Friday, 13 July 2007
Domestic and import vehicles nearing 50/50 in U.S. market share
« More car buyers demanding four-cylinder engines | Main | New York City congestion charge plan put on hold by State Senate »Over the last several years countless hours have been invested in the research and analysis of the Detroit Three automakers' declining market share in the United States. That is, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have seen their own sales plummet while witnessing the rise of Japanese, South Korean and some luxury-oriented European manufacturers. At this point, there is little that can be said that someone hasn’t already postulated or theorized on before.
This week, however, a psychological turning point in the industry was analyzed extensively: the anticipated drop below 50 percent market share for U.S. automakers in their home territory. In June of 2007, domestics held on to a scant 50.2 percentage of the U.S. new-vehicle market. Last June that number was 56.0 percent.
For the first six months of 2007, domestics accounted for 51.9 percent of new vehicle sales, down from 54.6 percent last year and 54.9 percent from January to June of 2006. The progression has been gradual, but steady. In 2005, Americans held a full 57.0 percent of the market.
Even though General Motors has committed to seeking profitability rather than market share primarily, you can bet that the Americans will make necessary adjustments to retain the majority of the marketplace, at least in the short term. We’re already seeing cash-back and financing incentives being extended through the summer months. But current incentives still fall below the summer 2006 offers in terms of dollars per vehicle for each American automaker.
As expected, Japanese automakers have accounted for much of the lost American market share, as their 36.5-percent claim from January to June of 2007 was a serious improvement over the 33.8 percent held last year during the same time period. Additionally, Toyota, Honda and Nissan are using incentives to boost sales; the new Toyota Tundra full-size pickup, for example, already includes offers topping $5,000. Industry analysts see Toyota’s behavior with the Tundra as unusual, and the incentives have certainly thrown American companies for a loop.
Source: Automotive News [Subscription required]Related posts:
Japanese vehicles outsell American cars and trucks in California this year [December 27, 2006]
Edmunds.com reflects on 2006 U.S. auto industry, predicts 2007 trends [December 21, 2006]
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