Posted on 10/03/2006 9:13:23 PM PDT by Pikamax
Toyota Trounces GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler by Posting a 25 Percent Sales Increase in Sept.
DETROIT (AP) -- Enticed by lower gas prices, consumers started buying more trucks and sport utility vehicles in September, but even that couldn't stop Toyota Motor Corp. from trouncing the domestic Big Three.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, long criticized for relying too much on trucks and SUVs for their profits, saw increased sales of those models last month, but Toyota did, too. The Japanese automaker's car sales also gained, helping the company post a 25 percent year-over-year sales increase in September to lead all manufacturers in the U.S. marketplace.
GM and Chrysler each saw their sales slip by a few percentage points, while Ford's sales were up 4.7 percent, the automakers said Tuesday.
GM sold 334,025 vehicles, 3.1 percent fewer than a year ago, but the nation's largest automaker attributed much of the drop to its plan to wean itself of low-profit fleet sales to rental companies.
The company's car sales fell 6.4 percent, while trucks, including pickups and SUVs, were down 0.7 percent compared with September 2005. The numbers include the European Saab brand.
Stuttgart, Germany-based DaimlerChrysler said its overall decrease of 2.3 percent, was mostly because of U.S. subsidiary Chrysler Group, where sales fell 3.8 percent from 175,556 to 168,888. Sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles rose 13.2 percent.
At Chrysler, car sales plunged 26.6 percent, while truck sales rose 4.3 percent despite an air bag and seat belt recall that limited sales of the Dodge Ram pickup.
Ford's increase to 237,664 vehicles was fueled largely by car sales, which rose 26.2 percent, while its truck sales fell 5.5 percent. The figures are for all Ford brands, including Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover.
Toyota sold 222,950 vehicles in September. The company's car sales rose 18.4 percent, while truck sales soared 34.9 percent.
"They're this 800-pound gorilla out there that nobody can stop," said Erich Merkle, an analyst with Grand Rapids-based auto consulting company IRN Inc.
Sales of Toyota's Tundra pickup soared 74 percent at 12,609 units, but they were still far below the industry-leading Ford F-Series, with 70,822 units sold, and the Chevrolet Silverado, with 51,964.
Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said Tundra sales were in part fueled by fall incentives aimed at making room for the 2007 model, which goes on sale in February. The offers vary by region, he said.
Honda Motor Co. reported a sales decrease of 4.1 percent to 116,226 vehicles. Car sales dropped 13 percent. But like Toyota, Honda had good news in the truck segment, with sales rising 11.6 percent.
Nissan Motor Co., which is currently in talks with GM about forming an alliance, said its sales slipped 5.6 percent to 88,340 last month. The numbers include an 11.1 percent decrease for cars and a 2.7 percent increase for trucks.
All the domestic automakers were wary of declaring an end to the drop in truck and SUV sales, with their sales analysts saying consumers still believe that the recent fall in gas to near $2 per gallon is merely temporary.
Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis, said although there was a shift back toward trucks in the past six weeks, he wants to wait until the fourth quarter before pronouncing any trends.
"I think it's too early to say that all the pressures from gas prices are gone," Ballew said, adding that GM has no expectations that midsize SUVs such as the Chevrolet TrailBlazer will make a huge comeback.
GM predicted good results going forward, thanks to more fuel-efficient vehicles, and said its car sales were off in part because of low inventory.
Chrysler also touted new, more fuel-efficient offerings, including the Dodge Caliber and the Jeep Compass, as reason for optimism in the fourth quarter.
Although Ford posted a sales increase, Tuesday's numbers don't necessarily signal a turnaround for the struggling automaker. Ford had relatively weak sales in September 2005 after summer sales were boosted by deep discounts and Hurricane Katrina pushed gas prices higher.
Ford said demand for its midsize cars -- the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ -- and for the Mustang remained strong, and sales of the F-Series pickup and Explorer and Expedition SUVs all showed higher sales compared with September 2005.
