U.S. Auto Sales Exceed 10 Million - Analyst Blog

Sales in the U.S. auto industry grew 13% to 10.4 million vehicles in February, driven by strong fleet sales (sales to rental companies as well as corporate and government houses). Comparable month sales recorded high figures, since February 2009 was the weakest month last year. However, sales were lower than expected due to winter storms and Toyota Motor’s (TM) safety crisis, which kept many consumers away from the showrooms.
 
Ford Motor Co. (F) ruled among the U.S. automakers, outperforming General Motors for the first time in nearly a decade in terms of sales growth, sales volume and market share. Despite clocking the highest sales growth among its Japanese peers in the U.S., Nissan Motors lagged behind Toyota in terms of market share.
 
U.S. Automakers
 
Sales at Ford (including Volvo) advanced 43% to 142,285 vehicles with a staggering 74% rise in fleet sales, as it grabbed customers from the struggling Toyota. According to Autodata Corp., the automaker bagged an 18.2% market share during the month.
 
Ford’s car sales were up 54%, utilities 39% and trucks 36%. Among the brands, Ford sales rose 46%, Lincoln 19% and Mercury 24%. Meanwhile, Volvo, which is up for sale, clocked a 38% rise in sales to 4,641 vehicles.
 
General Motors (GM) saw an 11.5% rise in sales to 141,951 vehicles. The improvement was attributable to higher fleet sales (114%), strong new models and Toyota’s woes. The automaker won an 18.1% market share during the month, according to Autodata Corp.
 
GM's four existing core brands – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac – witnessed a 32% rise in sales. The company has been phasing out its Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer and has sold Saab.
 
Sales at Chrysler (including the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands) improved marginally to 84,449 vehicles from 84,050 vehicles in February 2009, as stronger demand for its 10 models was offset by steep declines in others. The automaker achieved a 10.8% market share during the month, reveals Autodata Corp.
 
Japanese Automakers
 
Toyota Motors has been hit hard by its recall of 8.5 million vehicles due to faulty accelerator gas pedals, slipping floor mats and defective braking systems. The automaker’s sales fell 9% to 100,027 vehicles in the month. The decline was led by a 20% fall in Toyota’s top-selling Camry sedan. According to Autodata Corp., the automaker’s U.S. market share fell to 12.8%, the lowest since July 2005.
 
Sales at Honda Motor (HMC) grew 13% to 80,671 vehicles. The company’s flagship division posted a 12% rise in sales to 71,732 vehicles due to a more than 40% spike in Accord sales and the introduction of new Crosstour crossover sedan. The company’s luxury Acura division saw sales gain of 17% to 8,939 vehicles. According to Autodata Corp., the automaker achieved a market share of 10.3% during the month.
 
Nissan Motor has reported a 29.4% rise in sales to 70,189 units with a market share of 9% (Autodata) as Versa subcompact sales doubled. Nissan Division sales rose 31.9% for the month, while sales of Infiniti vehicles were 10.7% higher than the year-ago level.
 
Global Automakers Elsewhere
 
Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group, which includes both the Hyundai and Kia brands, posted a combined sales gain of 11% to 34,004 vehicles. This was attributable to a 58% increase in the sales of Sonata to 7,506 vehicles and 52% rise in sales of Santa Fe to 7,964 units. Autodata mentioned that the automaker won a share of 4.4% in the U.S. market.
 
Daimler (DAI) has recorded a marginal 1.4% rise in sales to 15,827 vehicles. Mercedes-Benz sales improved 8.4% to 15,385 vehicles, fueled by impressive sales of the sporty C-Class, the new 9th generation E-Class and compact SUV – the GLK. The smart USA recorded a 60% rise in sales to 442 units in February 2010.
 
There are enough signs to suggest that the U.S. auto industry is on the path to recovery. However, the pace of economic recovery is unsteady as consumer confidence is yet to be restored to its normal level. In order to lure customers to showrooms, the automakers will probably engage in price wars and will increase the pace of launching new and innovative products. In this respect, Ford has already announced plans to boost its North American output by 32% in the second quarter to 595,000 vehicles.

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