Honda Passes Chrysler

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Honda Passes Chrysler as Asia Brands Widen U.S. Share
By Alan Ohnsman and Mike Ramsey

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. passed Chrysler LLC in August to grab fourth place in U.S. sales this year as cars won market share from trucks amid an industrywide slump.

Asia-based brands led by Nissan Motor Co.'s 14 percent gain raised their share of August U.S. sales to 47.3 percent, beating General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler for a fourth month, research firm Autodata Corp. said yesterday. While Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda fell, they dropped less than the U.S trio.

Tokyo-based Honda may keep the No. 4 spot as a sluggish economy and fuel prices crimp demand for the light trucks that make up more than half of Chrysler's volume. Honda's 2008 U.S. sales are up 1.7 percent, while Chrysler's are down 24 percent.

``Honda and Nissan will likely be the only big automakers that post positive numbers in the U.S. for the calendar year,'' said Jesse Toprak, director of industry analysis for automotive research firm Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California. ``In this kind of economy, with double-digit sales declines for the industry, any kind of gain is a good one.''

U.S. auto sales slid for a 10th straight month, pushing the industry toward its lowest annual total since the early 1990s. The 15 percent tumble included a 22 percent drop for light trucks, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata.

Japanese, Korean Brands

Japanese and South Korean automakers, which are more focused on cars, slid only 5.1 percent from a year earlier as they sold a combined 591,260 vehicles last month. Their U.S. market share was 42.2 percent in August 2007.

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, sold 1.083 million autos in the U.S. through August, compared with 1.076 million for Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler. Honda has increased annual U.S. sales every year since 1994, the longest streak of any of the big automakers.

Chrysler held a 352,704-unit lead in August 2007, when it was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management LP. Toyota took the No. 3 spot from Chrysler in 2006, then passed Ford last year. Detroit-based GM leads in U.S. sales.

Nissan's 14-percent sales gain was its fifth advance this year and the only one among the six biggest automakers in the U.S. in August. Its increase was led by the revamped Maxima sedan and new Rogue crossover, general manager of Nissan brand sales Al Castignetti said in a telephone interview yesterday.

``There's no change in the move to smaller, more fuel- efficient models,'' he said.

Nissan's increase boosted its market share to 8.7 percent last month, a 2.2-point improvement, according to Autodata. Nissan is sixth in the U.S. by sales volume.

Gasoline Prices

U.S. gasoline prices declined from the $4.11-a-gallon record set July 15, leading some analysts to predict consumers would consider big trucks again. The average price at U.S. pumps in August was $3.76, according to motorist group AAA.

``We did see some increased traffic levels at dealerships for some trucks due to the easing of gas prices,'' Castignetti said.

Toyota sold 211,533 vehicles, down 9.4 percent. Declines for the Toyota City, Japan-based company were led by Avalon large sedans, RAV4 compact sport-utility vehicles and larger FJ Cruiser and 4Runner SUVs.

Prius, Corollas

Limited inventory of models including Prius hybrids and Corolla small cars damped August results, as did the replacement of the RAV4 with a 2009 version, Irv Miller, group vice president of Toyota's U.S. sales unit, said in a conference call.

Still, Toyota's market share improved to 16.9 percent, up from 15.8 percent, and it outsold Ford by a record 55,843 vehicles.

Honda sold 146,855 Honda and Acura brand vehicles, down 7.3 percent. The slide reflected a shortage of Fit subcompacts as the company switched over to a revamped model, spokesman Chris Martin said in an interview. Honda's market share was 11.8 percent, up from 10.7 percent.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker and No. 7 in the U.S., sold 41,130 vehicles, down 8.8 percent. Lower sales of Santa Fe and Tucson SUVs paced the slide as the Seoul- based company finished its first month of sales for the Genesis luxury sedan, selling 1,177 of the cars.

Toyota rose 90 yen, or 1.9 percent, to 4,940 at 9:33 a.m. in Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. Honda rose 4.3 percent to 3,680 yen in Tokyo and Nissan rose 1.3 percent to 848 yen. Hyundai Motor fell 0.7 percent to 70,600 won in trading in Seoul.

Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai affiliate, reported sales of 25,065 vehicles, down 6.7 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., a third owned by Ford, sold 23,600 autos, 4.4 percent fewer than a year ago.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru, a Toyota affiliate, matched Nissan by raising its sales 14 percent to 18,932 on a jump in sales for its new Forester SUV and Impreza cars and wagons.

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. reported a 29 percent sales decline to 9,200 units, and Suzuki Motor Corp. sold 6,083 vehicles, down 32 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net; Mike Ramsey in Southfield, Michigan, at mramsey6@bloomberg.net