[Ming]

Asian Carmakers' May U.S. Market Share Rise to Record
Bloomberg

-- Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and other Asian carmakers increased their U.S. market share to a record, helped by increased incentives and demand for fuel-efficient vehicles amid surging oil prices.

The 10 Asian makers that sell vehicles in the world's biggest automotive market increased their combined market share by 2 percentage points to 34.8 percent in May, Autodata Corp. said. Their combined sales rose 9.9 percent to 567,266 units last month. Gasoline-electric cars such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight had the biggest percentage gains.

Sales were bolstered by increased spending on incentives by Japan's three biggest automakers, which gave more rebates and loan discounts by at least 13 percent from April, according to CNW Market Research Inc. Surging gasoline prices also drew buyers to so-called hybrid cars.

``Japanese automakers especially Toyota and Honda have a competitive edge'' in selling gasoline-electric cars, said Norihito Kanai, an analyst at Meiji Dresdner Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``They have a head start in the advanced technology that provides cleaner vehicles.''

Toyota sold 3,962 units of the Prius, a hybrid car that can go as far as 55 miles on a gallon of gasoline in city and highway driving, more than triple sales in May last year. By comparison, a typical midsize car using conventional gasoline engines go about 25 miles per gallon.

Among the competitors of Toyota and Honda, sales of the Chevrolet Malibu made by General Motors Corp. fell almost 43 percent to 8,525 units. Sales of the Chevrolet Cavalier, a small car of comparable size with Toyota's Camry, fell 25.6 percent to 17,477 units. Toyota sold 45,375 Camrys in May, 3.8 percent more than last year.

More Incentives

Japan's three biggest automakers increased spending on rebates and loan discounts. Toyota spent the most among the Japanese carmakers with an average $2,982 a vehicle, while Ford Motor Co. was the lowest among U.S.-based makers at $4,297 a vehicle, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc.

``It looks like incentives played a part,'' said Alex Muromcew, who helps manage $600 million for Loomis Sayles & Co. in San Francisco, including shares of Honda, Nissan, Mazda Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co.

Overall sales rose 24 percent for Nissan, 9.8 percent for Honda and 8.4 percent for Toyota, which had its best-ever month. Total U.S. sales gained 3.4 percent. The Japanese have relied more on new models to boost sales.

U.S. Carmakers

Sales rose 2.8 percent for General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, and 1.3 percent for DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler, the third-biggest U.S. automaker. Sales by Ford, No. 2 in the U.S., fell 2.8 percent.

Automobile dealers offered free gasoline to help counter a 39 percent rise in fuel costs, analysts said. The average gas price fell 1.3 cents a gallon to $2.05 last week, after four weeks of record prices.

Industry-wide incentives rose 5.4 percent to $3,784 a vehicle in May from April, CNW said. Dealers chipped in another $1,509 a vehicle in May, the Bandon, Oregon-based company said.

``The competition has raised their spending and we have to be competitive,'' said Jed Connelly, Nissan's U.S. senior vice president, in an interview. ``We're not going to match the domestics, but we went up a bit.''

Ford's incentives rose 4.2 percent in May, while General Motors' increased 0.8 percent to an average $4,322, CNW said. Chrysler boosted its average 2.9 percent to $4,321.

In addition to Toyota's 13 percent incentive spending increase, Nissan boosted spending 15 percent to $1,855 a vehicle and Honda raised its average 14 percent to $1,773, CNW said.

Toyota

Toyota's May sales increase to 202,420 vehicles was led by gains of 7.7 percent for Camry, the top-selling car in the U.S.; 6.6 percent for Corolla small cars; and 84 percent for Sienna minivans. Sales rose 8.2 percent to 176,265 untis for the Toyota and Scion brands and 8.9 percent to 26,155 units for Lexus luxury vehicles, the Toyota City, Japan-based company said.

May market share for Toyota was 12.4 percent, up 0.6 percentage point from the same month a year earlier.

``Toyota products have always been perceived as a good value, and if they're raising incentives, that stimulates some additional sales,'' said Robert Schnorbus, a Troy, Michigan-based economist for J.D. Power & Associates.

Korean Brands, Mazda

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, said it sold 40,337 vehicles, 10 percent more than a year ago. The gain was led by sales of Elantra sedans. Sonata sedans surged 76 percent from May of last year, offsetting a 5.2 percent drop in sales of Santa Fe sport-utility vehicles. Hyundai's market share rose 0.2 percentage point for the month to 2.5 percent.

Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai subsidiary, sold 25,443 cars and light trucks in May, a 16 percent increase, for its best sales month ever. Higher sales of Sedona minivans, up 24 percent, and Rio small cars, up 59 percent, and the addition of the Amanti sedan, led the improvement. Kia's market share rose 0.2 point to 1.6 percent.

Mazda, a third owned by Ford, sold 27,548 vehicles, 19 percent more than last year. May's gain was led by demand for Mazda3 small cars, which rose to 8,866 units, and a 28 percent increase in sales of Mazda6. Mazda's market share was 1.7 percent, up from 1.5 percent.

