| Sunday, January 07, 2007 |
| Toyota climbs to US Top 3 in auto sales charts |
Japanese car maker Toyota third in US sales charts in 2006.
Auto giant Toyota has climbed to the top three in US auto sales during 2006. With this, Toyota has accelerated past the Chrysler Group, by signing off year 2006 with a 12.5 percent annual sales gain.
Toyota's feat has ended American dominance in the Big Three list. The Japanese giant has posted boasts of exemplary sales of fuel-efficient cars and small trucks. It is expected to overtake Ford in he US sales this year.
Buyers in the US purchased around 16.6 million new cars in 2006. And of these, a big 53 percent constituted light trucks, minivans, sport-utility vehicles, crossovers and pickups.
Truck sales remained strong despite high fuel prices due to crossovers. The current strategy is to build SUV-styled vehicles on passenger-car platforms for reduced weight and improved handling and fuel economy.
Year 2007 also was marked by a surge in small-car sales and a growing realization by U.S. automakers that the future lies in the development of alternative fuels and power plants to reduce dependence on crude oil.
Another giant General Motors, buoyed by a line of redesigned large SUVs and the stepped-up introduction of several car models, remained in first place with sales of 4.03 million vehicles, 60 percent of them trucks. That was almost 400,000 fewer vehicles than GM sold in 2005, an 8.8 percent decline for the year.
Ford ended 2006 in second place with sales of 2.72 million cars and light trucks, down 8 percent from a year earlier. Chrysler ended in fourth, with sales of 2.14 million vehicles, a 7 percent drop.
Both companies were hit by sagging truck sales. Ford sales analyst George Pipas attributed a 21 percent December drop in sales of its flagship F-150 pickup largely to customer wariness over a soft housing market.
Meanwhile, GM, Ford and Chrysler, a unit of DaimlerChrysler of Germany, all suffered from a surplus of large vehicles that don't compete well in fuel economy with their Asian and European competition. Other woes, including soaring health-care and retiree-benefit costs and expensive excess plant capacity, have prompted all three to re-examine their game plans.
GM and Ford have announced major reductions of their US employees and facilities. Chrysler is undergoing an internal review expected to result in a significant restructuring to be announced this year.Labels: Auto Industry |
| posted by a correspondent @ 9:59 AM |
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