We'll be seeing more Armada's with sales up 15%!
Nissan's Sales Rise Leads Asian Automakers to U.S. Share Gain 2005-06-01
By Alan Ohnsman
June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second-
largest carmaker, posted the biggest May sales gain in the U.S.,
leading Asian auto manufacturers to an eighth consecutive month
of increased market share.
Japanese and South Korean companies captured a 36.3 percent share in May, up from 34.8 percent a year earlier, Autodata Corp. said. Sales rose 6.6 percent at Nissan, while declining 0.5 percent at larger rival Toyota Motor Corp. and 15 percent at Honda Motor Co. Total U.S. sales fell 8 percent.
The Asia-based companies gained market share as sales at
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. declined more than 10
percent. GM and Ford, the two largest U.S. automakers, said they
will cut third-quarter production in North America. By contrast,
analysts expect Toyota to announce as early as this month the
site of its seventh North American auto plant, and Seoul-based
Hyundai Motor Co. in May opened its first U.S. factory.
Nissan is gaining because ``people just like the cars, they like the styling and performance,'' said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Nissan, which has raised U.S. sales for nine straight
months, is ``on a roll again, and when a manufacturer gets on a
roll it seems to continue and defy logic at times,'' Virag said.
He noted that models such as the Altima sedan, introduced in
2001, and the Murano sport-utility vehicle, which went on sale
more than two years ago, continue to post monthly gains.
Asian brands sold a combined 544,290 vehicles, a 4.1 percent
drop from 567,266 a year earlier. Total U.S. sales fell to 1.5
million cars and light trucks from 1.63 million.
GM, Toyota, Honda and Nissan in their reports adjusted
figures for two fewer ``selling'' days last month compared with
May 2004. The adjustments try to account for the number of days
when some dealerships close, such as Sunday or holidays. On that basis, GM sales fell 4.7 percent, Toyota's rose 7.8 percent,
Honda's dropped 7.6 percent and Nissan's increased 16 percent.
Toyota
Toyota, fourth in U.S. sales behind GM, Ford and
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit, sold 201,493 Toyota, Scion
and Lexus vehicles in May, a drop from 202,420 a year earlier.
The Toyota City, Japan-based company's sales of light trucks
fell to 85,222 from 91,658. Supplies of some models, particularly
trucks, ran low in May after a sales surge in April, said Jim
North, a Toyota dealer in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
``May was a good truck month but we didn't have enough
inventory,'' North said, who expects supply to remain tight
through August. ``They can't increase production. Their plants
are already going full blast.''
The Lexus RX 400h gasoline-electric SUV accounted for 2,391
sales in its first full month. Sales of the Toyota Prius hybrid
car more than doubled to 9,461. Toyota's market share rose to 13.4 percent last month from 12.4 percent a year earlier, according to Autodata.
Honda
Honda, fifth in the U.S., sold 122,169 Honda and Acura
vehicles, a decline from 143,193. Sales of Accord and Civic cars,
its two top-selling models, fell a combined 30 percent to 55,463
from 79,197.
The only Honda-brand model to increase sales was the Pilot
sport-utility vehicle. Acura sales rose less than 1 percent to
18,685, led by the RL sports sedan. The market share of Tokyo-based Honda dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.8 percent, Autodata said.
Nissan
Nissan sold a May record 93,519 cars and trucks, rising from
87,713 a year earlier. The Altima sedan, Titan pickup, Murano and
Armada SUVs and a new version of the Infiniti M luxury sedan led
the increase, spokesman Kyle Bazemore said.
The Tokyo-based company, which ranked sixth in the U.S.,
avoided this year's trend of falling sales for large SUVs. Nissan
in May sold 15 percent more Armadas, powered by V8 engines, and the truck was the only large sport-utility vehicle to post an
increase for the month. ``It's still a pretty fresh product compared to what else is out there,'' said Jed Connelly, Nissan's senior vice president for North American sales. Nissan's market share rose to 6.2 percent from 5.4 percent.
Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, sold 40,416
cars and SUVs, a rise of 0.2 percent from 40,337 a year earlier.
Tucson small SUVs, Accent cars and Tiburon coupes led the gains.
Hyundai's market share increased to 2.7 percent from 2.5
percent, Autodata said.
Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai affiliate, also boosted sales
0.2 percent, to 25,503 vehicles from 25,443. Seoul-based Kia's
market share rose 0.1 point to 1.7 percent, Autodata said.