Mitsubishi, GM Affiliates

Sales for the U.S. arm of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors Corp. fell 23 percent to 16,371, the 11 consecutive monthly decline. The decrease cut Mitsubishi's market share to 1 percent, down 0.4 point from a year ago. The carmaker, Japan's fifth-largest by unit sales, will recall 163,707 cars starting tomorrow to fix defects such as faulty airbags and coolers.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., a fifth owned by General Motor Corp., said sales of Subaru brand cars and wagons fell 13 percent to 14,270 units. The Tokyo-based automaker's market share fell 0.1 point to 0.9 percent in May.

Suzuki Motor Corp., also a fifth owned by General Motors, sold 8,020 cars and sports utility vehicles, up 37 percent from last year. Suzuki's market share rose 0.1 point to 0.5 percent.

Tokyo-based truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd., 14 percent owned by General Motors, sold 1,951 sport utility vehicles, down 31 percent. Isuzu's market share fell by half to 0.1 percent.

Full Article Here

 

[Highlander]

Too bad those Asian made hybrids don't get anywhere close to their claimed fuel economy. If the word continues to get out about their true fuel economy I wouldn't expect their sales to continue to climb. At least not at as high of a rate. lasma:

 

[SUPERBADD75]

Too bad those Asian made hybrids don't get anywhere close to their claimed fuel economy. If the word continues to get out about their true fuel economy I wouldn't expect their sales to continue to climb. At least not at as high of a rate.

actually, the economy figures you see claiming 50 and 60 something MPG for these cars are EPA numbers, not the manufacturer's. besides, regardless if it's 50 something or 40 something MPG they're getting, it's way more than other competitively sized cars, and at just over $20k for a Prius (midsize class), it's also a raging bargain. there won't be a drop in sales. 2 buck a gallon gas is probably here for a while.

 

[Ming]

Originally posted by SUPERBADD75@Jun 3 2004, 01:05 PM
and at just over $20k for a Prius (midsize class), it's also a raging bargain. there won't be a drop in sales.

Unfortunately they are so popular that there are no rebates and some dealerships are jacking the price up thousands = equal to the cost savings in gas.

 

[SmallBlock]

The 'raging value' that the Prius represents is the hallmark of Toyota's entry strategies.

In other countries its called 'dumping product'. Toyota used the same strategy to establish Lexus as a luxury marque. They sold the vehicles at prices that didn't generate a profit short-term for the company, in order to make long-term gains.

The practice is called 'Dumping' and its usually illegal. Unless you're Toyota apparently.

 

[Ming]

Actually I read that Ford plans to lose money or barely break even on the hybrid Escape.

It's the cost of PR and warm fuzzy feelings from Environmentalists and the Left. Toyota, Honda, and Ford are willing to pay for it. Leftist Hollywood actors give them free endorsements, and the Media go ga-ga for anything with the word "Hybrid" - when they all but ignored the EV1.

Toyota rakes in so much money on its product from Americans willing to buy anything with a T logo that they can afford to lose money on a couple of low volume products.

 

[SUPERBADD75]

The 'raging value' that the Prius represents is the hallmark of Toyota's entry strategies.

In other countries its called 'dumping product'. Toyota used the same strategy to establish Lexus as a luxury marque. They sold the vehicles at prices that didn't generate a profit short-term for the company, in order to make long-term gains.

the Prius is definitely not a profit maker for Toyota, but since they have so many other popular vehicles, and of course to get their hybrid out there, they are offering it at a phenomenal price. regardless of what they plan on doing in the future, what they are doing right now is a great deal, and people who are concerned about rising fuel costs would be wise to think it over if they're in the market for a new vehicle.

technology always gets cheaper as it advances. once the hybrid technology becomes less expensive, the Prius (and Civic, as it's almost as much money for a smaller car) may be able to maintain its price and turn a profit for those guys. i'm curious to see what an Escape hybrid will go for, but i'll bet it's not much more than the gasoline only Escape that's out now for the same reason. people need incentive to buy these cars, and in most people's minds, adding a hundred miles to a tank of gas doesn't really strike them as a reason to spend many thousands more on a car. the general public needs to see real world benefits out of something before it's decidedly a good idea, and offering these cars at a decent price is the best way to do it. the technology will be paid for in the long run, and i think that's what these guys are counting on.

 

[tgagneguam]

I can certainly appreciate the fact that the major Japanese automakers are doing well in the US, but it irritates me when people blindly write things that are generally misleading. This is why I feel it's tedious at times to decipher the crap that we have to read on a daily basis:

"...Toyota sold 3,962 units of the Prius,... more than triple sales in May last year." This is so horribly small in number it's laughable. One only needs to sell about 2,700 more Prius's to generate an impressive "tripling" of sales. True, but put it into perspective. And yes, GM doesn't offer a hybrid mid-range car, but how about some responsible, balanced reporting, please.

"...a hybrid car that can go as far as 55 miles on a gallon of gasoline in city and highway driving," As mentioned previously, this is perpetuating a myth. Clearly, hybrids achieve greater fuel economy than vehicles solely powered by an internal combustion engine. However, everyone seems to be quoting the generous EPA figures that to my knowledge no real-life driving situation produces.

