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MARCH AUTO SALES

Japan 3 post gains as Detroit automakers fall

queryvar="japan,3,post,gains,as,detroit,automakers ,fall";Dale Jewett | Automotive News / April 3, 2007 - 2:02 pm / UPDATED: 4/3/2007 5:37 P.M.

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March's U.S. auto sales results have a familiar look: Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. and American Honda Motor Co. posted gains while General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler saw their numbers drop.

Overall, U.S. auto sales in March were up 0.7 percent from a year ago to 1,542,498 units. But for the year to date, sales are down 1.2 percent to 3,889,952 units.

The top six automakers ranked like this for the month:

• <LI type=square>No. 1: GM, down 4.0 percent to 345,418 units.
  
  <LI type=square>No. 2: Ford Motor, down 9.0 percent to 263,582 units.
  
  <LI type=square>No. 3: Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., up 11.7 percent to 242,675 units.
  
  <LI type=square>No. 4: DaimlerChrysler, down 4.1 percent to 228,066 units.
  
  <LI type=square>No. 5: American Honda Motor Co., up 11.3 percent to 143,392 units.
  
• No. 6: Nissan North America, up 7.8 percent to 111,119 units.

After the first three months of this year, those six automakers line up in the same order.

A year ago, for both March sales and the year-to-date total, DaimlerChrysler held the No. 3 spot with Toyota Motor Sales in fourth place.

Both Ford and GM cited a reduction in sales to rental fleets as a factor in their sales declines in March, a strategy they have been pursuing for several months.

Market share shifts

As a group, Toyota Motor Sales, American Honda and Nissan North America took 32.2 percent of U.S. auto sales in March, a gain of 2.9 percentage points compared with March 2006. The combined market share of Ford Motor, GM and DaimlerChrysler for the month totaled 54.3 percent, down 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier.

Rising sales for Japanese automakers weren't confined to Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Sales at Mazda North America Operations rose 47.9 percent in March compared with a year earlier, to 37,742 units. The increase was propelled by the CX-7 and CX-9 crossovers. March U.S. sales were also up at Mitsubishi Motors North America and American Suzuki Motor Corp. .

Korea's Hyundai Group continues to gain. Combined U.S. sales of the Hyundai and Kia brands were up 2.6 percent in March to 69,551 units -- making it the seventh-ranked automaker for the month. For the year to date, the Hyundai group's U.S. sales are up 4.1 percent to 177,808 units.

American automakers weren't the only losers. Despite a record-setting month for its Audi brand, the Volkswagen group saw its U.S. sales fall 8.6 percent in March to 25,677 units. Sales were down for every model in the VW lineup except the Eos convertible, which was not on sale a year ago.

On an annualized basis, Wall Street forecasts for industrywide U.S. auto sales for March had been projected at 16.2 million to 16.6 million vehicles compared with 16.6 million a year ago.

Incentives down slightly

Last month, sales incentives offered to new-car buyers in the United States fell slightly, according to Edmunds.com, an auto industry tracking Web site.

The average manufacturer incentive on cars and light trucks sold in the United States was $2,512 in March, down 0.4 percent from a year earlier, Edmunds.com said.

Sales incentives are widely tracked as an indication of the relative profitability of various automakers and the pressure they face to move inventory.

On an industrywide basis, the total sales discounts amounted to $3.8 billion for March, with the U.S. automakers accounting for 69 percent of that total, Edmunds.com said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

