TRANSPORTATION : Rebates Boost January New-Car Sales But Can’t Prevent Late-Month Slump
The January figures are out and, as expected, new-car sales performance was spotty--a big increase in the first half of the month, followed by a disappointing slump.
And what improvements there were seemed to be more a result of those ubiquitous manufacturers’ rebate programs than of any pent-up consumer demand.
As usual, the focus was on the major domestic and import auto makers.
But the fortunes of the second-tier importers--most of whom call Orange County home--deserve mention as well. Sales for three of the five companies were up last month.
Atop the pack was Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America. The Cypress-based importer, after a yearlong expansion of its dealer network, catapulted into fourth place among all Japanese car makers in the United States--surpassing Irvine-based Mazda Motor of America.
Sales, led by Mitsubishi’s Galant sedan and sporty new Eclipse coupe, soared an impressive 205% from January, 1989.
Mazda Motor reported a 2.7% sales increase in January, with its revamped 626 line accounting for most of the increase.
And at Daihatsu America in Los Alamitos, January sales, though still tiny by comparison with the others, were up 45.4%. Even when sales of its new sports utility vehicle, the Rocky, are discounted, Daihatsu posted a 27% gain from January, 1989.
At Hyundai Motor America in Fountain Valley, sales are still well below the company’s previous torrid pace, but--helped along by manufacturer rebates--improved somewhat in January.
The South Korean auto importer said sales were down 21.7% from January, 1989. Before January, however, sales had been off by an average of 30%.
Hyundai literally created a new market, pulling in thousands of would-be used-car buyers when it introduced its sub-$6,000 Excel in the United States in 1986.
By the middle of last year, however, the pool of buyers for a low-priced car started drying up and Hyundai failed to hit the market soon enough with a new model that would entice new buyers.
Now, with its mid-size V-6 Sonata and a redesigned Excel--and the promise of a sporty car in the near future--things may be picking up.
At American Suzuki Motor Corp. in Brea, sales for January were off 23.7%. Sagging sales for the company’s Sidekick sports utility vehicle accounted for the entire decline.
SALES COMPARISON
TOTAL SALES PASSENGER CAR TRUCK Importer 1-90 1-89 1-90 1-89 1-90 1-89 Daihatsu 1,655 1,104 1,402 1,104 253 NA Hyundai 11,883 15,174 11,883 15,174 NA NA Mazda 26,619 25,921 21,060 19,011 5,559 6,910 Mitsubishi 26,672 8,743 22,945 6,366 3,727 2,377 Suzuki 1,988 2,605 615 547 1,373 2,058
