DETROIT – The fight over the key pickup truck market played out in automakers’ March sales figures, with Toyota making some gains.
But Ford, GM and Chrysler continued to hold their own against the latest competition from the Japanese. And GM says Toyota is drawing from a very loyal customer base for its Tundra buyers, not from owners of GM’s trucks.
“We’re not seeing a lot of cross-shopping occurring,” said Paul Ballew, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis.
Toyota sold 13,196 Tundras in March, up 11.8 percent from a year ago. The redesigned Tundra, Toyota’s first true full-size pickup, is a sign of the company’s ambitions in a lucrative sector dominated by American automakers.
“Competition has ramped up considerably since we introduced this product in February,” said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. arm, in a conference call.
Ford Motor Co. regained from General Motors Corp. the claim to having the nation’s top-selling pickup last month. Even though F-series sales fell 15.1 percent from March 2006, the industry’s best month of the year, the company still sold 71,481 last month. And it says increasing availability of the 2008 Super Duty pickup should help future F-series sales.
Overall, the best monthly sales performance ever for Toyota and gains by fellow Japanese automakers American Honda Motor Co. and Nissan North America Inc. helped the industry in March top last year’s best month for U.S. sales – despite declines by GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.
Toyota reported Tuesday that its U.S. sales jumped 11.7 percent compared with a year ago, boosted by record hybrid sales and strong overall car sales. Industrywide, light vehicle sales by major automakers rose 0.8 percent to 1.54 million, Autodata Corp. said.
The overall rise in U.S. sales came despite GM and DaimlerChrysler’s sales falling about 4 percent each and Ford posting a 9 percent drop. Ford still held off Toyota for the No. 2 U.S. sales spot for the month.
The numbers come as Detroit’s Big Three have seen Asian rivals led by Toyota capture growing shares of the U.S. market. Autodata’s figures show GM, the world’s largest automaker, had 22.4 percent of the U.S. market in March, with Ford holding 17.1 percent and Toyota with 15.7 percent. Still, GM and Ford said sales of their newer vehicles generally improved.
In all, Toyota sold 242,675 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the U.S., including 140,009 cars, up 19.4 percent from the same month a year ago, and 102,666 trucks, a 2.7 percent increase. So far this year, Toyota has sold 61,635 hybrids in the U.S., up 68 percent from the first three months of last year. That includes 28,453 hybrids last month.
Toyota’s previous best sales month was July 2006, when it sold 241,826 vehicles in the U.S.
Detroit-based GM, whose fleet sales dropped for the month as it works to cut low-profit sales to rental car companies, sold 345,418 light vehicles, including 136,866 cars, up 2.3 percent, and 208,552 trucks, down 7.7 percent.
GM said sales of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, the GMC Acadia crossover and the Saturn Outlook sport utility vehicle were exceeding its expectations. Ballew said the results highlighted a strong start for its crossovers, including the Acadia.
DaimlerChrysler AG sold 228,047 vehicles in the U.S. last month. Its Chrysler Group’s passenger vehicle sales, which include the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, fell 4.6 percent to 206,435. Mercedes-Benz sales rose 1 percent to a March record of 21,612. Chrysler Group said it sold 52,625 cars in March, down 2.6 percent from a year ago, and 153,810 trucks, down 5.3 percent.
The figures come a day before DaimlerChrysler’s shareholders meet in Germany amid intense speculation about a possible sale of Chrysler Group. Prospects for Chrysler have been a hot topic since DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche first publicly floated the idea in February. Chrysler says the speculation didn’t hurt sales.
Ford’s sales of 263,684 vehicles included 174,200 trucks, down 5.9 percent from March 2006, and 89,484 cars, down 14.6 percent. The drop comes as Dearborn-based Ford also works to reduce fleet sales. Ford, however, said its new midsize cars – including the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ – sold well, as did its new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.
“Overall it was a good month except in one respect – when we compare it to a year ago,” George Pipas, Ford’s top sales analyst, said in conference call. Ford’s sales include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands as well as Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.
March’s Top 10
Here’s a look at the 10 top-selling vehicles in March:
Ford F-series: 71,481
Chevrolet Silverado: 55,626
Toyota Camry: 42,254
Dodge Ram: 38,301
Honda Accord: 36,506
Toyota Corolla and Matrix: 34,355
Honda Civic: 29,721
Chevrolet Impala: 28,505
Nissan Altima: 27,521
Honda CR-V: 19,658
Source: Autodata Corp.
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