The midsize cars were not offered a year ago, and Mustang sales were up 31 percent, the company said.
Both Ford and Chrysler on Tuesday announced zero percent financing for 60 months on most 2006 models. Incentives typically pick up in the fall as automakers try to clear out dealer inventory to make room for new models.
GM's shares fell 9 cents to close at $33.41 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Ford's shares rose 10 cents, or 1.2 percent, to end at $8.23, and DaimlerChrysler's U.S. shares fell 8 cents to finish at $49.91.
Associated Press Writer Sarah Karush contributed to this report.
How about that--put out a quality product and people will buy it.
Analysts still overlook that foreign makers now offer superior SUVs and are slowly (quickly) creeping up on American truck quality.
Low gas prices won't help American sellers much longer.
This article is incorrect. The MKZ wasn't even being sold last month. The Zephyr, which the MKZ will replace, was Lincoln's midsize offering.
I only buy American. Cars are much too big an item to send the $$ overseas
Yeah, and I'll bet Jesse Jackson is grinning from ear to ear as he and his crooked pals are getting $6billion dollars of Toyota's customer's hard-earned cash. Hurry up and pay your rightful reparations/jizya all you former slave owners! Just like being a dhimmi, if you ask me.
Clearly, the only way for General Motors to come back with stronger sales is to introduce a Hummer H4 and give us more variety.
It will be great when Toyota and Honda put the Detroit Dinosaurs out of business, especially Ford, Ford should continue to be boycotted for advertising in homosexual magazines, especially after seeing Representative Foley's conduct, to think that Ford uses their profits to target magazine readers like him, I would never buy a Detroit car.
Big 3?
I dunno... I bought a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GT and I love it. I also own a 2005 Chevy Suburban. Also a great vehicle.
I told the sales guy if you told me back in the 70's that cars in the year 2006 would be getting just 14 miles a gallon in the city I wouldn't of believed it.
Why bother buying new when you can get a decent used Honda or Toyota for half the price?
Actually, many Japanese companies have manufacturing plants in the US. And the Big 3 have plants in Mexico and Canada.
It's useless to let nationalism interfere with consumerism.
United Auto Workers.
Steelworkers Union.
I can't remember the third.
we usually do buy Amercian.....and have had pretty good luck except for that stinking Plymouth Voyager with the three transmissions......
We could tell Iran and North Korea that, should they wish to become major international players, we could nuke them each a couple of times---it's like fertilizer, man.
It wouldn't hurt GM to improve dealership service. I just went in to get a chipped key for my Century, the counter dude didn't care if I lived or died. Just careless, rude service.
A hundred bucks for a bit of metal and 5 minutes of his time, he could have at least thanked me for my business.
I like my Buick, it's a great car, but the customer service at GM and Ford is as bad as it gets. Some Dale Carnegie training would go a long way.
I just don't consider Chrysler an american car company anymore and I think it's been a long time since it was in the big 3.
We'll just ignore that Toyota spends MORE than Ford on said advertising.
What Ford "car" gets 14 mpg?
The ONLY one rated that low is the GT. Yet it gets higher MPG than its competition (how much do you expect from a supercars?)
The only truly poor MPG performance is from the Focus, which did get a boost this year to up to 37 mpg (compared to up to 41 for its direct competition)
There's more error in the EPA numbers than these differences. My Taurus was rated 19/26. I get 23/31. My Camry was rated 23/30. I get 21/32. The sticker says the Camry is more efficient. My pocketbook says it makes little difference.
There's a reason why business make decisions to go with a manufacturer - lowest overall cost.
There's a difference between reliability and quality. My Taurus has been much more reliable than my Camry. My Camry "feels" like a higher quality car. Anecdotal, sure. But true industry-wide reliability data shows little difference.
Have you driven a Fusion? A few years ago, Ford boosted investment in interiors (Lincoln TRIPLED)... the Fusion is the first of the vehicles to truly benefit. You can tell. There's the quality boost.
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