adios
06-03-2004, 12:19 PM
I guess the price of gasoline isn't hurting auto sales too much. At least people feel the incentitives are enough to compensate for the rise in gasoline prices. I hope Kerry proposes a tax on gasoline.
U.S. Auto Sales
Rose 3.4% in May
With Incentives Up
By NEAL E. BOUDETTE and KAREN LUNDEGAARD
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
June 3, 2004; Page A3
DETROIT -- U.S. auto sales rebounded in May, rising 3.4% to 1.63 million vehicles, after car makers jacked up incentives to head off consumers' concerns about rising gasoline prices.
General Motors Corp., the world's largest car maker, sold 442,668 cars and trucks, up 2.6% from a year earlier, according to figures released by Autodata Corp. Toyota Motor Corp. had its best month ever in 47 years in the U.S. market, with sales rising 8.4% to 202,420. For Chrysler, the U.S. unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, sales edged up slightly to 220,131 vehicles.
MARKET DATA
See complete retail U.S. auto sales figures for May.
Ford Motor Co. had a setback, the Autodata totals showed, with U.S. sales falling 3.3% to 316,200 vehicles. Autodata reconciles sales data from all manufacturers to adjust for variances in reporting methods.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate, or SAAR, for U.S. cars and light trucks was 17.8 million, up 9.2% from 16.3 million the year before.
Auto-industry executives said May's gains showed that American consumers were largely shrugging off the recent rise in gas prices to more than $2 a gallon in most parts of the country. In April, when prices at the pumps began rising, sales were flat, spurring worries that U.S. consumers' love affair with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles was souring.
"There's no evidence of any impact," said Paul Ballew, GM's executive director for market and industry analysis. "Trucks drove our success."
Honda Motor Co., whose vehicles are generally more fuel-efficient than competitors', was one of the few car makers who said gas prices are having an impact. Its sales jumped 9.8% to 143,193 vehicles on the strength of its passenger cars. Honda truck sales fell 4.4%, while car sales rose 19.1% during the month.
At GM, truck sales rose 7.6% in May, as the auto maker finished its two-month-long "Truckfest" promotion, which offered zero-percent loans and $1,000 cash back on many models. Midmonth, it also raised rebates to $4,000 on many large and midsized truck models. Mr. Ballew noted that across the industry, trucks, full-sized pickups and full-sized SUVs -- the most fuel-thirsty light trucks -- were up significantly in May and so far this year. Hummer sales fell 30.5% in May, though.
Toyota's car sales, including the luxury brand Lexus, rose 10.7%, while its truck sales jumped 26.8%. Nissan Motor Corp. sales rose 23.6% to 87,713 vehicles.
May's sales gains came at a price, however. Across the industry, manufacturers' average sales incentives rose $193 to $3,784, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc., which tracks auto sales. High incentives eat into the profit that auto makers plan to make on each car, and sometimes cause them to lose money.
On average, GM's incentives were $4,322 per vehicle in May, up just slightly from April, but the company piled up cash offers on many big SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade that previously sold with much lower rebates. Yesterday, GM unleashed a new round of incentives, offering returning GM customers rebates of up to $5,000 on many of its big trucks and SUVs.
Ford's average incentive in May was $4,297, up $178 from April; Chrysler's was $4,321, up $120, said CNW President Art Spinella.
More striking were larger increases offered by Japanese auto makers, which have been able to grow without matching Detroit's incentive levels. But in May, Toyota boosted its average incentive package to $2,982, up $348 from April. Honda's rose to $1,773, up $224, while Nissan's average package was up $245 to $1,855.
"The incentives gap between the Big Three and the Japanese is narrowing a bit," said Mr. Spinella.
Ford said it was pleased with its sales, saying its drop came in comparison with particularly strong sales totals in May 2003. "I believe it's nothing more than we're running into some Herculean comparisons," said George Pipas, Ford sales analyst.
Mr. Pipas acknowledged that customers turned away from Ford's largest and most expensive SUVs, with sales of the Ford Expedition, Ford Explorer and Lincoln Navigator slipping 15% to 27%. But those were partly offset by a 44% jump in sales of the smaller Ford Escape, he said.
