January sales: GM up, Toyota down

[megeebee]

From Automotive News:




2008 JANUARY AUTO SALES



GM sales up 2.1% in difficult month

Ford, Toyota, Honda and others also post declines


Richard Truett

Automotive News | February 1, 2008 - 1:14 pm EST




DETROIT – With its new vehicles gaining traction, General Motors was one of the few automakers reporting a retail sales increase in what was a very tough January for U.S. auto sales.

Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Volkswagen and several others all lost sales during the month. But GM, on the strength of its Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS and hot-selling mid-size crossovers, delivered 252,565 vehicles in January, up 2.1 percent over January 2007.

Of that total, 186,187 vehicles were sold at retail, while 66,378 were fleet sales. The total includes 148,191 trucks.

The star of GM's show was the new Chevrolet Malibu, which has one of the industry's fastest turn rates, staying on dealer lots about 16 days. GM says Malibu sales rose 58 percent over a year ago. The new Malibu won the North American Car of the Year award last month at the Detroit auto show.

Other winners for GM include the Cadillac CTS, up 95 percent over a year ago and the Chevrolet Aveo, up 40 percent. The Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook, were up 134 percent over last year.

GM's smaller crossover SUVs, the Pontiac Torrent, Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Equinox registered a 38 percent gain.

"GM is back in the car business," said Mark LeNeve, GM's vice president of North American sales and marketing.

Ford’s long losing streak continued into 2008, with the company posting a 3.9 percent sales drop over a year ago. Ford has registered just one year-over-year monthly sales gain since October 2006, in November 2007.

Ford did have some good news. Sales of the refreshed Focus sedan rose 44 percent over last January. Ford’s Edge sold 10,888 units in January, up from 5,586 a year ago. With sales of 3,026, the MKX, the Edge’s upscale cousin, nearly doubled sales over January 2007.

Ford’s Escape also posted a strong month, with a sales increase of 33.1 percent over last year.

But Ford’s cash cow, the aging F-series pickup, saw another month of sales declines with an 8.4 percent drop. Ford sold 41,125 F-series trucks in January, down from 44,919 a year ago.

Ford sold 159,276 vehicles in January, down from 165,803 during the same month last year.

"It's not going to get any easier -- at least for a while," said Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president for marketing and communications.

"Recent monetary actions and the (Bush administration’s) proposed stimulus package may help the economy later this year, but we're not pinning our hopes on that. Our plan is based on restructuring our business to be profitable at lower demand and changed mix while also accelerating the development of new products people want to buy."

Toyota Motor Corp. showed mortality during the month.

Its January sales were off 2.3 percent compared with January 2007. The Tundra tumbled. The big truck sold 12,073 units in January, down 37.2 percent from December. That’s the best comparison because the new Tundra was just being launched a year ago. Sales of the gasoline-electric Prius hybrid surged 37 percent to 11,379 in January, up from 8,299 sold a year ago.

"On the retail front, consumers are sitting in the catbird's seat, with falling interest rates and a competitive market giving rise to showroom values," Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., said in a statement. "On the product front, the migration toward passenger cars dovetails nicely with February's launch of the all-new Corolla and Matrix."

Meanwhile, combined sales of Honda and Acura brand vehicles dipped slightly in January, down 2.3 percent over a year ago, to 98,511. Honda division reported a half percent drop in sales.

On the strength of the redesigned Civic and Accord and the Fit subcompact, Honda cars gained 7.1 percent. But its trucks lost 6.2 percent. The Acura division dinged Honda in January, with a sales decline of 14.2 percent.

In other reports issued so far today:


Nissan North America saw its January sales skid 7.3 percent. Sales of Nissan branded vehicles were down 7.8 percent, while the Infiniti luxury division registered a 3.6 percent dip over last January. The totals: Nissan sales were 67,971, down from 73,680.

Several new vehicles, such as the Rogue SUV and Versa compact, are off to a quick start, adding more than 11,000 units to Nissan's total. But that wasn't enough to offset lower sales for the Titan truck, Armada, Quest and Murano.


Mercedes-Benz, with an increase of 19 percent, posted its highest ever January sales. Some winners for the German automaker included the C-class, which gained 18 percent with sales of 4,647 compared with 3,928 sold a year ago.


Volkswagen saw its January sales skid 13.2 percent in January. VW is without its diesel-powered Jetta, a popular vehicle in a time of high fuel prices. Sales of the Touareg SUV dropped by almost 50 percent.


Sales at Porsche were off 13 percent.


Suzuki opened the 2008 sales season with a 12.9 percent drop compared with January 2007.


Subaru sales fell 6.5 percent, but the recently freshened Impreza chalked up a small gain in sales over last January.





SOURCE: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...plate=printart

[T-Type]

Originally Posted by Perian

Hate to ruin your post but -

Remember - Toyota had almost all of its major lines down during Dec-Jan.

The 2009 versions of the Camry, Corolla and Matrix went Job One in January.

Thousands of sales were lost or postponed.


