Autoblog

Being Toyota doesn't grant you any additional immunity from simple global economics. Word from Tokuichi Uranishi, executive vice president of Toyota, is that one of the world's largest automakers is going to miss its sales target of 9.85 million vehicles for 2008.

Toyota execs cite slowing sales in the United States, Europe, and Japan as a primary factor. In addition, rising raw material costs are hurting the global automaker, which assembled 9.37 million vehicles in 2007. To top it off, a yen that hit a 13-year high against the dollar at the beginning of this week is cutting profits on exports from Japan.

It may be up to China, Russia, and Korea to pick up some of the slack. Those emerging Asian markets are active, and Toyota is looking at them for future growth. In a move towards achieving that goal, the Prius, Camry, and RAV4 sports-utility will be introduced in South Korea shortly. Sales are expected to be just 500 units per month initially, and then increase to upwards of 1,000 a month.

[Source: Automotive News, subs req'd]

Analysts who feared the worst for September 2007 car sales were wrong. It wasn't that bad at all. General Motors pulled out a 3.8% increase in sales, for Pete's sake! Fellow domestics Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Company, however, did not fare as well. Chrysler LLC sales went down only 1.5% last month thanks to the saving graces of the Jeep Wrangler, as well as the mere presence of new models like the Dodge Nitro and Avenger.

FoMoCo, however, is shrinking fast. The Blue Oval sold at a 21% slower rate this September than last. Blame the car division, which in raw numbers dropped 45.1% in sales. Of course, those are mostly lost fleet sales, and Ford shrinking in size is a good thing once it finds an equilibrium that produces profits.

In other big news, Toyota Motor Co.'s sales rate actually fell last month, though only by 0.6%. Meanwhile, cross island rivals Honda (13.8%) and Nissan (11.0%) both saw appreciable gains for their North American divisions.

The individual break down by brand is below, so check them out. Remember, there were only 25 selling days in September 2007, versus 26 selling days in September 2006. Thus, our percentages reflect the change in the Daily Average Sales rate rather than the change in raw number of units sold.

Biggest Winner
MINI 41.4% at 4,031 (09/06: 2,964)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER –21.6% at 5,080 (09/06: 6,739)

Biggest Loser (Honorable Mention)
Ford –21% at 155,037 (09/06: 204,070)

BRANDS
Acura –8.4% at 14,369 (09/06: 16,323)
Audi 4.2% at 8,021 (09/06: 8,004)
BMW 6.9% at 20,901 (09/06: 20,339)
Buick –5.1% at 17,754 (09/06: 19,463)
Cadillac 4.9% at 20,398 (09/06: 20,217)
Chevrolet 6.1% at 194,637 (09/06: 190,825)
Chrysler –14.8% at 38,668 (09/06: 47,211)
Dodge 9% at 83,671 (09/06: 79,784)
Ford –21% at 155,037 (09/06: 204,070)
GMC 18.9% at 44,754 (09/06: 39,141)
Honda 17.5% at 112,831 (09/06: 99,903)
HUMMER –21.6% at 5,080 (09/06: 6,739)
Hyundai 3.5% at 33,214 (09/06: 33,384)
Infiniti 2.7% at 10,250 (09/06: 10,378)
Jaguar –4.7% at 1,061 (09/06: 1,158)
Jeep –7.0% at 37,460 (09/06: 41,893)
Land Rover 25.6% at 4,190 (09/06: 3,469)
Lexus 1.6% at 25,114 (09/06: 25,700)
Lincoln 38% at 9,764 (09/06: 7,362)
Mazda 28.8% at 25,098 (09/06: 20,261)
Mercedes 18.0% at 22,549 (09/06: 19,873)
Mercury –9.6% at 11,403 (09/06: 13,117)
MINI 41.4% at 4,031 (09/06: 2,964)
Mitsubishi 22.3% at 12,102 (09/06: 10,287)
Nissan 12.0% at 84,019 (09/06: 77,962)
Pontiac –11.5% at 31,817 (09/06: 37,376)
Porsche 24.2% at 2,641 (09/06: 2,211)
Saab –17.9% at 2,424 (09/06: 3,069)
Saturn 7.2% at 20,776 (09/06: 20,153)
Subaru 6.1% at 16,457 (09/06: 16,128)
Suzuki 0.2% at 7,653 (09/06: 7,940)
Toyota –0.9% at 187,929 (09/06: 197,250)
Volkswagen –2.2% at 18,891 (09/06: 20,082)
Volvo –9.6% at 8,408 (09/06: 9,672)

NOT YET REPORTING
Kia

COMPANIES
BMW Group 11.3% at 24,932 (09/06: 23,303)
Chrysler LLC –1.5% at 159,799 (09/06: 168,888)
Ford Motor Co –17.3% at 189,863 (09/06: 238,848)
General Motors 3.8% at 337,640 (09/06: 338,380)
Honda America 13.8% at 127,200 (09/06: 116,226)
Nissan North America 11.0% at 94,269 (09/06: 88,340)
Toyota Motor Co. –0.6% at 213,043 (09/06: 222,950)

The slumping housing market and gas prices have hurt truck sales, so automakers are going to have to step up on givebacks to keep metal moving. Toyota has taken the first shot with thier five month old Tundra, with 0% financing and buckets of cash. Edmunds tallied final Tundra incentives at $5,083 per unit last month, which is second to only the much older Dodge Ram. The new Silverado, which currently carries only $1,500 to $2,000 on the hood, is set for a bump in incentives to help level the playing field vs. the fierce competition, and older offerings from Ford and Dodge will have to follow suit. With Toyota's deep pockets, there may be no end to how far the folks from Aichi will go to reach their stated sales goal of 200,000 units in 2007, so $5,000 may just be the beginning.

