Toyota Sees Robust August as Big Three Sales Decline

The U.S.-based Big Three auto makers sold fewer cars and light trucks in August, as importers made continued inroads at their expense and Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan posted an 11% market share for the month.

Year-to-date, Toyota has scored a market share of 10.1%, according to Autodata Corp., and the No. 1 Japanese auto maker stands poised to finish the year as the first foreign-based manufacturer to score double digits in that measure of U.S. sales strength.

Industrywide sales of passenger cars and light trucks--pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans--fell 6% from a year earlier, as consumer confidence slipped and discounts proved less effective in pulling buyers into showrooms, analysts said.

The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate fell to about 16.1 million vehicles in August from 17.5 million a year earlier, based on the average estimate of seven industry analysts.

Chrysler Group, the U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler, reported the steepest drop among the traditional Big Three, as sales fell 24% from a year earlier, when the company offered minivans at fire-sale prices to make way for new models. Sales of North American-built vehicles fell 7.6% at General Motors Corp. and 8.4% at Ford Motor Co.

“Consumers are starting to feel the pinch from increased debt, growing unemployment and other factors,” said Jim Gillette, vice president of IRN Inc., an auto industry consultant in Grand Rapids, Mich. “The whole thing is starting to peter out,” he told Bloomberg News.

Still, the GM and Ford results beat analyst forecasts, and neither company lowered its third-quarter production plan further. August’s results keep the industry on track toward its third-best year, after 1999 and 2000.

“The world isn’t collapsing,” said Diane Swonk, an economist at Bank One Corp. in Chicago. “Mortgage refinancing and other factors are helping give us a second wind.”

Detroit-based GM set August records for pickups and several classes of SUVs. But car sales declined 20%, with every domestic division except Buick reporting weaker results year-over-year.

Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford also registered a double-digit decline in sales of passenger cars, about 16%, on lower sales of its Taurus mid-size and Focus compact models. Sales of the Explorer SUV were off 4.7%, as the auto maker deals with the fallout of the costly Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. tire recall, but August marked the second-highest monthly total since the redesigned 2002 model was introduced in February.

Chrysler Group of Auburn Hills, Mich., suffered a 44% decline in sales of minivans--once its bread-and-butter segment--and a 23% drop in SUVs. The company scored well on the car side, with sales of mid-size cars such as the redesigned Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus registering double-digit percentage gains.

Volkswagen of Germany, the leading European brand in the U.S., said sales rose 13%.

As archrival Toyota posted gains, Honda and Nissan reported declines of 0.4% and 15.7%, respectively. Among other Japanese brands posting results, Mitsubishi rose 2.8%; Mazda, 1.1%; and Fuji Heavy Industries’ Subaru, 7.1%.

Hyundai of South Korea said its sales rose 46% and its Kia affiliate posted a gain of 41.5%.

*

Bloomberg News and Reuters were used in compiling this report.