Third World Sector Gains, but Auto Sales Slide 4.3%
Total U.S. auto sales dipped 4.3% in July, despite dramatic increases posted by cars built in Third World nations, auto manufacturers reported Tuesday.
Industry analysts agreed that the most significant story behind the seemingly lackluster figures may be the phenomenal success of small cars from the Third World that have recently been introduced into the U.S. market.
“The basic small car is the only segment in the car market that has shown an increase in the first seven months of 1987,” said analyst Chris Cedergren of J. D. Power & Associates, an automotive consulting firm. “We’re seeing, for the first time in five or six years, a wide array of cheap cars.”
Strong sellers in the small car market in July included the Volkswagen Fox, which is made in Brazil; the Mercury Tracer, made in Mexico, and the Hyundai, Pontiac LeMans, Ford Festiva and Mitsubishi Precis, all built in South Korea.
Hyundai, the only one of those imports that was on sale in the United States at this time last year, posted a 54.8% sales gain during July.
Total domestic car sales dropped 5.8%. Of the Big Three, only Ford reported an increase with sales increasing 5.0%. That gave it a 29.2% share of the domestic car market. Chrysler’s sales dropped 24.6%, netting it a 12.2% market share. Although General Motors’ sales dropped 12.5%, continuing its trend of sluggish sales all year, it still captured a hefty 50.5% share of the domestic car market.
Toyota sold 3,289 domestically built Corolla FX and FX16 models. There are no comparable year-ago figures, as it did not begin producing its domestic subcompacts until September, 1986.
Nissan’s dramatic sales increase of 11,940.7% reflects the closure of its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant for retooling during several months of 1986.
Although Third World import sales were spectacular, total import sales fell a slight 1.1%. Volvo sales dropped 23.6%; Nissan sales fell 23.7%; Toyota’s sales fell 24.8%, and Subaru’s sales declined 7.3%. Honda did better, with a 0.3% gain, and Mazda increased of 20.6%.
AUTO SALES
% July 1987 1986 change GM 308,428 352,389 -12.5 Ford 178,384 169,924 +5.0 Chrysler 74,531 98,835 -24.6 Honda U.S. 26,287 15,840 +66.0 AMC* 2,476 5,186 -52.3 VW U.S.* 6,683 6,402 +4.4 Nissan U.S. 10,957 91 +11940 Toyota U.S. 3,289 -- -- DOMESTIC 611,035 648,667 -5.8 Toyota Imp. 56,634 75,266 -24.8 Nissan Imp. 38,583 50,580 -23.7 Honda Imp. 37,009 36,890 -0.3 Mazda 20,036 16,607 +20.6 Subaru 14,436 15,568 -7.3 VW Imp. 14,278 12,547 +13.8 Volvo 8,716 11,412 -23.6 Hyundai 30,472 19,690 +54.8 Others* 80,836 65,840 +22.8 IMPORTS* 301,000 304,400 -1.1 Total U.S. 912,035 953,067 -4.3
*Estimate