If you've been waiting on your truck purchase, we have a feeling your patience is about to be rewarded. Everybody's pickup offerings are stronger than they've ever been, and with more competition comes more money in your pocket.

[Source: Detroit News]

The numbers are in for December, the last month of 2006, and it appears that those year-end sales drives produced results for many brands. We haven't seen this much green on the sales chart all the year. Congrats go to Kia for being the months Biggest Winner by posting a 66% sales gain over last year, and our sympathies once again go out to Jaguar, the Biggest Loser again this month, which on average sold 34% less this month. Strong gains were also posted by Audi (39.7%), BMW (21%), Hyundai (19.56%), Toyota (18.1%) and, look out, Saturn (41.8%). Last year at this time, however, Saturn was a three-vehicle brand, whereas this year it's been bolstered by the Aura, Sky Roadster, and even the Outlook, which tacked on 144 sales despite only being on sale for a fraction of the month.

BMW's strong sales overcame the small deficit of the MINI brand to give the group as a whole a 20% increase in sales for the month, but again it's Toyota that continues to astonish with a 16.6% gain in December to follow up on its 15.9% jump in November. Both Ford and General Motors saw their sales fall over 9%, and Toyota Motor Co. was just over 5,000 units away from passing FoMoCo for the No. 2 sales spot in the U.S. this month. Toyota can take heart, however, its namesake division bested the Ford brand in December by just 173 units, making it the second-best selling brand in the U.S. behind Chevrolet for the month.

Keep an eye out for our By The Numbers: 2006 yearly wrap-up post later day.


Biggest Winner
Kia66% at 30,004 (12/05: 18,767)

Biggest Loser
Jaguar–34% at 1,553 (12/05: 2,445)

BRANDS
Acura 6.3% at 19,056 (12/05: 18,621)
Audi 39.7% at 11,897 (12/05: 8,842)
BMW 21% at 30,945 (12/05: 24,464)
Buick –24.5% at 15,986 (12/05: 22,002)
Cadillac 2.8% at 22,715 (12/05: 22,946)
Chevrolet –12.9% at 194,369 (12/05: 231,628)
Chrysler 11% at 55,839 (12/05: 52,208)
Dodge 9% at 88,489 (12/05: 84,023)
Ford –11.2% at 190,914 (12/05: 223,324)
GMC –14.4% at 41,770 (12/05: 50,688)
Honda 2.5% at 112,722 (12/05: 114,179)
HUMMER –10.9% at 6,928 (12/05: 8,079)
Hyundai 19.56% at 43,021 (12/05: 37,365)
Infiniti 5.9% at 13,112 (12/05: 12,856)
Isuzu 9.56% at 2,566 (12/05: 2,432)
Jaguar –34% at 1,553 (12/05: 2,445)
Jeep –10% at 46,087 (12/05: 53,218)
Kia 66% at 30,004 (12/05: 18,767)
Land Rover –9.65% at 6,014 (12/05: 6,913)
Lexus 9.9% at 37,235 (12/05: 35,186)
Lincoln 5.44% at 12,806 (12/05: 12,612)
Mazda 7.94% at 19,912 (12/05: 19,156)
Mercedes –6.39% at 28,115 (12/05: 31,192)
Mercury 6.16% at 13,809 (12/05: 13,507)
MINI 5.38% at 2,472 (12/05: 2,436)
Mitsubishi 6.39% at 9,910 (12/05: 9,673)
Nissan 4.2% at 78,663 (12/05: 78,397)
Pontiac –6.2% at 32,772 (12/05: 36,288)
Porsche 3.95% at 2,947 (12/05: 2,944)
Saab 32.7% at 3,535 (12/05: 2,766)
Saturn 41.8% at 20,686 (12/05: 15,145)
Subaru 7.46% at 20,613 (12/05: 19,919)
Suzuki 14% at 7,317 (12/05: 6,662)
Toyota 18.1% at 191,087 (12/05: 168,093)
Volkswagen –20.2% at 19,942 (12/05: 25,956)
Volvo –2.5% at 8,525 (12/05: 9,080)

COMPANIES
BMW Group 20% at 33,417 (12/05: 28,900)
Chrysler Group 4% at 190,415 (12/05: 189,449)
Ford Motor Co –9.43% at 233,621 (12/05: 267,881)
General Motors –9.6% at 341,327 (12/05: 392,041)
Honda America 3.0% at 131,778 (12/05: 132,800)
Nissan North America 4.4% at 91,775 (12/05: 91,253)
Toyota Motor Co. 16.6% at 228,322 (12/05: 203,279)

Note: December of 2005 had 27 selling days, whereas December of 2006 had 26 selling day. On acount of this, all percentages reflect a change in the daily average sales rate, not the difference in the number of raw units sold each month. The percentages, in effect, reflect the difference in how many vehicles were sold per day on average during each month.