Ford gains ground in import-friendly California with the new Fiesta.
Car sales finished 2010 on a high note with virtually every manufacturer posting sales increases, and with the seasonally adjusted annual rate of car sales, or SAAR, coming in at a year-high 13.3 million.
The unofficial sales tally for 2010 was over 11.5 million units, with the year finishing stronger than anticipated as recently as 90 days ago, according to Ford sales analyst George Pipas.
The December and year-end sales data also confirmed that General Motors, Ford Motor Co. , Chrysler, Hyundai and Kia had made deep inroads into territory once dominated by Toyota, which saw its sales slip by 5% in December as it finished the year with a small decline in sales.
The domestic brands all posted double-digit sales increases for the month and for the year, while both Korean brands set sales records and Volkswagen AG, which has struggled for years to figure out the U.S. market enjoyed its best sales since 2003.
Smaller Japanese brands such as Mazda also finished the year with solid sales gains and, in Subaru’s case yet another record. Honda and Nissan also posted increases for the month and the year. Sales by BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz also increased during 2010.
Few observers were surprised to see Toyota wind up the laggard again last month, considering it was the only major maker to report a sales decline in October and November, as well. The maker has been struggling to reverse the damage from more than a year of safety scandals – which continued last month with still more recalls and the decision to pay a record $32.4 million in fines to the U.S. government for failing to act promptly on a pair of recalls.
Don Esmond, Toyota Motor Sales senior vice president, said Toyota still did well despite the pressure from recalls and negative commentary in the press.
“Toyota is still the leading retail brand in the industry,” he said. “Camry is the best-selling car in the industry for the ninth consecutive year and Lexus is number one in luxury,” he said. Toyota also has the most loyal customers, contended Esmond, who dismissed suggestions that in a year where the big increase in sales boosted most automakers, Toyota had suffered permanent damage.
Earlier in 2010, Esmond did acknowledge to TheDetroitBureau.com that while Toyota expected to be able to hold onto its more loyal customers it would likely run into a challenge “conquesting” buyers from other brands – a key to its long success. Recent third-party data suggest that is proving to be an accurate assessment.
In a Tuesday media call, Esmond also said the maker’s rivals caught up with Toyota in a year in which it had not rolled out much new product. In 2011, however, Toyota will launch several important new vehicles, starting with a new small hybrid. That offering will share the Prius badge with Toyota’s existing gas-electric model, as the maker turns the well-known Prius name into a sort of brand-within-a-brand.
The launch of the new hybrid at next week’s Detroit Auto Show should test Esmond’s assertion that the industry is not witnessing a structural shift away from Toyota products.
Meanwhile, executives from GM, Ford and Chrysler all bragged on their results and predicted strong sales for 2011. (For more on the forecasts for 2011, Click Here.)
Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales operations, said the maker saw an overall sales increase of 13% in December as GM posted its best monthly sales totals of the year.
For the calendar year, total sales for GM’s four core brands increased 21% to 2,202,927, while retail sales rose 16% for the year, though they were up only 6.3% when measured against the totals for 2009, which included sales by four brands discarded as the maker emerged from Chapter 11 protection.
“Our sales, this year, reflect the impact of GM’s new business model,” Johnson said. “The consistency of results that we achieved demonstrates the focus on our brands, dealers and customers, and how we compete aggressively for every sale, every day,” Johnson said.
Chrysler reported a 17% sales increase for the year and a 16% increase for the month of December.
“Chrysler Group 2010 sales of 1.1 million units are consistent with our sales objective that we presented in our Nov. 4, 2009 five-year business plan,” said Fred Diaz, President and Chief Executive Officer – Ram Truck Brand and Lead Executive for U.S. Sales. “We are extremely proud of the sales strides we made during this transition year. Chrysler Group launched 16 all-new or significantly-improved models last year, most of them during the fourth quarter.”
Ford finished the year with a 19% sales increase, Pipas said. Ford’s market share was up for the second year in a row — the first time that has happened since 1993.
In addition, Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, said “Consideration for Ford is increasing beyond our traditional areas of strength – signaling that the seeds of growth already have taken hold.”
The Ford Fiesta has succeeded in making big inroads in California where sales of Ford cars has been anemic for years, Ford executives noted.
That may be one of the most significant details to emerge from the December numbers. Detroit’s makers have, over the last two decades, not only seen their share of the overall U.S. market shrink, but have watched as some parts of the country have essentially abandoned domestic brands. In the New York City suburbs of Long Island, for example, GM’s share has hovered well below 10% for a number of years. It doesn’t do much better in California.
But products like the Fiesta, the Chevrolet Camaro and Chevy’s Equinox crossover are beginning to regain traction in coastal markets, giving Detroit’s Big Three hope they can continue to build on the sales and share gains of 2010.
Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.