Toyota isn't that far behind GM
In response to our By The Numbers: July 2006 post, a few commenters noted how far behind Toyota was behind General Motors in terms of monthly sales in the U.S. Toyota sold 241,826 units while GM sold more than twice that at 410,332 units. From appearances it seemed GM's dominant seat in sales was secure to some. When talking about which automaker is the biggest in the world, however, global sales must be taken into account. The editors at Drive.com.au, an Australian website with perhaps a little more perspective than some of us, noted that in the first seven months of 2006, General Motors has sold 4.6 million cars worldwide while Toyota has moved 4.32 million. Clearly the gap is not that large... and it's shrinking. In Australia, for instance, Toyota is some 30,000 units ahead of GM's Holden brand in year-to-date sales.
While Toyota did sell more vehicles in the U.S. during the month of July than Ford by a narrow margin, it's still third in sales behind the Big 2 for the first seven months of 2006. Perhaps of greater concern to the Big 2 and Chrysler is that Toyota has been the only one of the four to actually increase its sales volume in 2006.
Toyota believes it may pass GM in worldwide sales by 2008, and some are saying that it will happen as soon as next year. Time will tell, but it's clear that GM won't relinquish its mantle without a fight.
[Source: Drive.com.au]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
djSyndrome 11:14AM (8/04/2006)
"Toyota sold 241,826 units while GM sold more than twice that at 410,332 units"
Fail math often?
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Silverado 11:21AM (8/04/2006)
Toyota beat a Holden Model that was old, out of date and needed replacing. Watch Holden's parade of new models take Toyota down a notch. As for GM and Toyota, the sleeping giant has been awakened and is just before clubbing the recall rotten Japanese pretenders. The new Saturn line-up, the new trucks and cross-overs will keep Toyota in it's place.
Those of you predicting GM's demise take a seat and watch, the best is yet to come.
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djSyndrome 11:32AM (8/04/2006)
"The new Saturn line-up, the new trucks and cross-overs will keep Toyota in it's place."
I've been waiting for sixteen years for Saturn to 'put Toyota in its place". Still am, and I'm sure I will be even after the rebadged Opels come and go (and Saturn moves onto its next gimmick to try and revive flagging sales).
The new trucks are going to sell to people who need them and no-one else. The days of buying a pickup for 'recreational' purposes are long gone, thanks to three-buck-a-gallon gas. GM is still putting all its eggs into the large pickup and SUV basket, when people are running away from them and into four- and six-cylinder crossovers and compact cars, areas where GM has been historically weak.
And I've yet to see one innovative feature in the new 'crossovers' that would convince me to buy one over a five-year-old Pilot or Highlander.
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Silverado 11:38AM (8/04/2006)
#3,Shut up and eat your rice cakes, watch, see and continue to drive your Japanese product. Hopefully the next job that leaves this country is yours, or your mothers, or fathers.
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James 11:43AM (8/04/2006)
Yes, in response to post #2
Toyota's growth really can't be ignored right now. GM won't stay at the top for long, and no Saturn can change that... even a really nice one, especially once the new Corolla is unveiled.
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Steve S 11:43AM (8/04/2006)
Well until they file for chap. 11 anyway.
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James 11:45AM (8/04/2006)
And in response to post #4, are you forgetting how many plants Toyota has built and jobs it provides in this country?
I'm sick of people telling me I'm un-American for liking Japanese cars. That's just ridiculous. Go eat some freedom fries and shut up.
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djSyndrome 11:54AM (8/04/2006)
"Shut up and eat your rice cakes, watch, see and continue to drive your Japanese product. Hopefully the next job that leaves this country is yours, or your mothers, or fathers."
Wow, I can't fathom how someone as uninformed as you can manage to access the internet. Does your mother know that you're surfing the web?
Toyotas are built here. So are Hondas. And Nissans. That's right - while the Detroiters continue to shed jobs left and right (and cutting benefits to those that can remain employed), the Japanese (and Hyundai) are building factories in America. Do you think, in your small little brain, that they are bringing over workers from Japan to fill them? No, they are filling these plants with Americans.