Moreover, Ford is planning to increase truck production in the third quarter, although total output is scheduled to decline because of a slowdown at some car plants that are ramping up new models, Mr. Pipas said.
U.S. Auto Sales
Rose 3.4% in May
With Incentives Up
By NEAL E. BOUDETTE and KAREN LUNDEGAARD
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
June 3, 2004; Page A3
DETROIT -- U.S. auto sales rebounded in May, rising 3.4% to 1.63 million vehicles, after car makers jacked up incentives to head off consumers' concerns about rising gasoline prices.
General Motors Corp., the world's largest car maker, sold 442,668 cars and trucks, up 2.6% from a year earlier, according to figures released by Autodata Corp. Toyota Motor Corp. had its best month ever in 47 years in the U.S. market, with sales rising 8.4% to 202,420. For Chrysler, the U.S. unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, sales edged up slightly to 220,131 vehicles.
MARKET DATA
See complete retail U.S. auto sales figures for May.
Ford Motor Co. had a setback, the Autodata totals showed, with U.S. sales falling 3.3% to 316,200 vehicles. Autodata reconciles sales data from all manufacturers to adjust for variances in reporting methods.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate, or SAAR, for U.S. cars and light trucks was 17.8 million, up 9.2% from 16.3 million the year before.
Auto-industry executives said May's gains showed that American consumers were largely shrugging off the recent rise in gas prices to more than $2 a gallon in most parts of the country. In April, when prices at the pumps began rising, sales were flat, spurring worries that U.S. consumers' love affair with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles was souring.
"There's no evidence of any impact," said Paul Ballew, GM's executive director for market and industry analysis. "Trucks drove our success."
Honda Motor Co., whose vehicles are generally more fuel-efficient than competitors', was one of the few car makers who said gas prices are having an impact. Its sales jumped 9.8% to 143,193 vehicles on the strength of its passenger cars. Honda truck sales fell 4.4%, while car sales rose 19.1% during the month.
At GM, truck sales rose 7.6% in May, as the auto maker finished its two-month-long "Truckfest" promotion, which offered zero-percent loans and $1,000 cash back on many models. Midmonth, it also raised rebates to $4,000 on many large and midsized truck models. Mr. Ballew noted that across the industry, trucks, full-sized pickups and full-sized SUVs -- the most fuel-thirsty light trucks -- were up significantly in May and so far this year. Hummer sales fell 30.5% in May, though.
Toyota's car sales, including the luxury brand Lexus, rose 10.7%, while its truck sales jumped 26.8%. Nissan Motor Corp. sales rose 23.6% to 87,713 vehicles.
May's sales gains came at a price, however. Across the industry, manufacturers' average sales incentives rose $193 to $3,784, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc., which tracks auto sales. High incentives eat into the profit that auto makers plan to make on each car, and sometimes cause them to lose money.
On average, GM's incentives were $4,322 per vehicle in May, up just slightly from April, but the company piled up cash offers on many big SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade that previously sold with much lower rebates. Yesterday, GM unleashed a new round of incentives, offering returning GM customers rebates of up to $5,000 on many of its big trucks and SUVs.
Ford's average incentive in May was $4,297, up $178 from April; Chrysler's was $4,321, up $120, said CNW President Art Spinella.
More striking were larger increases offered by Japanese auto makers, which have been able to grow without matching Detroit's incentive levels. But in May, Toyota boosted its average incentive package to $2,982, up $348 from April. Honda's rose to $1,773, up $224, while Nissan's average package was up $245 to $1,855.
"The incentives gap between the Big Three and the Japanese is narrowing a bit," said Mr. Spinella.
Ford said it was pleased with its sales, saying its drop came in comparison with particularly strong sales totals in May 2003. "I believe it's nothing more than we're running into some Herculean comparisons," said George Pipas, Ford sales analyst.
Mr. Pipas acknowledged that customers turned away from Ford's largest and most expensive SUVs, with sales of the Ford Expedition, Ford Explorer and Lincoln Navigator slipping 15% to 27%. But those were partly offset by a 44% jump in sales of the smaller Ford Escape, he said.
Moreover, Ford is planning to increase truck production in the third quarter, although total output is scheduled to decline because of a slowdown at some car plants that are ramping up new models, Mr. Pipas said.