GM Chevrolet is declared as the best selling brand in the US for this financial year outpacing Ford for the first time in nineteen years. General Motor claimed in its press release that its US dealers have sold more than 4.5 million vehicles in this year. But don’t jump in to any conclusion; GM is still losing ground in US and elsewhere as its car sales were off by 7 percent this year.
Reasons behind Ford’s decline in sales is rise in gas price which contributed to lower consumer demand for trucks and sports utility vehicle.
GM is all up with lots of new year resolutions putting heavy emphasis on high growth segments, such as crossovers, compacts and luxury SUVs, large pickups and entry luxury cars, reports automarketing.
The winners and the losers:
Top-selling car: The Camry sedan by Toyota, for the fourth year in a row.Top-selling luxury brand: Lexus, by Toyota.
U.S. vs. the world: The Big Three U.S. automakers’ sales were down 2 percent, while Asian brands’ sales climbed 7 percent and European brands fell 3 percent.
Market share: U.S. automakers’ U.S. market share fell to an unprecedented low of 56.9 percent, from 61.7 percent just three years ago, according to Autodata Corp. Asian brands’ U.S. market share rose to 36.5 percent, up from 34.6 percent.
Total vehicles sold: Nearly 17 million in the U.S., about the same as the year before.
GM’s year: GM’s sales fell 4 percent for the year, led by a 7 percent decline in car sales and a 2 percent decline in sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles. Although Chevrolet sales slipped slightly from last year to 2.6 million, they outpaced Ford by around 21,000 vehicles thanks to strong pickup sales and enthusiasm for GM’s new HHR crossover.Ford’s year: Sales dropped 4 percent.
Chrysler’s year: Sales rose 5 percent, thanks to hot models like the Chrysler 300 sedan and the Town & Country minivan, which both saw sales increase more than 25 percent for the year.
Honda’s year: Sales increased 5 percent. Honda’s car sales were flat, but the automaker’s truck and SUV sales rose nearly 14 percent, largely on the strength of the Honda Pilot small SUV and Honda’s new Ridgeline pickup.Toyota’s year: Sales up 10 percent.
Source: [thenewstribune]