"Among the competitors of Toyota and Honda, sales of the Chevrolet Malibu made by General Motors Corp. fell almost 43 percent to 8,525 units." I guess they missed the Grand Am's sales achievements. Or the Vibe's, which outsells the Matrix?! Were those not good vehicles to illuminate?! How come there was no mention of the Toyota Sequioa losing sales in an up market?! How come Honda's total truck deliveries were down in an up market?! Any thoughts, Bloomberg?! I wait with baited breath...

"Sales of the Chevrolet Cavalier, a small car of comparable size with Toyota's Camry" I feel too lazy to look up the dimensions of the two cars, but I've never considered a Camry and Cavalier comparable in size. Is this true?!

"Sales rose 2.8 percent for General Motors Corp.," Yeah, if you don't understand how to calculate monthly vehicle sales. There were 27 selling days last year for May 2003 and 26 for this year. When you go to GM Media Online, you can plainly see that sales were up 6.5%.

I know I'm ranting, and I know some of what I perpetuate is "points-of-view," but this type of article is irritating. Emphasizing the postives for the Japanese and de-emphasizing the many positives for Detroit is plain unfair.

GM, Ford, and DCX all have lots of work to do (and lots of screwups in the past to pay for), but they do some things correctly.

 

[stewacide]

The Camry is MUCH larger than the Cav'. They must have confused it with the Corolla.

 

[AJR]

I must say I'm impressed with Toyota and the other Asian car companies. I'm not a huge fan of all their cars and trucks, but they sure know how to run a business.

This thing about the hybrid Prius seems to be bugging people. I don't think the Prius is the big thing to worry about. To me, the Prius is a science fair project designed to test this market for hybrid acceptance. The big problem for Detroit is when Toyota and Honda put this hybrid technology in conventional cars and SUVs. If the Toyota information being thrown out into the public is correct, the upcoming Lexus RX400h and Toyota Highlander are going to have hybrid systems that ADD horsepower (to about 270 hp) and yet INCREASE gas mileage to somewhere in the 30s. If these vehicles can achieve those numbers, who would not want to buy them? I can understand the Toyota haters and people not willing to spend that kind of extra money, but if one can keep the SUV "life" without the guilt of being a gas guzzler and polluter, why wouldn't people move to them?

On top of the hybrid issue, there is the talk that Toyota is not making money on these hybrids. I don't know if they are or are not, BUT Toyota is going to start (or has already) sold some of their hybrid technology to Nissan. The upcoming Nissan Altima is going to use a version of Toyota's hybrid system. Toyota gets paid for selling the technology, while at the same time lowering its investment costs. The idea is that the more hybrids on the road, the more acceptance from consumers, which translates into investment costs spread across a larger range. Toyota is not dumb.

And the hybrids have another benefit for Toyota. This new technology plays just perfectly in the PR department. To ordinary, average citizens, Toyota looks like a caring and technologically advanced company. The question for these people become "Where is Detroit?" Again, Detroit is shown as being 2 steps behind. Just as Detroit is catching up in the quality department, Toyota and Honda move into a totally new technology. Without a response from GM and the Chrysler Group, it appears that Detroit is sitting on their butts. I don't know what they have up their sleeves, but the average consumer hears nothing from GM, while Toyota, Honda, and Ford give a great appearance. It is a PR battle - one in which Detroit seems to lose little by little every day. Not only do the Japanese (well mostly Toyota and Honda) have a better quality reputation than Detroit, they are also perceived as being more technologically advanced. Again, the perception battle is being won by the Japanese.

The point is that it should not be too surprising that the Asians keep gaining market share. It is surprising when you factor in some of the terrible styling some of their vehicles exhibit, but, the Asian car companies are starting to focus on that too! All they needed was a big enough door and time frame. At least, those are my theories on why the Asian car companies are gaining in this country and globally. I'm just waiting for the time when Toyota officially becomes a member of the Big 3 (per sales). Market share is now at 12.4 %. It grew .06% from this time last year - and Toyota hasn't really focused on its big trucks or Scion yet. Scary isn't it?

Again, my opinions and theories. There may and will be different beliefs and opinions.

 

[stewacide]

We need to remember that the Big Three are at a signifigant disadvantage dealing with both overcapacity and the unions (read: insane benefits) in North America. It's questionable if they could do what the Japanese are doing if they wanted too. Ford seem to be trying (lowering incentives and fleet sales, coming out with much higher-quality and feature-rich products, persueing new technologies like hybrids, etc.) but there's a huge potential to backfire there.

 

[tgagneguam]

Not to sound too defensive, but I don't dislike the Japanese automakers or their hybrids. To the contrary, I admire them for their sound business practices. I would just like some balanced journalism on auto companies.

It's funny, but when you publish an article in a peer-reviewed journal, your colleagues [anonymously] hammer you with criticism. It's definitely necessary to have some thick skin, because reviewers can be quite relentless and harsh. In the end, though, your work is better for it...