If you're going to be so blindly pro-American, point your ire at the Chinese, who have no desire to set up shop here and are slowly destroying our economy through artificial currency manipulation.
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Steve 11:56AM (8/04/2006)
#4, Japanese automakers are adding more jobs to the US while American automakers are adding more jobs to Canada and Mexico.
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Ryan 12:06PM (8/04/2006)
"4. #3,Shut up and eat your rice cakes, watch, see and continue to drive your Japanese product. Hopefully the next job that leaves this country is yours, or your mothers, or fathers.
Posted at 11:38AM on Aug 4th 2006 by Silverado 0 stars"
Ok "Silverado"
First off, I hope GM/Ford make a turnaround and are profitable with competitive product. With that said:
Name an American car company that has a car that is ALSO currently made in the USA, that is *superior* to the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Not just equal but superior because that is what America is or at least was known for. I don't care about ANY magazine, I just want you to name me one (1) American Car company, with the car ALSO being built in the USA that is superior to a Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
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GM WHO? 12:10PM (8/04/2006)
4. #3,Shut up and eat your rice cakes, watch, see and continue to drive your Japanese product. Hopefully the next job that leaves this country is yours, or your mothers, or fathers.
I wonder if this guy reads the same riot act to people who purchase a Chevy Aveo, Optra(5), Epica, or Equinox with that chinese 3.4l built by Dihatsu? Perhaps he needs to stand on a soap box and preach to Pontiac Vibe buyers. Hey when he's done there, he can head over to Saturn and blast that family buying the VUE V6 with the Honda Odessey motor in it!
Gee, it kinda looks like GM is putting jobs outside this country all by itself!!
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notbiased 12:33PM (8/04/2006)
In response to # 10
cars that are better than accord and camry
chevrolet impala, cadillac sts/cts, ford fusion
test drive it; Don't like it it's ok.
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vic 12:34PM (8/04/2006)
Hi folks,
I live in Canada. Honestly speaking toyota/honda have been providing jobs for us for a long time, plants have been expanding as well. In the US, there are far more toyota/honda plants - so this will help in jobs.
Whats helping them is they don't have many useless models in their line ups. A honda fit is a fit, civic, is in another category, camry in in its own category. While the domestics have the same model, simply rebadged, eventhough the lines are decreasing.
Recall the cars, sunbird, sunfire, cavalier, j2000, cimarron, skyhawn, tempest, corsica, beretta, grand am, neon, dodge, plymouth
With so many similar models, and also saturn, they are basically fighting for the same market. Bright idea.
Wonder which country these models were produced?
As another example, bmw, they have there 1 series, 3 series, 5, and 7 series. Each series has its own market. Plain & simple. Less is more is the theory here!
Watch Roger and me, where u see a pontiac 6000, what a let down GM did.
Now we hear the Silverado and Sierra are brand new - basically they are the same bloody thing, why GM needs a GMC and chevrolet?
Brand loyalty probably comes into place, but domestics have already made their hole for themselves.
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ron 12:34PM (8/04/2006)
What I don't understand is GM has Buick, Pontiac, GMC Trucks, Cadillac, Hummer, Saab, Chevy and Saturn. Toyota has Toyota, Lexus and Scion. GM really needs to do something.
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Ryan 12:44PM (8/04/2006)
"12. In response to # 10
cars that are better than accord and camry
chevrolet impala, cadillac sts/cts, ford fusion
test drive it; Don't like it it's ok.
Posted at 12:33PM on Aug 4th 2006 by notbiased 0 stars"
-Are they ALL made in the USA also? AND within the same class of car as the Accord and Camry? cadillac sts/cts?! C'mon lets not try to insult caddy.
