Also see http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/03/by-the-numbers-december-2007/2007 AND DECEMBER AUTO SALES
Toyota overtakes Ford in U.S. sales
Chevrolet is top brand; Camry wins car title; F series No. 1 truck
Richard Truett and Ryan Beene
Automotive News
January 3, 2008
DETROIT -- Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. took over Ford Motor Co. in U.S. sales in 2007, bumping the Detroit automaker to the No.3 spot.
Toyota last year sold 61,962 more cars and light trucks than Ford, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Toyota sold 2.62 million vehicles during the year while Ford sold 2.56 million.
General Motors remained No. 1 overall with 3.82 million vehicle sales with a market share of 23.7 percent.
Overall, the auto industry sold 16.15 million light vehicles in the U.S. last year, down 2.5 percent from 16.56 million in 2006.
Toyota’s total U.S. market share now stands at 16.8 percent to Ford’s 16.4 percent.
But that doesn’t bother Ford marketing chief Jim Farley, who left Toyota last fall to join Ford.
The company’s focus is on restructuring operations to be profitable at lower demand levels, Farley said in a conference call to reporters and analysts.
"We've been beating our plan like a drum," he said.
From a marketing standpoint, part of the overall restructuring plan is to eliminate the gap between the public’s negative perception of Ford products and their actual quality.
“There’s a whole litany of reasons why customers can trust Ford,” Farley said during the conference call.
Farley said he plans on reaching customers by “shifting our message to reach out in a very humble and honest way to tell our customers what makes Ford special. We won’t be spending more money, just reallocating where we spend it,” he said.
December sales
Ford's December sales fell 9 percent from the year-ago month while sales for the year declined 11.8 percent from 2006.
For the full year, it seems as if every piece of good news for Ford is countered by something negative. For example:
-- Though the F-150 pickup retains its crown as the nation’s top-selling vehicle for the 31st straight year, its sales were down 13.2 percent for the year. F-series sales totaled 690,589 in 2007, down from 796,039 in 2006.
-- With a 9 percent sales gain for the year, Lincoln’s sales slump may be over. But Lincoln logged a 21.4 percent drop in December sales. Powered by new vehicles such as the MKZ sedan and MKX crossover, Lincoln’s 2007 sales totaled 131,487 for 2007, up from 120,476 in 2006.
-- Sales of Ford’s crossover vehicles topped the internal sales projection for the year by 30 percent. But the Explorer, once Ford’s cash cow and the nation’s best-selling SUV, finished a dismal year with sales down 18 percent from 2006.
Counting all of Ford’s brands, 2007 sales totaled 2.55 million units, down 11.8 percent from 2.90 million in 2006.
Toyota: big gains, but a few potholes
Toyota executives said the industry has been challenged by fallout from the weak housing market, credit market turbulence, fragile consumer confidence and fluctuations in the oil industry.
Despite those headwinds, Toyota expects the 2008 vehicle market to once again hit 16.1 million units, mostly from a strong second half making up for a tough first half. Sales should recover further in 2009 and 2010. While Toyota previously had predicted its own 2-3 percent sales growth for 2008, it has revised its forecast to 1-2 percent.
“Two of our key markets, Florida and California, were hit hardest by the housing fallout,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager. “We still see the fundamentals as very strong. We see that carrying into 2008, especially the second half.”
This year also marked the eighth consecutive year that Lexus Division secured the crown as the best-selling luxury vehicle brand, with sales of 329,177 units.
But Toyota failed to meet its sales target of 200,000 for the new Tundra pickup. Despite heavy incentives this summer and fall, Tundra sales for the year totaled 196,555.
But in terms of sales, that's about all that didn't go well for Toyota in 2007.
Camry once again was America's favorite family sedan with sales of 473,108.
Prius blew the doors off every other hybrid in sales and commands more than 50 percent of the market. Prius sales set a record in 2007 at 181,221, a 53 percent gain over 2006
GM down, but optimistic
GM's sales fell 4.4 percent for December and 6.0 percent for the year. But as with Ford, there were at least few bright spots:
-- Retail sales for the month were up 1.5 percent.
-- Five divisions posted retail sales gains for the year: Pontiac, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Saturn.
-- Dealer inventories of unsold vehicles are down 147,000 units over last year at this time and are at a 13-year low.
-- GM whacked about 108,000 units of sales to rental car fleets. GM sold about 596,000 units to rental fleets in 2007, a 9-year low.
For the year, GM sold 3.82 million vehicles, down from 4.06 million sold in 2006.
Chrysler: a crackin' van month
Chrysler LLC finished the year under its new ownership with a 3.1 percent decline in vehicle sales. It posted a modest 0.5 percent gain in December sales.
The Dodge brand fared the best last month, with sales increasing about 11 percent over December 2006 to 98,235 vehicles. Dodge declined 3 percent for the year.
Chrysler division fared the worst in December dropping about 13 percent to sell 48,384 vehicles sold. It fell 9.9 percent for the year. Jeep division sold 44,804 vehicles, a 3 percent drop for December. It gained 4 percent for the year.
“What we want to try and do is become less reliant on incentives and have pricing better reflect the product’s value,” Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press said today in a conference call with reporters and analysts.
One example of this idea working in the real world is the company’s Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivan.
“We had a really crackin’ van month,” he said. In December, the company sold 21,326 Dodge Caravans, a 51 percent increase over December 2006, and 14,211 Chrysler Town & Country minivans, a 31 percent increase.
“We haven’t had to depend on incentives because of the great intrinsic value of the vehicle -- it’s a much better alignment of transaction price and MSRP,” he said. “What we’re doing is making sure the equipment levels on vehicles are driven by what customers want.”
