Joined
·
14,692 Posts
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
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