Side note: Anyone know why Toyota is introducing the 2009 Camry so early?

Would the lines being down really effect one month of sales? Wouldn't they have stockpiled a little bit before shutdown? I'm not aware of a shortage on dealer lots.

I'm guessing the new Camry is early because of the new Malibu and overall resurgent GM.

[1487]

aura was up 29%. I dont think it should be written off just yet folks. Malibu should be moving ahead of Fusion in sales on a permanent basis. I would like to see them get closer to 20k units though.

[jbernie]

Originally Posted by Perian

Side note: Anyone know why Toyota is introducing the 2009 Camry so early?

Because if your product stinks compared to the competition you just say it is the next model year and the Kool Aid drinkers will assume it has to be better than any 2008 model any one else will have.

[zete]

Without increased sales in the US vs. GM Toyota can kiss any chance of being #1 in sales this year goodbye. Overseas GM is growing too fast while they've struggled at home. If they've actually started to level off or post gains, while Toyota flattens or posts losses 2007 will be the year Toyota came oh-so-close-but-no-cigar to GM. And that's going to cause the Toyota fanboys to go sideways.

The fact the Enclave is selling as much as three retired models is saying something. With a proper 5 seat CUV and two decent sedans (i.e., as good as the Enclave or better) and a Riviera Buick will be fully back.

[1487]

Originally Posted by T-Type

Would the lines being down really effect one month of sales? Wouldn't they have stockpiled a little bit before shutdown? I'm not aware of a shortage on dealer lots.

I'm guessing the new Camry is early because of the new Malibu and overall resurgent GM.

I have heard nothing of the 2009 camry being out already. even if it was most large Toyota dealers stock dozens of camrys all the time. Sounds like BS to me. Lets stop with the excuses, the Tundra's sales are collapsing and Toyota has to rely on the success of the PRius and its four cylinder cars.

[Perian]

Originally Posted by Mcmflow

This is the first I've heard of a 2009 Camry....could it be the Venza?

Venza goes into production in November 2008.

Edmunds has pricing for the 2009 Camry up on the site.

Toyota website also features the 2009 Camry.

I wonder why it's so very early?

[1487]

Originally Posted by VCDJ

Aura is up almost 30%. It is about time. but still sales are low for this car. it did not even hit 6k.

Its January. What do you expect? if It can do this in JAnuary it should be able to hit 7k or 9K by Summer. In its best month it was close to 7k units last year. I cant see how sales are going to go down with the I-4 available. I also think lack of availability of the Malibu may help it as well.

[steinravnik]

Good news.

[tom3]

Originally Posted by paul8488

I wonder if Impala is down because Malibu is up... their combined totals are pretty close in January 2008 as they were in January 2007.!

Haven't done a real comparison but the Malibu to my eyes looks more like a replacement for the Impala than for the old Bu. Could be buyers are seeing the newer body style and somewhat lower price for a very similiar car and going in that direction instead of the Imala? Good to see GM doing well in a tough market though.

[ronald mcretard]

Originally Posted by zete

Without increased sales in the US vs. GM Toyota can kiss any chance of being #1 in sales this year goodbye. Overseas GM is growing too fast while they've struggled at home. If they've actually started to level off or post gains, while Toyota flattens or posts losses 2007 will be the year Toyota came oh-so-close-but-no-cigar to GM. And that's going to cause the Toyota fanboys to go sideways.

The fact the Enclave is selling as much as three retired models is saying something. With a proper 5 seat CUV and two decent sedans (i.e., as good as the Enclave or better) and a Riviera Buick will be fully back.

Remember it's just one month though. Toyota could always have a big blowout sale or something to sell more units than GM.

[Mcmflow]

Originally Posted by Perian

Venza goes into production in November 2008.

Edmunds has pricing for the 2009 Camry up on the site.

I wonder why it's so very early? MCE?

Someone here at work was saying that he heard they might be coming out with it early because of the new 2.7 He didn't remember where he read that though.

I am anxious to see the Venza.....wish it was coming out earlier.

[1487]

wow, the CTS outsold the ES350 and C class in January. That is significant, very impressive. Lexus was down 8% which is crazy considering they were up almost every month in 2007. I think the economic issues in CA and other Toyota strongholds are just starting to affect their sales.

everyone talking about the camry being disadvantaged due to the model change should note the Camry had its best January ever. Malibu/Impala sales were about equal to camry sales last month. I would love to know how many of those camrys went to fleets. I suspect Toyota is slowly increasing fleet sales to maintain marketshare. Sounds like another company we know doesnt it?

[American_Muscle]

looks like things are finally starting to go back to normal..lets hope it continues

[1487]

while GM's vehicles may not be affecting Toyota sales too much so far they seem to be having more effect on other brands. Altima sales were down 11% last month and its a relatively fresh product. G35 was down 22% and posted about 2k less sales than CTS. fusion sales werent that great either and Malibu outsold it by 4K+ units.

I would love to see the Malibu be close to Altima sales by the end of the year.