Press says that can be done “by decreasing complexity and being driven by the customer.”
Honda, Nissan division sales remain strong
Meanwhile, it was a mixed year for American Honda Motor Co. One on hand, sales of Honda branded cars posted 11.1 percent yearly sales gain over 2007. Powered by the Fit, and new versions of the Accord and Civic, Honda sold 784,073 vehicles in 2007, up from 706,012 in 2006.
For December, Honda division sales were up 13.8 percent.
On the other hand, the sales news was not good at Honda's upscale Acura division. December sales tanked as they have all year. Acura sold 17,582 vehicles in December, a 7.7 percent drop from a year ago. For the year, Acura sales were down 10.5 percent.
Nissan finished on a good note. Combined sales for Nissan and Infiniti topped a 1 million units for the second straight year. In December, Nissan division's were off 2.2 percent, but were up 4.8 percent for the whole year.
Two cars helped propelled Nissan division's sales in 2007: the Altima, which registered a 22.5 percent gain for the year, and the new Versa compact. Altima sales totaled 284,762 in 2007, up from 232,457 in 2006.
The stylish Versa economy car completed its first full year on the market in 2007 with sales of 79,443 units, up from 22,044 sold in 2006.
Nissan's trucks were a drag in 2007. The Titan saw its sales drop 8.9 percent for the year to 65,746, far below the 100,000 units Nissan hoped to sell. Sales of the Murano, Frontier and Armada were also down for the year.
Infiniti sales rose 4.9 percent in 2007.
Other automakers
Volkswagen AG sold 29,359 vehicles in the United States last month, down 9.6 percent from the same month a year ago. For 2007, VW sold 328,068 vehicles in the United States, down 0.3 percent from 2006. The figures include Audi sales.
Hyundai division's December sales jumped 24.4 percent -- bringing sales for the year to 467,009, up 2.5 percent over 2006. It was a different story for Hyundai's Kia affiliate, which saw December sales deflate 19.8 percent to 24,068 units. Still, Kia posted a 3.5 percent gain for the full year with sales of 305,473.
Brand battle: Chevy beats Toyota, Ford
The battle of U.S. brands finished with GM's Chevrolet unit regaining the No. 1 spot it won briefly from Ford division in 2005. Toyota division, meanwhile, moved into the No. 2 spot last year ahead of Ford.
Chevy sold 2.25 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, down 6.1 percent from 2006.
Toyota was close behind, selling 2.16 million vehicles -- a gain of 5.6 percent.
Ford fell to third by selling 2.09 million vehicles, down 13.6 percent.
But Toyota, with its current growth pattern, could be poised to take the title in 2008. It was the divisional sales leader in four months of 2007 - May, June, July and November. That had never happened before.
F series, Camry dominate
The Ford F series pickup continued to hold the title of top-selling vehicle for the last 26 years with sales of 690,589 -- a drop of 13.2 percent from 2006. The Chevy Silverado was second with sales of 618,257 units, a 2.8 percent drop.
The Toyota Camry finished first among cars with sales of 473,108, a gain of 5.2 percent over 2006. The Honda Accord was next with sales of 392,231, a 10.3 percent gain over the previous year.
Mark Rechtin and Philip Nussel contributed to this report
U.S. vehicle sales, December and 2007
Dec. Dec. Dec. 12 mos. 12 mos. Pct.
2007 2006 chng. 2007 2006 chng.
Aston Martin 146 – – 1,022 – –
BMW Group* 33,796 33,451 1.0% 336,250 313,991 7.1%
Chrysler LLC** 191,423 190,415 0.5% 2,076,650 2,142,505 –3.1%
Ford Motor Co.*** 210,855 231,712 –9.0% 2,559,133 2,902,110 –11.8%
General Motors**** 319,837 334,501 –4.4% 3,822,611 4,065,341 –6.0%
American Honda† 131,792 131,778 – 1,551,542 1,509,358 2.8%
Hyundai Group†† 70,555 67,369 4.7% 772,482 749,822 3.0%
Isuzu 492 637 –22.8% 7,098 8,614 –17.6%
Mazda 24,933 19,912 25.2% 296,110 268,786 10.2%
Mercedes-Benz USA 27,287 28,145 –3.0% 253,433 248,080 2.2%
Mitsubishi 5,904 9,910 –40.4% 128,993 118,558 8.8%
Nissan††† 89,555 91,775 –2.4% 1,068,238 1,019,249 4.8%
Porsche 2,891 2,850 1.4% 34,693 34,227 1.4%
Subaru 18,739 20,613 –9.1% 187,208 200,703 –6.7%
Suzuki 7,361 7,317 0.6% 101,884 100,990 0.9%
Toyota‡ 224,399 228,322 –1.7% 2,620,825 2,542,524 3.1%
VW‡‡ 29,359 32,492 –9.6% 328,068 329,112 –0.3%
Other (estimate) 768 571 34.5% 7,712 7,019 9.9%
TOTAL 1,390,092 1,431,770 –2.9% 16,153,952 16,560,989 –2.5%
Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere.
Source: Automotive News Data Center
Note: Other includes estimates for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus; actuals for Maserati
*Includes Mini and Rolls-Royce
**DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007
***Includes Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo; Aston Martin's estimated sales are included through May 2007
****Includes Saab
†Includes Honda Division and Acura
††Includes Hyundai and Kia
†††Includes Nissan Division and Infiniti
‡Includes Toyota Division, Lexus and Scion
‡‡Includes VW, Audi and Bentley