You may e-mail Dale Jewett at djewett@crain.com



</B>MarchMarchPct.3 mos.3 mos.Pct.</B>20072006chng.20072006chng.BMW*29,014</B>28,384</B>2.2%</B>75,535</B>72,684</B>3.9%DaimlerChrysler**228,066</B>237,851</B>–4.1%</B>593,291</B>613,552</B>–3.3%Ford Motor Co.***263,582</B>289,605</B>–9.0%</B>639,530</B>736,966</B>–13.2%General Motors****345,418</B>359,705</B>–4.0%</B>898,443</B>950,317</B>–5.5%American Honda†143,392</B>128,806</B>11.3%</B>354,208</B>333,844</B>6.1%Hyundai Group††69,551</B>67,770</B>2.6%</B>177,808</B>170,821</B>4.1%Isuzu743</B>947</B>–21.5%</B>1,802</B>2,451</B>–26.5%Mazda37,742</B>25,514</B>47.9%</B>79,074</B>67,271</B>17.5%Mitsubishi12,536</B>10,249</B>22.3%</B>31,645</B>25,695</B>23.2%Nissan†††111,119</B>103,095</B>7.8%</B>278,981</B>263,227</B>6.0%Porsche3,278</B>3,185</B>2.9%</B>8,229</B>9,132</B>–9.9%Subaru18,027</B>19,048</B>–5.4%</B>42,976</B>45,067</B>–4.6%Suzuki11,030</B>10,887</B>1.3%</B>27,794</B>26,639</B>4.3%Toyota‡242,675</B>217,286</B>11.7%</B>605,855</B>544,851</B>11.2%</B>VW (revised)‡‡25,677</B>28,084</B>–8.6%</B>71,962</B>72,022</B>0.2%Other (estimate)648</B>610</B>6.2%</B>1,819</B>1,726</B>5.4%TOTAL1,542,4981,531,0260.7%3,888,9523,936,265–1.2%Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere.
Source: Automotive News Data Center
Note: Other includes estimates for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus
*Includes Mini and Rolls-Royce
**Includes Mercedes-Benz
***Includes Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo
****Includes Saab
†Includes Honda Division and Acura
††Includes Hyundai and Kia
†††Includes Nissan Division and Infiniti
‡Includes Toyota Division and Lexus
‡‡Includes VW, Audi and Bentley

Here's a breakdown I found the other day.

Black indicates loss.
Biggest Winner
Mazda 42.6% at 37,742 (3/06: 25,514)
Biggest Loser
Buick –32.8% at 16,222 (3/06: 23,276)
BRANDS
Acura –6.5% at 16,986 (3/06: 17,524)
Audi 10.6% at 8,020 (3/06: 6,994)
BMW –.33% at 25,325 (3/06: 24,501)
Buick –32.8% at 16,222 (3/06: 23,276)
Cadillac –8.4% at 18,944 (3/06: 19,945)
Chevrolet –6.3% at 213,156 (3/06: 219,288)
Chrysler –15.4% at 51,874 (3/06: 59,133)
Dodge –7.4% at 109,226 (3/06: 113,719)
Ford –13.5% at 216,788 (3/06: 241,642)
GMC –7.9% at 40,894 (3/06: 42,837)
Honda 9.5% at 126,406 (3/06 111,282)
HUMMER –23.7% at 4,847 (3/06: 6,125)
Hyundai –3.6% at 41,984 (3/06: 41,766)
Infiniti 12.6% at 13,877 (3/06: 11,886)
Isuzu –2.9% at 1,396 (3/06: 1,387)
Jaguar –13.9% at 1,667 (3/06: 1,866)
Jeep .35% at 45,335 (3/06: 43,560)
Kia 2.2% at 27,567 (3/06: 26,004)
Land Rover –14.9% at 3,663 (3/06: 4,153)
Lexus .8% at 28,855 (3/06: 27,592)
Lincoln 5.9% at 14,770 (3/06: 13,446)
Mazda 42.6% at 37,742 (3/06: 25,514)
Mercedes –2.7% at 21,612 (3/06: 21,417)
Mercury –11.1% at 17,426 (3/06: 18,915)
MINI –8.5% at 3,655 (3/06: 3,851)
Mitsubishi 17.9% at 12,536 (3/06: 10,250)
Nissan 2.8% at 97,242 (3/06: 91,209)
Pontiac –10.1% at 30,448 (3/06: 32,649)
Porsche –.75% at 3,278 (3/06: 3,185)
Saab –15.5% at 2,837 (3/06: 3,239)
Saturn 22.5% at 21,123 (3/06: 16,629)
Suzuki –2.3% at 11,030 (3/06: 10,887)
Toyota 8.7% at 213,820 (3/06: 189,694)
Volkswagen –19.3% at 17,355 (3/06: 20,730)
Volvo –7.6% at 10,661 (3/06: 11,124)

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