market share?

I'm surprised it took so long.

[steinravnik]

Originally Posted by tollytime

I'm surprised it took so long.

Chrysler has been pretty weak for a while. Toyota overtook them some time ago. Now it's Honda. I wouldn't be surprised if Nissan is not too far off as well.