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Mike 12:51PM (8/04/2006)
As stated in post 13, GM has over saturate the market with the same car, that's what has hurt GM over the years and why they keep flirting with the Chapter Bomb. The thing that has truly taking a bite out of the american manufactured car market is the unions. If the costs werent' so outrageous to produce vehicles, they could be much more competetitive with the foreign makes. Nissan, Toyota, Honda, BMW of those manufacturers and I'm sure there's some not mentioned how many of them have a Unionized plant in the US? More than likely NON. That's because we have labor laws in place that protect today's worker without the problems they used to have back in the day when Unions were originally formed. But good luck getting unions out of the Motor City, and the unions have already been chasing the plants to Mexico.
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Scott 12:54PM (8/04/2006)
Looks like Americans like to have variety. How boring would it be if we all had to drive 1 of 5 cars. Even if Ford/GM don't make significant differences between models (ie. Pontiac Torrent, Chevy Equinox, and Saturn VUE) there are at least some difference that allow Americans to buy the model that best fits their individual taste.
Now as far as the benefits to economies of scale by only producing a few different models, I'll let Ford/GM figure that out. They will do what they need to to be profitable, but I will enjoy having a variety of vehicles to choose from in the meantime.
We all also need to realize that we live in a global economy and it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine if a company is foreign or domestic. More importantly, what does it mater? Think about all the American jobs we 'lost' to China, Korea, Mexico etc. to manufactuer simple parts. Do we really want those jobs back? Americans will do as we always have and adapt to the new economic environment and create jobs that we can do better than anyone else,... until we outsource those jobs and create new jobs...
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Sid 12:58PM (8/04/2006)
The GM/Toyota thing reminds of the Teacher's Strike episode on the Simpsons when Skinner and Kabrappel are addressing the PTA in the gym. Either one says just one word - 'Children' or 'Taxes' and that's all it takes the whole crowd to start arguing.
It's the same thing on Autoblog. Just say 'GM' or 'Toyota' and it takes less than 3mins for all sorts of analysis and projections to be posted.
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Todd 1:07PM (8/04/2006)
Sid,
Yes, it does seem to work that way. However because we are able to freely debate these topics is what makes America great.
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Lithous 1:10PM (8/04/2006)
You guys are funny in a Terrell Owens sort of way.
1) Interesting that most companies don't tell the employees that have been with the company the longest to be not just as good but better. Simply doesn't happen. You give decades of service that no one else provided and there is SOME appreciation. GM and Ford were here creating jobs and producing vehicles that the Japanese simply could not do for decade, after decade, after decade. They could not do it. They could not produce a top to bottom line up of work truck to keep America working to family cars that could take a family of 7 around (my parents had 5 kids) to the small ones they did build. They could do it until very, very, very, very recently. Even now I don't think they could in any short amount of time make up for the vehicles produced by GM and Ford if necessary. Supply goes down and demand up if GM and Ford had to exit tomorrow. What does that mean to prices?
2) I love how we start even with jobs and money brought into America. We forget about the 100 years that GM and Ford created so many more jobs and brought in so much more money. America would not be such an easy country to make a living doing less work for more money if it wasn't for these companies. And that is the situation (less work/more money) in every sector because of them.
3) You think that GM and Ford go to Canada and Mexico because the times are great for them and they are just being evil? I mean, like Apple makes every ipod in China even though they have 70% of the market, evil? It is because Americans don't know anything other than what they are force fed.
4) Please show me that an individual Japanese car company has more U.S. factories and U.S. employees than GM.
5) Stop ignoring the Ford 500 and the Malibu are assembled here (the focus is always on the Fusion for import fanboys who want to make it like GM and Ford don't make any family sedans here).
6) Tesla Motors is the greatest thing since slice bread!!! Yeah, they bring about 20 jobs to America (the rest are in UK, Tawain and elsewhere). They make an engine in Taiwan. Yet, GM is bad for having a VUE with a supposedly Ohio based Honda engine in it. Gee, is Tesla what you want the future of American car companies to be? 1/10000 the jobs in America?
Tell me one (1) American company which manufactures a product here and it is #1 in market and isn't gov't subsidies? Ryan should be good at answering that one.
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